Words words words

At 14 ½ months, Abby is talking all the time. This does not come as a surprise to me, nor should it come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. If genes and environment are the two greatest factors on a child’s development, then Abby will be a vivacious talker for the rest of her life.

Her first word, besides “ma-ma” and “da-da”, was “Hi!” She likes to say “hi” while eating, when someone comes in the door, while holding her hand up to her ear like she’s on a telephone, and when she wakes up in the morning. Abby also says “bye” when someone leaves the room or when I am talking on the phone and I’m about to hang up. I feel like there’s a little Texan lilt to her words, so we’ll have to see how this progresses. Either way, it’s incredibly cute.

Over the past few weeks, Abby has also learned how to say a few words for body parts. Her first was “eye” while pointing to (or sometimes poking) Mommy’s or Daddy’s eye. “Eye” is probably her most clearly enunciated word, after “hi”, and it also has the greatest Texan lilt to it. She says “neh” for “nose” and also scrunches up her nose and points while saying it. We’re teaching her how to say “teeth”, and she laughs hysterically when I let her touch my teeth. Recently, she’s been very intrigued by my earrings, and loves to move my hair to find my ear. She’s a bit slower to actually say “ear”, but it’s there.

Many of her learned words come from books, too. Every night we read “Goodnight, Moon” before she goes to sleep. She loves pointing out the moon and saying it authoritatively, “moon!” Abby also finds the moon in most of the other books we read throughout the day; I never knew the moon showed up in so many toddler books! Abby also informs me when she’s found a “ball”, whether it’s in a book, on television, or in her toy box. She has known how to say “dog” for a while now and never gets tired of that word, especially with Riley in the house.

While we were visiting Josh, Paige and Piper, Abby learned how to say “boat”. Aunt Paige placed a stack of board books in our room especially for Abby to read during our stay. Abby became obsessed with a book about boats; during our five days in Durham Nate and I read that book at least 50 times. To go along with her boat obsession, I think Abby is starting to try singing. She has a “Row Your Boat” book that we read many times daily; actually, I usually sing the song instead of reading it. Yesterday, Abby started saying “row” when I’d sing, and then she started to try her hand at mimicking the song. If I keep it up, I’m thinking we’ll hear her sing that little diddy in the not-to-distant future.

I’ve also been teaching Abby how to communicate via sign language. She consistently uses the sign for “more” when she wants more food. She’s also started saying “more” while signing, too. It’s so cute seeing her little hands work, while her little mind is at work at the same time! She just started signing “mama”. This makes me happy since she’s never really been a big fan of actually saying the word. To Abby, the default word of choice is “da-da!” The sign for “mama” is an open palm with the thumb touching the chin. When Abby first started signing it, she’d place her open palm/thumb on my chin – adorable!! I’m working with her on the signs for “da-da”, “water”, “thirsty” (she understands this one, but hasn’t gotten the hang of actually doing it), “grandma”, “grandpa”, and others.

Being able to communicate with Abby and to watch her learn is one of the most fulfilling parts of my days. She absorbs everything around her - through pictures, sounds, taste, and touch. I am intrigued by her learning style and how it meshes with her personality. And I hang on every moment that I hear her little voice: when she’s saying “da-da-da-da” over and over again for a minute straight, when she says “Hi!” almost as soon as she’s awake, or when she surprises me with some new word she’s learned.