Liam is talking (more)

O.K. so....... so far this blog has been mostly about Liam. Well he is the smallest and I spend more of my time each day with him... since all the girls are in school all day. So I guess it just works out that way. It's not that my other children don't come up with cute things that they do or say ever... I just don't see it all that often any more.

Liam has started talking. He's trying to say lots of words, so far mostly repeating what you ask him to say, but that is a start! He is funny though, he whispers a lot of the words he says. I don't know why, but we think it's pretty funny. he still signs lots of words, but has started saying and signing at the same time. I don't know if it helped that all the kids were around last week durring spring break or what, but he definitely had lots more interaction last week and really started saying things.

Before Grandpa got here Sariah was showing Liam the pictures on the wall and saying Grandpa, and we ended up with him saying 'papa' we liked that, so that's what we encouraged. He would say it whenever 'papa' walked in the door (which was many times a day, since they were working and would go in and out of the house to the garage 'workshop' where they would cut the wood or drywall, or whatever...). Grandpa also brought his bird since grandma was also going to be gone that week visiting her daughters in MD. so... the bird came down in the back of his van. Liam LOVED the bird! he has been signing bird for many many months now, but this past week he would sign AND say bird, as soon as he woke up in the morning or ANYTIME the garage door opened (and he would hear it chirping/singing) and go running to see the bird. At night he would constantly wan tto go see it and we would have to tell him the bird went night night! see he has a blankie on him, it's night night... be quiet so you don't wake him up.

On monday morning after 'papa' and daddy left, he asked to go see the 'Bird' and we had to tell him it went bye bye with papa... he was very sad!

I don't know how to explain the way he talks... he does't say all the extra words, but makees this noise... in a sort of sing songy way "ah ah ____" and then the word he is saying. So to say I want to go out and see the bird, he would say "ah ah bird". It generally means I want, but it can also mean where is, or any other sorts of things. you hear him say it, and then try to figure out what word he is actually saing and what it is that he truely wants to convey to you... it is definitley interesting...

Amanda started with him a while ago, saying things like can you say? "_____" and trying to get him to repeat things. Her main one is "I", he whispers "I", "Love", "_____" and then whatever name she is trying to get him to say. It started out with "Panna" (Amanda - from a little friend who she babysits and that is what Emma started calling her when she began talking, so now it's what we say at our house too). It sort of became a game, and before she could try to get him to say "Panna", I would jump in with "MOMMA"! and sometimes he'd say, "Momma" as 'Panna' was trying to get him to say her name. it was sort of a competition as to who he 'LOVED' more! so now we play this game all the time and all the girls get involved, "Nana" (Hannah), "Ra Ra" (Sariah - also a name she picked up from another little friend who started saying her name that way and now it's gone through about 4 families as her name for the little on'es to call her), "Roo" or 'Roo roo' (For Marissa Roo a little nickname we'd given her along the way), or Bekah, (pretty self explainitory, I would hope).

Then the next thing Amanda would say and try to get him to say is... "so and so, MEAN" when somone would do something to him that wasn't so nice... now, periodically when 'Panna' is trying to get him to say he loves someone... he'll say "Panna (or whoever he is talking about) MEAN!" it might not lead to good things down the road, but for now it is quite amusing.