Magpie

We aren't calling her "magpie," but Maggie sure can talk, and it sure is funny. This morning I was the only one up and was getting ready for church before getting the girls up and ready. While in the bathroom, I thought I heard one of the girls talking, so I peeked in on each of them, but both were sound asleep. That happened two more times before I caught Maggie talking in her sleep. I watched her for a while while she babbled with her eyes closed. And then she opened her eyes and continued to babble. The sounds this morning were normal babble sounds, but she's got some sounds she's picked up from Matt and Lucy. Matt's allergy cough is back, and (as Lucy did at about the same age) Maggie has decided that coughing is part of human speech, so she coughs at us sometimes. She especially does it to Matt because she's trying to speak his language. Maggie has also started making high-pitched squealing sounds. Sometimes I can't immediately name which girl made the sound. Maggie has learned the squealing sound from Lucy, so she often uses it to talk to Lucy. When Lucy starts responding in kind, I have to tell her to stop. Entire conversations of squeals are more than my ears can handle. Maggie coughs and squeals at me, but she also pulls out the "mumumum" sound when she's really hungry and wants mama milk from the source. She and I pretty often have two-way conversations. The most remarkable thing about Maggie's talking is how she mimics sounds. I've heard her repeat "car," "no no no," and "delicious." She's only 4.5 months old. She wants to talk like the big people so badly I think she'll succeed at a younger age than Lucy did.