another year another visit - and some Leona updates

Last year my sister and brother-in-law came up to visit for about a week during the Christmas/New Year's vacation. It was great for many reasons, one being we were renting a house big enough that they could stay with us, so we got tons of hanging-out in. This time, though they didn't stay with us, we still got a good deal of hang-time, but the bummer was that both me and Judge got sick pretty much the day before they arrived.

Despite our lethargic selves, it was once again an awesome visit, with basically just a ton of chillaxin on the couch or window-sill, playing with and/or observing Leona and chatting, and tons of delicious meals.

A picture that I feel captures how much enjoyment was had beautifully:

[while enjoying a read with Katrina she also wanted to share with Sander

(reflected in the window) what she was reading;

here she was telling him she saw an elephant]

Leona loved having them here, getting them to help her go to the bathroom, wash her hands, read together, play with zippers, get pens and paper for her, and all other fun stuff.

Speaking of pens, it is her latest self-developed sign: hooking her thumb under her armpit. Soooooo curious as to why and how she came up with this particular sign. She also will say 'bee' for pen (in Chinese: bi3), and for me it can sound a lot like when she says 'pee' ... which doesn't mean she has to go pee, but rather that she just went.

Another sign she invented herself is for 'ring' - as in the kind you wear on your fingers - which is crossing her fingers (like in the American 'I am lying' or 'wishing' sign).

I so love how she is still coming up with new signs, while at the same time she has started talking a lot more too. A few other new words are 'poo' (for poop), 'mo-mo' (for mormor - grandma in Norwegian), 'mo' for more, ee'ee'ee'ee' for tortilla and quesadilla, and 'ah-to-ay' for 'en, to tre' (one, two, three in Norwegian). She also started having a sound for tante or auntie I believe, but it didn't have time to solidify by the time Katrina and Sander left. And she now goes 'brrr' and does a shiver for cold, says 'bo' or 'ba' for bowl and ball, and I am sure there is more.

This girl's a total bundle of fun.

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