You know, for a while there I thought the obscene number of ear infections E machine had this spring may have made him deaf. Which of course is completely ridiculous because he only had 3 or 4, they were weeks apart, and that boy can find a speaker in any room in under two seconds flat. However, now that I’m a full on mom (I thought I was just playing at it for a moment), I automatically default to the worst possible scenario every time.
My concern actually stemmed from the fact that I read the internet too much. All those stupid forums that use abbreviations like LO and DD and CIO said that he should have some words by now. And all my son was saying was “mama” and “dada,” and they were more like noises and less like he knew what was coming out of his mouth. Enter worry and self doubt.
Then all of a sudden, something changed. One day he decided that the only thing he wanted to do was sit and “read” books. He’d point at all of the pictures and I’d tell him what was on the page over and over and over again. We did that for weeks. And the result?
Kitty.
One day he was looking in one of his books and he pointed to a cat and said the word, “kitty.” And from that moment on, it was all different. A torrent of vocabulary started pouring out of my son. Every day he was adding new words — ball, blue, car, truck, moon, walk, duck, outside, sock, shoes, boots, night night, rock, owl — the list went on and on. But out of all of them, our favorite word attempts right now are helicopter (ha-coco), Cookie Monster (cookcook) and yogurt (yo-yolk <–Add an amazing amount of phlegm to the yolk part when pronouncing).
“Choo choo!”
What’s even more amazing is his level of understanding. He probably has two dozen words he uses, but he comprehends so much more than that. And he’s making these interesting word associations, too. For example, the other night he was “helping” me cook, and I asked him to please keep the noodles on the counter. Of course he totally ignored me and then looked me in the eye and said, “AH AH AH!” At first, I didn’t get it. Why did you just make a sound like The Count from Sesame Street? Oh wait… I said COUNT-er. Duh, Tara. Of course your kitchen surfaces laugh maniacally like a vampire puppet.
So far, this jump into language has been one of my favorite stages. There’s nothing cuter and more exciting than getting your first real glimpse into what your child’s interests are. And based on what I’ve learned, my son is a gear head, tech junkie, nature loving, foodie with a desire to keep a clean house. Basically if he keeps this up, he’s going to make someone very happy someday. And I couldn’t be prouder.