The infinite world of Communication

Abbie has finally began to talk. Intelligible words, that is. She has always "talked", since she was born. We call her the ChatterBox for a reason, right? Anyway, in the last few weeks she has been striving to communicate with sounds that most resemble the ones she hears uttered by us. She has been saying words for the longest time, for example 'baby', 'daddy', 'bye-bye', but what is most remarkable now is that she doesn't just say the words, but uses them to communicate a thought or a wish.

Last Thursday, she said "cra-cas", for crackers. I gave her one while asking: "Do you want some animal crackers?" I put some more crackers in a bowl, and set it on the table. Abbie went to play, but after a little while she came to me, pointing at the bowl, and said "cra-cas!" It was so cute, she had me laughing for a while. Of course, I gave her a couple more, and she happily stuffed them in her mouth, saying "cra-cas, cra-cas!"
After that, and in the last few days, Abigail will come up to me out of the blue with imploring eyes and say "cra" or "cra-cas" because she wants me to give her some.

Another word Abbie has been using appropriately is "yes", which she pronounces something similar to 'chess'. Sometimes I'll ask her things, like: "do you want some juice?", and she will respond: "chess!" and hold her hand out.

She has also started to call me "mam-my". I am also "dad-dee" at times, too, but I am finally "mam-my". I love it! I love the way she says it, with an "a", "mam-my"! After going through so many metamorphosis, it's so endearing to hear her call me "mam-my"... Don't get me wrong, I LOVED being "Ahta'", "Ya-Ya", and even "dad-dee" (though I have shared this honor with Christopher for a few months). But "mam-my" just sounds so lovely when she says it...!

Another cute thing my little girl has been trying to do is call Shelby by her name. She has the SHHHH part down, and when she want to call the dog's attention, she will go "Shhhhhh! Shhhhh!". The -elby part is still under construction, though she manages to say "Sha'", or "Shay". I am trying to record it, because it's just too cute!

In the midst of it all, Abigail will throw in some Italian words, too. One of her favorites is "dai" (come on, get going). She uses it all the time when I am not up to speed with the things she wants me to do for her. If we go out for a walk, and she wants to go explore some place and I am slacking off somewhere, too slow for her taste, she'll call out to me and go: "Dai! Dai!", much like I say to her when she won't open her mouth for me for food she doesn't like :)

She'll also say "Hi", or "Eo" (for 'hello') when I put her on the phone with grandma Marie Grace. My mom absolutely loves it!!!

Of course, we are still far away from full blown conversations! But Abigail is very resourceful, and she has found many ways to communicate her wants and needs, even her feelings, to us. She is using ASL, too, the little I taught her is proven very useful, I am glad that both Christopher and I have been somewhat diligent in teaching her this skill.

Another detail that we have been noticing more and more is that Abigail actually asks us to tell her the name of things. For example, she will point at a cluster of pictures, and turn to me saying: "dat!". So I tell her: "those are pictures. PIC-TU-RES!", and she'll go "peas, peas...". Or, she will pull my leg as I turn on the blender in the kitchen, and when I pick her up she'll point at the blender, and say: "dat!". So I tell her: "That's a blender. BLEN-DER. I use it to mince things, to make your juices, and to cook. BLEN-DER". She'll say "bindeh". There are a lot of sounds Abbie has problems with, still. The "L" is a little hard for her, and of course more complex combinations are out of the question. But she'll give it a try nonetheless.

And, eventually, as my husband puts it, she'll be "talking our ears off". I can't wait!