Boom!

It finally happened!  This girl has had her language explosion!  There were some days I thought it would never happen.  I really feared that we would be living in the land of grunting, pointing, and whining indefinitely!  A couple of months ago I thought we were on the edge, but it's taken a bit longer than expected.  I can say with a sigh of relief  'It's finally here'.

Cadence had a few strikes against her. First, not having the right hardware for speech (aka an intact palate) as well as not hearing English until she was 16 months old.  She has also been surrounded by two helpful big sisters and parents who wanted to make the whining stop wanted to meet her every need quickly and efficiently!  Therefore, she probably hasn't had much drive to actually say what she wants.  But now she wants to talk.  She wants to say the words and be understood.  It's not crisp and clear, but it's definitely much better than before and it's initiated on her own... no prompting from me.  When I give her her cup she says the sweetest "Thank you, momma".  It truly makes my heart melt!  So for those of you with this same long journey ahead - it will happen (I just hope you have more patience that me!).

These are pictures from FINALLY meeting little Beatrix!  She is adorable, although she and Cadence don't seem so sure of each other here!