What a joy to just sit and watch Reese explore her environment - after just recently attending a brain conference I am even more appreciative of what must be going on between her little ears these days! FUN FACT: At birth, cortical neurons (nerve cells that make up the brain) have approximately 2500 synapses (connections) - at age 3 they have 15000 (TWICE that of an average adult). Unfortunately, as we age - we simply loose connections that we don't use frequently....some people definitely loose more than others :) and those we do use become more interconnected...AMAZING!
What better way to appreciate the complexity of the brain than to observe a toddler as he/she begins to engage with their environment?! Reese is talking up a storm these days - mostly one word, sometimes two ("Puppies Outside"). At our last doctor appointment we were given glowing reviews - no need to age correct for this preemie, she is caught up in weight, height, head circum, gross motor, fine motor and language skills! She took her sweet time in the walking department and is still no pro, running is clumsy and uneven terrain is a challenge. However, she makes up for it in the talking department where she is in the 18-24 month category for vocabulary skills. This mommy and daddy will need to be VERY careful about what they say in front of "the sponge"
I am attaching just a couple videos - The first is Reese playing with the dog food bowl. She loves Maya's food dish and will not settle for any other dish (despite looking exactly the same?!) A favorite pasttime is loading the dog dish or empty one gallon ice cream pail with various toys and carting them around the house. Yes the kid owns about ten purses but would prefer to carry her cell phone, keys, and other misc items in the dish/bucket.
The second video is Reese and her daddy playing with the sign language flash cards we have. What started as merely a picture game has now apparently turned into a pop quiz game....daddy takes it a bit more seriously than Reese :) Mommy thinks they are both silly and prefers to read books!
