He talks!

He coos. He babbles. And now he talks in real, totally not understandable back-and-forth conversation!

I have continued with my ban on consulting developmental charts. This is so unlike me. The past 6 times I had the book right by my bedside, checking it monthly to confirm that my child was on or ahead of what he should be doing at each step of the way. Not this time. I do, however, remember enough from college psychology and education courses as well as first-hand experience, to know that we are behind in the game. And that's okay. We will celebrate each milestone, each developmental step, each small step in the right direction. This week, it's "talking."

It started a few days ago. Victor had been making the /g/ sound for a few days and would often say, "Ga."  Mariana was holding him. Every time Victor said, "Ga," she would say it. Soon, they were engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with Victor listening very intently, eyes open wide, eyebrows up, eyes "looking" upward, mouth open, and drool pouring out. Hey, at this point, you celebrate everything. The next morning, as Mariana got ready for school, she came over to Victor and started the conversation, "Ga." Immediately, his listening face came on and after a few moments of concentration he responded, 'Ga." Now he does it with everyone.

And the best thing of all, he has added /m/ to his repertoire of sounds. "Mom," the best sound in the English language. At least until they're old enough to say it with disrespect. But we have a long way to go for that one.