So last week Lilly picked up the statements, “I need to” and “I want to” and she uses them very frequently.  She has always been efficient at expressing exactly what she desires or wants to do but now it has reached a whole new level.  Her longest sentence to date (10 words) is, “Mama, I want to take a shower with Dada now.” 

Lilly is also an expert staller, asking to do something “one more time” (and then one more time…) or expressing that she can’t do something I request because she “needs” to do or to get something else.  She is quite reasonable if you explain things to her and tantrums are rare but inevitable if she is hungry or over-tired.  We are much more aware of how she is watching our every move and listening to everything we say.  Nothing gets past her nowadays!