Talking

I wish that I could somehow bottle up all the priceless moments with my kids, especially the things they say.

It takes a bit of concentration, some interpretation, and a lot of shared experience to know what Sebastien is saying sometimes. (When he's singing, you can go by the tune, as the boy definitely has an ear for music.) He attempts to say full sentences and phrases, but the more words he strings together, the harder it is to understand him. There are a few that he says often and we've caught on to. For example, what sounds like, "WOW, gookagat" is "Wow, look at that!" But one of my favorites is before bed when we're saying goodnight and he says (something like:) "uh ooh eh-uh" which is "love you forever."

Several weeks ago he requested "bubba gecks" for breakfast, and was frustrated when I didn't know what he was referring to. It took me some time, and I realized he was asking for Apple Jacks (which he had had for the first time the day before, at snack time.) When we slow down and I ask him to say "apple" he can say it, when I ask him to say "jacks," he can say it. One word at a time, he can articulate fairly well. But the cereal phrases, such as Apple Jacks come out as "bubba gecks."

Despite being difficult to understand, Sebastien still is quite a talker. He walks around talking, babbling on and on, and we smile and nod encouragingly. When he looks at us, that is. A lot of the time he is very happy to just talk to himself.

Eden says nearly full sentences regularly and is quite articulate. Rarely are we left wondering what she's saying, as she will often stick with it, trying to change her pronunciation until we get it. She sometimes gets impatient with us. We can tell when this happens, because she'll repeat herself and then add "Oooooh!" at the end. (As in, the enlightened "Ooooh!" we often say when we figure out what she is referring to.)

Not only is she articulate, but she is becoming capable of conversation in a new way. For example, today I said to Eden, "Do you have a poopy diaper?" She said, "Bashy does." I said, "Let Mommy take a peek." She repeated, "Bashy does!" I peeked, and she was clean. I went over to Sebastien and, sure enough, he was dirty. She is also capable of stating "no like it" whether referring to food, games, noises, etc., rather than simply crying.

What can I say... none of this actually does justice to what it's like talking with Sebastien or Eden, nor does it express that absolute thrill and joy I feel hearing them develop their speech. But I have to try to write things down from time to time, mostly because I'm afraid I'll forget.