Liam Says

 In just about every stage of development Liam has taken off so far and there is nothing that makes Nic and I feel more proud than watching him master and accomplish something new! We've clapped and cheered him on through so many milestones and with every new stage I knew he would learn at his own pace. Talking and communication for Liam however is a skill that has been a bit slower to develop. Right around 18 months old he started saying a handful of words (yes, no, mama, dada, bubble) and I anticipated his vocabulary to kind of grow from there. As the months went by and we approached his second birthday it was obvious that little mister stubborn had no interest in mimicking new words. He had stopped using the world bubble during bath time and no longer called me "mama" and Nic "dada". Instead we've both adopted the name "D". haha 

I remember taking Liam to the library and this little girl toddled up to me and started jabbering away ... "chair", "book", etc. and it was the first time that I felt myself beginning to compare. I still 100% believed Liam would talk in his own time but I felt that maybe there were skills that I could learn to help him become more interested in communicating with me. As his mom, I obviously know what he wants when he points to things or pulls me by the hand to show me but I wanted to make sure I was preparing him in any way I could for when he would need to communicate his needs to others, like when he starts preschool next year for example.  

So with that long introduction, for the last couple of months we've had a speech pathologist come into our home once a week and work with Liam and I. In just those few shorts weeks I have already seen Liam grow so much!!! I thought I would share a few new things that have been coming from this cute cheesy grin ... ;)

Anytime he chooses something (a toy, a food, a show, an activity, etc.) he says "I pitch (pick) this!" 

He says "choo choo" for trains and "chruch" for his beloved trucks.

The second we walk in the door from outside he yells, "SHOES", because he knows the first thing we do is take them off. 

His teacher has taught us that language begins with imitating sounds of things first and he has become sooo animated with his trains, tractors, trucks, and cars lately. I need to catch it on video sometime! He has learned just about every single animal sound with my favorites being "blub, blub, blub" for a fish, a scrunched up sniffing nose for a pig, and a very adorable throat clearing "eh, eh, eh" for a sheep. haha

He is quick to say "I want more!" the second he finishes any treat and says "dat (that) way" when he wants something from a different room than the one we are in.

I know in no time at all he will be talking my ear off and I probably won't ever get him to stop. ;) And  I'll love every single second of it just as I do all of these adorable animal sounds he is making right now.

And to wrap this up in true Liam fashion lately, picking his nose for you! haha