Funny Sydney-isms

Two quick stories about Sydney and how she floors me on a regular basis, followed by two funny photos to compare.

Everyone has great stories about their kids. I'm discovering that the most fascinating (to me, at least) are those that reveal just how closely they watch and learn from those around them, and then repeat back to my astonishment.

Sydney has gotten along really well with her two canine companions, but clearly has a desire to be able to tell them what to do, just like Mom and Dad can. Abby and Savannah like Sydney, but clearly can't (or pretend not to) understand her attempts at commands. When she says "dow!" and points at the ground, they wander away as if oblivious. When she commands them to "Bay!" with her hand held up in a "stay" gesture they roll their eyes and continue what they were doing. However, Sydney is determined and I am certain she will have them obeying soon.

We have a routine in our house when visitors come to the door. We make both dogs lie down by the back door and stay put until the visitor is either safely inside or safely on their merry way (depending on the visitor.) This has taken some training, and frequenly requires refreshers. The other day, Sydney brought in her fluffy little bunny, placed it squarely on the door mat by the back door, held out her hand and loudly said "BAY!" She then turned and marched towards the front door, pausing just before getting there to turn around and yell "BAY!" a second time. She then turned to the door, fiddled with the (locked) knob for a moment, at which point she marched back to the back door, forcefully moved the bunny half an inch, stood up, and said "BAY!" a third time before going back to the door to try to open it again.

I was in stitches, needless to say.

I know kids are observant, and start to quickly recognize familiar things. Still, Sydney caught me by surprise again today when we were pulling out of our driveway. Our neighbor, who drives a white Ford Taurus station wagon, was pulling out at the same time. Sydney looked at the car and started asking "gam-ma? gam-ma?" which is Sydney-speak for "Grandma? Grandma?" I was perplexed until it dawned on me that my mom does indeed drive a Ford Taurus station wagon, albeit a different color. I think Sydney has been in that car two or three times tops, and has seen it parked in front of our house perhaps two or three times on top of that, but that was obviously enough.

In spite of her leaps and bounds mentally and developmentally, here are two pictures that show that some things remain the same. The first was taken almost a year ago in a hotel in Guangzhou as we prepared to come home with Sydney. The second was taken this past weekend in St. Louis. It's nice to know some things don't change...

Last March in Guangzhou:

A year later in St. Louis: