Word to Your Mother

Now that LP is walking in earnest (where is "earnest" anyway?), our next challenge is to get her talking. She makes lots of sounds and definitely lets it be known when she wants something, but there aren't really any clear words beyond "Hi". And she says "Hi!" into the remote control, using it as a telephone, so I am not sure if that takes points away. As parents, we are prone to exaggerating our children's successes (further amplified when you become a grandparent).

My first strategy for getting her to talk has been attempting to get her to mimic sounds. She makes a sound and I repeat it back to her and we go back and forth several times, then I change the sound and hope that she follows my lead. This works sometimes. My greatest success occurred the other night when we were watching the Yankee game and I shouted "Go Yankees!" and pumped my fist in the air. She responded "GAAAAAAAAA!" and put her arm in the air as well. To me "GAAAA" is close enough to "Go!" that it counts.

Another word we think she has mastered is "fish". This is a great source of pride for the Hoos, an avid fisherman. We don't have to tell anyone that she says (okay, whispers growing into a demanding shout) "ish, ish" when she sees the bag of Pepperidge Farm goldfish and insists on a handful.

Last night I thought we had reached another major milestone in terms of word association. While LP was having her bath, I said "Where's Daddy?" and she immediately pointed at the Hoos. He was tickled and we were both thrilled. We probably should have left it at that, but no, the Hoos had to push it, "Where's Mommy?" The first time she pointed at the Hoos. The second time she pointed at herself. I think she just knows that Mommy is the one that responds to any cry of need, she doesn't really need a name. Sigh....