Cold and Sweet

Last week, Lisa and I took the girls to Doozles, a local frozen yogurt joint. Lydia quickly understood what we were waiting for after we placed our order and paid for it. Lainey, on the other hand, didn't understand what we were waiting around for.

Within moments of receiving our order, Lydia was shoveling the m&m covered soft serve into her mouth. Lainey wandered over to Lisa and Lisa asked her if she wanted some ice cream. As Lainey was licking the spoon, Lisa told her, "It's cold and sweet." Lainey walked around the table to where I was sitting, looked me in the eye and declared "Cold and sweet!". As I was getting a spoonful for her, she grew impatient and worried and began to almost cry out "cold and sweet!" It was very cute and very sad at the same time.

From that moment on, Lainey was determined to get as much "cold and sweet" as possible. Swinging between the cry for more and the joy of the taste, Lainey utilized the same words repeatedly, with different intonations and very different meanings.

A few evenings later, we each had a little bowl of ice cream at home. Lainey recognized what it was and instantly exclaimed "Cold and sweet!". She continued this cute little mantra with each bite.

The next morning, I was following Lainey down the hall and she entered the kitchen and said "cold and sweet". I stopped by our fridge and asked her what she meant. She turned around, walked past the fridge, past me and walked straight to the kitchen trash can. She pointed at the top of the contents and proclaimed "cold and sweet!". Sure enough, right at the top of the trash pile was an empty ice cream container.

It's mind-boggling to see how she is beginning to connect words with items, and is able to remember those words when the item is presented to her differently.

It's good to know that we are teaching her how to identify the important things in life.
"Cold and sweet!"