We Are Ba Ba and Sza Sza

When people find out that Pace still isn't talking, they kind of get that worried look on their face and want to know if everything is okay. Well, while most kids are talking at 18 mos., my kid was potty-trained! And I mean, really, what would you rather have? And if you're having trouble deciding, it's because you haven't changed toddler poop lately!!! :)

No, seriously, Pace's talking a little bit more every week. He's improved dramatically since his 2 yr. old birthday when he was saying about 8 words and 8 sounds; things like "Ahhhhhahhhhh..." (go up and down the tonal scale with that one and you've got "making coffee"), "uh-oh," or "moo."

But thanks to his Uncle Rob (and later the same week, Andy's other brother Grant and sister Ellen) who was here during Pace's birthday in November, Pace learned how to read the alphabet. Since getting a magenetic upper- and lowercase alphabet on our fridge, Pace has learned his phonetic alphabet and so now says the first letter of most words and enjoys identifying letters whenever we're out in public or he sees writing on my shirt, etc. He's just a very visual learner like his parents.

He still doesn't say much; but Andy didn't really start talking either until he was a sophomore in college so I'm not too worried. :) Pace CAN talk if he wants to but he doesn't want to. He'll bust out words all the time accidentily and then get this shy, guilty face and hide in my lap if he or I notice he just talked. And when asked to repeat words, even simple ones like, bye or hi, he never will. He'll just shake his head and smile and say "no!" And people say stubborness isn't genetic...ha!

Most Frequent Words:
Ba Ba (trans: What about Pace? Pace too, Pace wants..., etc.; If you ask him what his name is, he'll say, Pa Pa, but he never actually refers to himself that way. It's always Ba Ba)

Sza Sza Sza Sza (Satya; said very loudly, playfully, whenever she wakes up from a nap or does something funny)

Most Fun Words:
Zippuurrr (Zipper; said like an airplane taking off)

Phhhhit (Flip; hold out the "ph" sound for a while, put your elbows out and roll your wrists as if turning something over and you got it; used for flip or garbage truck)

Most Embarassing-to-his-Mom Words (actually, I think it's hilarious!):
Bad boy (said with a mischevious grin as he keeps unrolling the toilet paper roll; also said of Peter Rabbit whenever we read about his going into Mr. McGergor's garden)

Most Shocking Words:
Bible (we never taught him this; and we've never read the Bible with him)

Beuhr (Beer; sometimes said just be, buh or buhr; you should see the grocery clerk at the checkout stand when Pace starts motioning for him or her to make sure he or she doesn't forget to put the Beuhr in the bag!)

Most Typical 2-Year-Old Words:
Mo Ke (More Cookie; said while doing the sign for more; yes, we resorted to giving him cookies since he was reverting back to peeing and pooping and wanting to wear diapers shortly after Satya was born. So if you pee/poop in the potty then you get a cookie. This applies to mom and dad too!).

His Favorite Words:
Kay (Katy; from his favorite book, "Katy and the Big Snow" by Virigina Lee Burton; Katy is a bulldozer with a snowplow attachment)

Truh (Truck; he's such a boy! I never encouraged this. I even get him books about ballet from the library. Doesn't seem to help!)

Rarerare (the sound of a siren; used whenever he sees a fire hydrant, firetruck, hears a siren, or wants to see Mama jump at him to be quiet when she's trying to put Satya down for a nap)

His Favorite Verb:
GO!!!! (Truh go! Rarerarerare go! Kay go! Dada go! Ba ba go!)

His Favorite Adverb:
Fahhhssss! (Fast! Go fast!)

And Pace's latest lingual achievement? He can read! Not just his letters, but actual words. I heard that most kids don't realize when they have picture books read to them that there are words on the page that are being read. So we have been working on finding where the words are on the page and working on putting two letters together from my favorite picture book "Jazz Baby" by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie. He's almost got "Go."