What Did She Say?!

Pay no attention to the cluttered table.

Liza has been working so hard on learning to really speak over the last two years. In case I never shared before or no one remembers, she could say "net net net" (Nyet or NO NO NO) when I gave her a bath or brushed her hair and that was basically it when I first met her. She also did a lot of babbling and made what we called her "piggy sound" by sucking air somewhere into the back of her throat, it's actually a really cool and unique vocalization and I hope she doesn't forget how to do it. Other than that, when she left the orphanage she couldn't speak. She learned to sign really quickly and for the longest time that was her only way of communicating with us because she wouldn't even try to say words.

*And here's my small PSA for the day: If you're child is non-verbal, teach them to sign! If you're adopting a child who speaks another language, teach them to sign as you transition to your language. If your child is typical and was born to you, teach them to sign. What could it hurt?! Seriously, I am a huge advocate of signing now that I've seen how well it works in helping a child transition from one language to another. Signing also gave Liza the confidence to actually try to speak the words that she was hearing spoken all around her. Now, she repeats almost everything she hears. Including words I sometimes say that I shouldn't.... oops!*

These days Liza can say SO many words! I don't even know how many cause I haven't taken the time to actually think about it and count them up but she is learning to talk and is no longer shy about it and that's what's most important. I can ask her a question and ask "yes or no?" and she will tell me which one she prefers. IE: yes to these shoes, no to those. Yesterday I asked her if she was going to be a good girl and before I could even ask her "yes or no" she answered back, "Ess (yes)". So proud of her! She can put multiple words together and does so with a lot more frequency just in the last few months. 

For a little girl who basically had no verbal/expressive language two years ago, and only understood Russian, I think she has come a long way! And, she's still moving ahead. Gaining her confidence and determined to prove wrong anyone who may have thought that she couldn't do... well, anything "they" thought she couldn't do. She amazes me!

If you made it all the way through this, here's a funny little nugget for you that I shared on Facebook. First, the backstory. Liza has learned to say "flick", and she's also learned to flick things/people/animals but that's a different problem. So, she says "flick" but she's not really got a great grasp of the /f/ and /l/ sounds when they're put together. Are you getting it yet? It comes out sounding like a naughty word. Uh huh..... Now you're getting it, right?

Actual Facebook status from yesterday:

Remember how I shared that Liza learned to say "flick" but it sounded, ahem... naughty? Yeah well, today at CVS she said it about 5 times and I just kept shushing her. Then I looked up and this big dude sitting near us is trying not to laugh and the lady beside me is horrified. Gotta love that kid...

I swear, sometimes I really believe God gave her to me to cure me of my tendency to be easily embarrassed. And, it's working!