We have recently noticed that Hannah has become part of our conversations. She has been the topic of conversation since before she was born, but only recently is she participating as well. Increasingly often she doesn't like be left out while Jeanne and I are talking. She wants to be included in whatever we are talking about.
The three of us will be sitting at the dinner table and Jeanne and I will try to have a conversation. Hannah will interject with "What you talking about?" or "What you said?". (Although she typically leaves off the first word so it comes out as "you talkin' 'bout?" or "you said?") She gets frustrated if we continue to talk without involving her. She usually doesn't really care what we talk about, as long as we look at her when we're talking or if we ask her what she thinks about the subject. She wants to be included in whatever Mommy and Daddy are talking about.
This is a huge shift for us that began when we realized two years ago she was understanding us and I'm sure will continue to her dominating conversations in coming years. We realized early that talking about her friends or teachers around her probably wasn't a good idea knowing she could/would repeat what was said (positive or negative, we didn't trust her to not take something out of context). Now it's not that we have to limit our topics of conversations (we're not too worried about her meeting co-workers and relaying what we say about them - she's too shy for that), but we also have to include her in whatever we're talking about.
The other time she gets frustrated is at night on a long drive when she's trying to fall asleep in the car. She'll tell us to stop talking and we usually sit quietly until she falls asleep. We have figured out a compromise of talk radio (usually Fresh Air podcasts) which she is ok with (and probably puts her to sleep even faster).
We'll see how our dinner time conversations change over time, but I think we've passed a point of no return now that she wants to be included.
Some photos from the past weeks:
