UP!

Little Bug is a bit delayed in his speech. His jaw muscles continue to grow stronger and that helps tremendously with his speech. We've been encouraged and amused to see him mimic more and more and even latch on to words that he uses on his own. Little Bug doesn't aim for the easy words, instead he prefers to use words like "a-nan-a" for banana (3 syllables! My kid is freaking amazing!), "iet" for light, "ahhh-ta" for water, and "aemm" for arm, etc. He's also got words for "ocean, balloon, sand, raggie, bath, dog, Classical Baby, drink, all done, what's that, uhh ohh, home." He calls Appa "a-dada" and he calls me "omma." (Korean for mama.)

In pure mama form, the majority of these words are not super clear, but I am finding it increasingly easier to discern the subtle inflection between "uah-dah," which is balloon, and "wah-dah," which is "what's that?" and all those other little inflections that change the word he is trying to say. His hand signs for "more" and "all done" look identical to most people, but I know that "more" is a softer gesture and "all done" is very forceful. It's like part of an intimate parent/child language to know these nuances.

Little Bug has come out in the last week with two words in what we call his "big kid voice." It's not a baby babble, but a clear, deliberate word that sounds like a 3 year old. It's neat to hear him say these words and realize that yes, he is getting to be a big kid, not a baby.

A couple days ago as I was getting him out of his car seat (he usually chants "oooomm" for home when we are getting him out of the car) he looked at me and very clearly said "Ma-MA." It's hard to explain why this floored me, other than that Little Bug always has called me "Omma," and we were okay with him always doing that. However, I refer to myself as "mama" when we sing or play. To hear him say mama so clearly was reaffirmation that he is learning and listening and making connections.....and duh, it melted my heart.

The second word he is clearly saying is "up." He never really has bothered to say it, opting instead for the universal sign of waving his hands wildly in the air and occasionally headbutting our knees to get our attention. Two days ago he just started saying it clearly. Sometimes we still have to prompt him for it, but it's so cute to her his little voice.

This is a bit of a ramble with no real point, other than these two little words have made my heart soar lately and given me a glimpse of the Little Bug we will know in a few years from now. I'm so stinking lucky to have all those years with this amazing little boy ahead of me.

Mood for the day? UP!