"Bonk!"

The other day, Anna tumbled into the kitchen table leg, a very sturdy hunk of wood, knocking her head hard. As I came to see if she was okay, she looked up at me, stuck out her lip in her"I'm-about-to-completely-lose-it" expression, said in a heartbreaking whisper, "Bonk!", and then started bawling.

"Bonk" is the new "bye-bye" of Anna's vocabulary. She says it whenever she falls, no matter how lightly or even if she fell on purpose. In fact, sometimes she'll sit on her play chair, grin at me, throw herself to the ground, and then say, "Bonk!" loudly and for all the world to hear.

My mind just can't keep up with how fast she's changing and growing. This time last month she was still doing physical therapy and we were worried for her future development. From where we are standing now, it seems so silly to have been worried. In the past month, Anna has learned to stand, pull-up, take steps while holding onto furniture, crawl up the stairs, climb onto chairs and couches, and increased her vocabulary to the point that we are no longer surprised by what she can say.

Just this morning, she picked up her Dr. Seuss ABC book and was reading it to ME as she flipped through the pages. She remembered almost all the letters as she looked at the pages, which I know is more memorization and picture association than actually reading the book, but still, we were very impressed.

For Kurt and me, though, it's the physical advancement that is the most exciting. Every time she pulls herself up on a table to look at a book (or reach for something she shouldn't be touching), I feel like everyone in the room should be struck with the same awe and pride that we feel.

Look! She just climbed up into a chair! Time for a ticker tape parade!

Oops... she tumbled onto the floor... "Bonk!".