“Do you understand the words that are coming outta my mouth?!” — Chris Tucker in Rush Hour

Learning to talk is a big deal. Heck, I’m 30 and I barely have a handle on the English

language when I speak (and write…). So, needless to say, witnessing and helping Sophia learn to talk has been fun, awesome, entertaining, and sometimes, downright hilarious.

It’s true that toddlers have their own language. They point at something, let’s say a tree, and say “teeeee”. Or they point out the door and say “oweeesiiiiiiii”. Or, perhaps they just associate certain words with certain things. For instance, Sophia points to her crib and says “Nigh Nigh”. It’s toddler word association at its finest. The number one word that I’ve taught her so far? Dude. Once she mastered that, I thought to myself: “Life’s work? Oh yeah, consider it complete now.”

I love when Sarah gets home at night with Sophia and there’s a note from the daycare teacher saying “Sophia said ‘butterfly’ today.” It’s just an incredible thing to see. As adults, we take so many things for granted, like being able to walk and talk. I wish I could remember how difficult it was to learn to walk, or how frustrating it was to try to get what I wanted when I couldn’t voice it.

We see that frustration come through Sophia A LOT. Usually when she wants something in the kitchen or the fridge and she just points and says things we can’t understand. In her head, she’s asking us quite clearly for something. But, we have no idea what she wants. Eventually, we narrow it down and happiness and order are restored. That is one of the nice things about Sophia learning more and more words, every day it seems. She can communicate with us much easier, which I’m sure goes without saying, but it sure does make things easier.

It’s great when we read to her and she points things out and can tell us what they are. Colors, shapes, counting, names, animals. It really does bring joy to both Sarah and myself. Our little girl is learning and we couldn’t be happier.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include some recent video. Who needs a gardener when you have a  20-month old who can clean up your leaves?