She is definitely my kid.

Hi.  My daughter's name is Mercy and she is a food-a-holic. 

There is no doubt that Mercedes is my girl.  The way to her heart is certainly through her stomach. Her favorite, most spoken word is "Bite."  If I even open the fridge, she comes running (as fast as her wobbly toddler legs will take her, which is pretty fast) to the kitchen with her chorus of "Bite?" in her precious little baby girl voice. Oh how I love her little voice. 

Anyways, I digress.  Her head and heart are located in her little stomach.  She can be in the kitchen, most certainly getting into trouble, and if I call out "Mercy, want a bite?" her little feet pitter patter all the way to me, the promise of food distracting her from whatever mischief she shouldn't be getting into.  She LOVES being outside and lately I'll set her down when we get out of the car instead of carrying her inside, but she likes to stay outside.  The other day I brought home food and she was standing in the yard, just looking around like usual, and I said "Bite?" and you could practically see her eyes light up as she came right inside. If she were a dog, her ears would have perked up.

She is such a good eater too, although lately she is showing a HUGE preference for rice.  Any kind of rice.  White rice, spanish rice, rice pilaf, sticky rice, rice with divan, rice sweet and sour pork, season rice, rice in sauce, fried rice, the list goes on.  I fear that not only is she a food-a-holic, but that she has inherited my carb addiction as well. I guess this means I'll have to get used to sharing my array of rices, pasta, and breads.

Do you talk to your baby?

I mean really talk. Not baby talk, not babble, but actual real TALK.  I have done this since Mercedes was born.  I have conversations with her, I ask her questions and for her opinions.  We will walk through the grocery store and she will be in the wrap or in the cart and I will ask her whats next on the list, what brand we should get, is this green pepper big enough, do we need carrots, does she want bananas, etc etc etc.  We will talk non stop through the store.

I was doing this today while I was looking for socks to turn into Sans Pants.  We were in a teenybopper store (they have good sock selection) and there were a couple different pairs I wanted and I was asking Mercedes which pair should we get.  "Do we want the plain ones or do we want the fun ones? It would be nice to have a pair that goes with everything, but they are kinda boring. What do you think?"  The socks were close to the registers and a woman was standing in line and she says to me, in a rather snotty tone, "Does she usually have a strong opinion on these things?" I was a little taken aback because with all the talking to Mercedes I do out in public nobody has ever said something but I responded telling her "Yes, actually she does.  We always ask her opinions on these kind of things, even picking out produce.  Its important to include baby in conversations and decision making."  She just laughed a little and walked away. 

I realize that at times I probably look a little silly, my baby strapped to me and talking away to her while to other people at least, it appears that she doesn't understand.  I however firmly believe that she does understand and enjoys sharing her opinion and knowing I am interested in it. 

There are SO many benefits to talking with your baby.  It makes them feel important, part of the grown up conversations and helps solidify their importance and validity in your life.  Aside from the emotional benefits, it will also help them learn to talk by emphasizing real words instead of baby talk, and helps them learn the patterns of conversation (first I talk, then you talk).  So go have a conversation with your little one.  Even if you feel a little silly, it will probably make both your days brighter. Totally worth it.