Heart Stopping Moments- (22 Months Speech Development)

Dear Caroline,

Daddy and I have so many moments lately where we look at each other and our hearts just instantly explode with love and pride. You amaze us every day right now. You always pleasantly surprise us, and are just growing up so fast. We are so proud of you and all that you do. Today it was something simple like pounding down a bowl full of ice cream all on your own with no help. You used the spoon perfectly and hardly made a mess at all. The other day it was that you said the word yellow perfectly. Yesterday it was that you saw something red, and then mentioned that Elmo is also red. You make connections like nobody’s business. You are so smart. We are so full of love.

I wrote the above paragraph awhile back, and am just now getting back to finishing this post. For the last two weeks, you’ve been saying at least one new word every day. You are also saying more and more sentences. When your Auntie and Uncle were here, you said “I ga ga” (for I got it), instead of just saying “ga ga”. Daddy and I looked at each other in amazement and our jaws hit the floor. It probably sounds silly, but we were so impressed!! Little did we know, that would be the beginning of an amazing stretch of speech development for you! I can’t even keep track of all of your new words! You try so many each day; it is just fascinating to listen to! You say sentences like “More read Mama please”, when you want me to read a book to you. During the Ryder cup yesterday, you said “golf” very well, and even said things like “no hole” when the ball didn’t go in the hole.

Speech has been the one area where you have held back. You have never been considered behind by any means, but you were definitely taking your time with it. What amazes me is that, yet again, it’s almost like you were just practicing and practicing on your own before you felt confident enough to show us. But when you did, you just decided to run with it! We’ve always been able to tell that you understand so much. And the connections you make are just mind boggling to me. So, now that you are talking and able to tell me some of the connections you’ve been making, it is pretty amazing to be a part of!

We read Go Dog, Go for the first time in months. The last time we read it, you had no idea what your colors were, and no idea what up/down/over/under/in/out/etc. meant. Now, you understand all of that, so it was pretty fascinating to watch you so engaged with the book. After reading it only once, you were chiming in with words. You showed me that you knew day vs. night, and said night perfectly. You know up vs. down, over and under. You named the colors, and said “cars”, “hat” and “hello” on the appropriate pages. You were helping me read the book after hearing it once! The amazing part, was that you weren’t helping me read because you had it memorized after one read, you actually understood enough of the concepts, to help me read it just based on the pictures! And, you made a HUGE connection: on the roller coaster page (after helping say up and down), you said “Elmo”. I was confused as to why we were talking about Elmo. You kept saying it. Finally I realized that we told you that we are taking you to Sesame Place soon. We have been getting you excited about seeing Elmo and riding the roller coaster rides. You saw the roller coaster in the book, and connected that to our upcoming trip to see Elmo! I couldn’t believe it. So impressive!

It is amazing to watch your speech develop before my very eyes these last two weeks. I actually have to be a bit more careful with what I’m saying, because you repeat everything. I am just loving getting to hear you talk more, and again…I am beyond impressed with the amount of language that is spilling out of you, along with the connections you are making, and the concepts that you are able to convey that you understand. You are so intelligent, and I just love getting to be a part of your development on a daily basis.

Love,
Mama

Caroline just turned 22 months old.

Other Speech Development Related Posts:

Guest Post: How to Encourage Your Young Child’s Communication Development