Chloe Speaks!

Well, actually, it didn't happen overnight. For quite awhile now, we have been wondering when Chloe was going to manage to form some recognizable words. She's had the "m" sound down for quite awhile, and used it for an occasional "Mah-mah!" or "moe, moe, moe" which meant more. But other than that, though she was and continues to be very vocal, she just isn't saying many clear words. I will admit that I was a little concerned because by 18 months (Chloe's age now) Clara Anne was saying a lot--a lot of nouns, especially, and using simple words and phrases to communicate. However some of my friends who are more experienced parents reminded me that every child is different, and Chloe will speak when she is good and ready.

We are seeing some progress. This morning after her bath Chloe saw the lotion bottle in my hand and said very distinctly, "lotion!" However, getting her to repeat something is nearly impossible--she just closes her mouth and gives us a silly smile. Of course, the minute I stop "trying" to get her to say something she is babbling on in her own language, exclaiming over this and that. For someone who doesn't say much that is recognizable, she surely can be loud!

Recently, though, I was so proud to hear Chloe put together her first simple sentence. Whenever you think about your child's first words, you always envision something sweet and wonderful like, "I love you, Mama." Is this what Chloe came up with? Not quite. She came toddling in to where I was working in the kitchen one day a week or two ago, tugged on my pants and said, "Mama, poo-poo." I checked and sure enough, she had spoken correctly. She then tugged on her own pants and looked at me expectantly.

So there you go--not exactly romantic, but functional nonetheless! She actually used language to communicate one of her needs. Now if only she would figure out that language really can help her, and it's not such a bad thing to join the speaking world! In the meantime, we'll enjoy all of the many and varied vocalizations of Chloespeak until she learns to speak English. Patience, patience!