Words, words, words: Update

It's been a while since I posted about Z and his expressive speech delay. He's been going to group speech "play group" for 8 weeks now and it's been beyond fantastic. In general, having a place to go and play twice a week in a structured, active environment has been really good for all of us. Z gets to do things like sing songs (well, listen for now), paint, glue, etc. that we don't do at home. And I get some time to sit (without trying to keep a toddler busy) while feeding Harper and watching his class. I can really see God's plan in the whole thing.

Z is doing really, really well with his words and talking. He is putting sentences together and surprising me every day with a new word or two. It is SO great to have him be able to communicate. He is less frustrated and even when he does start to whine we can usually focus him on using some words to tell us what he wants.

I love hearing Z talk and tell us about what he sees and learns. I love words and it is so special to see this part of Z's development. Perhaps it is even more special because it came late. It's also encouraging because we get more feedback on what he understands. I was telling him not to poke people or animals with a turkey baster (shaped like an elephant with a long blue trunk) he likes to carry around. I went through people and things and asked if it was okay to poke: Can you poke Mama?....No...Dada....No...Harper...No....Snickers (Grammy's dog)...No...etc. Then, a few minutes later, I heard him going through the whole routine. Dada? No poke. Sickers? Nope. Gammy? Poke? No. It was awesome! I love hearing him process things.

So, as it goes with kids when they're learning to talk, there has to be a funny story or two. So far the best one is when John was leaving for work and he asked Z: "Can you say goodbye to me?" And Z said: "Goodbye me."