I took Penelope to the ENT today, and wouldn't you know it, she had no fluid in her ears. The doctor's theory, though, is that she had an ear infection all winter/spring (a type of ear infection with a big name that, he said, is very difficult to detect), and that it's just now clearing up. This would explain how Mom and I always feel like Penelope feels warm and why she's just now, in the past couple of weeks, starting to say a few words. She passed her hearing test with totally normal results, and showed no fluid on that test. The doctor said if she doesn't progress with her speech then we'll revisit the situation, but she already is blossoming a good bit there. She says Dada and bubba (bubbles) and Jesus and poo poo and TT. And her comprehension is totally on (she cleans up when I ask her to, and she puts things in the trash when I ask her to, and she goes and finds Daddy when I ask her to). While we were waiting for the doctor, Penelope reached up and touched a bottle of hand sanitizer on the counter, and then rubbed her hands together. She gets it. Happy with these results and with her recent progress. In other news, the nurse could not handle how cute Penelope is. She kept coming and looking at her and saying, "Oh my gosh, she's so freaking cute!!" That was funny.