The joy of a conversation

Yesterday morning, once Leah had signalled her awakening with the usual, impatient 'Mama!!' I picked her up still in her sleepsack, and brought her downstairs. Still holding her on my hip I went through the usual routine; opened the fridge, took out the milk, put the milk in the bottle and the bottle in the microwave, all the while giving Leah the usual running commentary on what I was doing. However this time, when the microwave pinged, Leah said 'No milky, juicy'. So startled was I not just by the 3-word sentence but more by my daughter clearly articulating what she wanted without the use of gestures and grunts, I grabbed the nearest sippy cup to hand and passed it to her. Leah took a quick slurp then said 'No water Mummy, juicy!' Who cares about whether grape and peach juice is an adequate substitute for milk first thing in the morning - my daughter was communicating clearly and asking for what she wanted, I would've given her a sippy cup full of Coke if she'd asked for it.

Of course it made me wonder how often has she wanted something other than milk first thing in the morning :)