No Pictures, Just Words

Vinny's words, that is. I've been trying to decipher his words of late, and it's not been easy. Since this blog has become my baby book, I wanted to take a bit of time to record some of the sounds Vinny's been using lately, lest I forget them. The best feeling in the world right now is picking him up from the sitter or walking in the door from work as Vinny runs to us calling "Mammaaaa" or "Daddaaaa." The head over the shoulder hug is pretty special, too.

Other utterances include:

• pup-ah (he points up and says it as he ascends the stairs, so I'm pretty sure this is "up")
• hot (and then he proceeds to blow on his food)
• gog-ah (dog)
• guck (duck)
• ball
• and an overgeneralized use of gagagaga, tickatickaticka, and other babbles.

Most of his words he whispers, almost breathing them out of his mouth. We wonder if he's just waiting to speak in full sentences, because we certainly know he understands. Vincent follows simple directions, fetches toys and books when we ask, and points to all kinds of characters and objects in the hundreds of books we read together. Speaking of books, recent favorites include:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Guess Who?
• Happy Birthday Big Bird
• Peek a Moo (once again, it's back in the rotation)
• Good Night Moon
• Where is Mommy?
• Where is Baby's Belly Button?
• Dear Zoo (still a favorite)

I absolutely love when Vincent brings me a book. He hands it to me, turns around, and plops himself comfortably in my lap. It brings me so much joy to snuggle with my little guy. While he goes to sleep on his own these days, he still doesn't mind unwinding in the rocking chair every night with a sippy cup of milk and the Wonder Pets. (I guess I forgot to mention...we gave up the bottle this month. It just sort of happened by accident, and Vinny didn't protest, so we aren't looking back.) Anyway, we ask, "Are you night night?" and Vinny replies with an upward point.