Lub oo

A day doesn’t go by where I am not amused by the shocked faces of my parents and grandparents when I utter a new word. It is funny to watch them when I call their names when they walk in the room or shout bye and lub-oo when it is time for jammas. I can now say the names of many of the things in my room, around the house and out in the world. It is much easier to make them understand what I want, now that I can tell them. I let them know that I prefer to have the yogurt drink Keepur with my breakfast rather than juss, that I want to have a beam or a cookay rather than dinner, how much I would like to go see the copie take off and land, and particularly to stob it when they are trying to rearrange my lines of cars or steal bites of my dinner.

As my vocabulary increases I can also share with them what I see, hear and feel. I can tell Daddy when he gets home from work that I saw the copie land and fly, that I told them bye and that it was lello even though it was really red and blue. I can tell Papi that I want him to get the car with the mote or Bam-ma to get out the paints. Soon I will be talking in complete sentences and they will never get me to be quiet.

Signifying Something

We all have times in our lives where we feel small, insufficient, and ignored. Where no matter how much we fight to be heard, we are left wanting. Being a child is that feeling all of the time. Your presence is known, but not given much respect. We learn to lash out, yell, scream, and make as much noise as possible to announce to the world that we will be heard. So unlike he who would be King hereafter, my sound is fury because it is new. And as I grow my voice will become as I intend it now - signifying my presence and determination.

Arrested Development

I’m now 17 weeks old and I’ve finally started to roll over. Within hours I plan on running, climbing, and, maybe, flying. We’ll see.

While developing as fast as I can to spite the enjoyment of my parents, I’ve noticed that most of you people have no idea what happens when as a baby such as myself develops. So as a refresher, here are a couple things that are happening to me now and will happen to me in the near future:

I can now distinguish several hundred different spoken words; many more than are in my parents native language. My brain has organized itself around the words heard most frequently and is beginning to create an auditory map to process the languages efficiently. And even though there is no research to indicate that one kind of music or another promotes early brain development, I do respond positively to music. Mostly, to my parents chagrin, opera.

While I am now living in a predictable world that has some order to it, I am also able to sleep for longer periods of time, can go longer between feedings, and am establishing a new schedule for eating, sleeping, and experiencing the world. My blossoming mental abilities are helping me organize what I see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. When I am in comfortable and secure surroundings, I am especially responsive to people, objects, and new experiences.

My parents help by holding me so that the world has a sense of predictability. They talk back to by coos, bubbles, and random attempts at conversation, but have yet to fully grasp the complexity in which I can communicate. Hopefully, in time, their brains will evolve enough to be able to communicate with me.

Over the coming months I expect to keep moving up in the world. At six months I’ll be able to switch a toy from one hand to another, my speech should become clearer to my slow parents, and I should be able to sit up on my own. I’m not rushing any of these, and if I don’t meet some and happen to do others early, that’s all right too.

By nine months I should be turning pages in board books, looking at familiar objects and people when named, imitating others, sort-of crawling, and my vocabulary will expand a bit. At twelve months I will finally be able to meaningfully use certain simple words, pulling myself to stand up and cruising along furniture. I might even stand alone and take several independent steps, but I’ll wait and see how I feel about it.