Talk it up

Ely has grown cognitively and emotionally so much lately that I'm having to convince myself that I am now the mother of a boy, not a baby. And he is all boy - wrestling, fort-building, violent, rock-hucking, dirty fingernails, sly smiling, trick-riding-on-his-rocking-horse BOY!


(He did this himself, proceeded to stand all the way up, balance holding onto nothing, and laugh hysterically!)

I know no one out there probably cares even a little about how many words my kid can say, or how cute it is when he says them, or all the things he can understand, but this is all extremely interesting to me. Some of my favorite classes in college were Voice and Diction, Linguistics, Rhetoric, and origins of the English language (thank you, George Killough, for teaching me to sing in Middle English!), so his little brain learning to speak is fascinating to me. Besides, this blog is technically my journal, my baby book, and my outlet all at once, since it's the only thing I can seem to squeeze in and I need some way to record all these milestones for perpetuity!

Ely is talking much more now and starting to copy more words every day. He has only mastered a few consonants - D, M, B, N - and a few vowels - O, A, AH, UH - so everything is a variation on just a few sounds, but we know what it means!

Ely says:
DaDa (still his favorite word)
Mama
Squirrel (gwah!)
Uh-oh
Bird (guh or boyd-a-boyd-a-boyd - sounds like he has a New Jersey accent!)
Bubble
Nummy-Nummy-Num = Hungry (one we hear alot!)
So Big! (Doe deh) with arms in the air, of course!
Shakes head "no"
"That?" (dah) when he wants to know what something is
Car (gah)
Bug (buh) we have a lot of ladybugs in the house!
Ball (bah)
Shoe (Doo)
Tractor (Taa-Doe)
Door (Doe)
Duck (Duh)
Ya-ya-ya-ya - what he does when I ask him to sing or when I am singing!
Plus lots of extraneous "jargoning" (to use the correct term) that we don't know what it means!

His comprehension has also exploded, and he seems to pick up "cognitive language" faster and faster, learning the meanings of new words all the time. He responds to simple commands extremely well - he can sing, splash, clap, wave, shake, dance, kiss, hug, bring [object] to mama/dada, go find [object], throw a ball/rock/stick/toy, point to [object] in a book, and lots of other things when asked.

However, with new found ways of communicating, he's also learned how to throw temper tantrums and whine when he doesn't get what he wants, but I'm always trying (even when exasperated) to get him to tell me what he wants even in primitive language. He's also transitioning to one nap a day instead of two, which contributes to the crankiness from time to time. Thankfully, a quick trip outside cures all ills, except when he throws a fit when we have to come back inside!

We've also developed a new bedtime routine since he hasn't had a bottle at night for a few weeks now. I have to admit, I was sad when I no longer got to cradle him and give him a bottle, but I am thrilled with his new routine and realize how lucky I am that I've had a child who's always slept well, never had a pacifier, weaned easily with not even a whine or a tear, and goes to bed without protest. We now have a glass of milk and some graham crackers while Greg or I read 2-3 books to him, brush his teeth, get in the tub for 15 minutes, put on jammies while I sing a song, lie down in his crib with a blanket and chipmunk and owl (his favorite stuffed animals) and he goes right to sleep after a kiss on the forehead. I hope I won't pay later for having such an angel-child now.