The girl's got moves...

We went to the zoo tonight.  It was WILD WEDNESDAY.  You know what's wild about Wednesday?  The zoo stays open until 8, instead of the usual 5.  Woohoo!  I don't find our local zoo to be that exciting, and quite frankly neither does my girl.  It's definitely for slightly older kiddos, and I'm sure when she's a bit older, Em will love to go weekly.  She's going to love running, jumping, squealing, and twirling.  Now, I do take issue with the gigantic sand boxes.  I really have a hard time with the idea of Emery crawling, sitting and sifting sand that is left open for feral cats or wild animals to use.  Gross!!

Anyway, I wish I had brought my camera tonight.  Standing by the penguins we could hear music.  Emery is always the first to hear music anywhere we go.  She'll start dancing, and I begin to listen to my surroundings.  Of course that's when I hear it too.  Some song off in the distance.  Tonight, as we rounded the corner and entered the plaza area with the dinky little cafe, the music grew louder.  Three belly dancers were playing finger cymbals and dancing.  They were passing out various instruments to some of the children.  Emery insisted on having part of this!  She spent the next ten minutes walking around the dancers, tapping her fingers together, swishing her tutu, and banging on a drum.  Oh she was in Emery heaven!  She couldn't have been more in her element or happier. 

I cannot wait until I can get her into a dance class.  She loves daddy's IPod and you should see the girl raise the roof in her carseat.  Hysterical!  Her three favorite songs currently are Justin Bieber's "Baby," Beyonce's "Single Ladies," and the Beatles "Twist and Shout."  She definitely has eclectic taste.  I've got just a few days left before heading back to work, and I'm going to make it my mission to catch her singing "Baby" on video.  She does the cutest "baby oooooooohhhhhhh" with the sweetest scrunchy face.  Man, I'm going to miss my days with her. 

I could not be more proud of my daughter.  She faces many challenges in her future.  We all do; life is constantly providing opportunities to grow and flourish and rise above.  There is no doubt my daughter can learn.  She proves that to me every day.  She is 28 months and is in the early stages of speech.  I think she is easy to understand, but I do have that mommy ear.  She says or approximates well over 60 words.  She knows close to 100 signs.  She answers questions; she chooses her clothes and shoes in the morning.  She follows directions, as well as a sassy 2 year old will.  She identifies things she sees, in books and in real life.  So, no, there is no doubt for me.  My daughter is capable of learning.  Some things will come easy---like using the remote to turn on the tv in my room in the mornings after showing her one time.  Some things will take longer and more practice, such as walking did.  Isn't that all of us though?  It takes me longer to memorize historical facts than it does to solve a calculus problem!  So, Emery might face a few more challenges than some other kids, but I'll always be in her corner.  I will see to it that she is just as proud of herself as I am of her!