O Say

Dear Tucker,
You are almost sixteen months old.  And oh my word your language development over the last month has been remarkable.  At your fifteen month well visit, your pediatrician asked whether you had two or three words -- and your grandma explained that, yes, you had two or three dozen.  She wasn't exaggerating.  But since then your daddy and I have lost count.  You say "car" and "beep beep."  The menu of animal sounds from which we can order grows daily -- you'll do "quack quack" and "tweet tweet" and "woof" and "whooo" and "roar", among others.  You're able to identify several body parts, and can name "hair" and "eyes" and "toes."  You can (almost) count to two!  Jumping into the water or stacking blocks or doling out crackers, if we say "one", you say "two." 

And then you keep saying "two," for the third block, or the fourth cracker....

This weekend your cousin taught you to say "pool" instead of "bath" and your great aunts helped you master "wow" as you watched the fireworks.  When you're hungry, you most often ask for "bread" or "cheese" or "yogurt."  Today you learned from your grandma, as you devoured pasta salad, to say "noodle."  Sometimes your requests are prefaced with "pretty please."  This month you started putting words together -- "dog outside" and "more milk" and "please up."  You've begun to call some of your favorite people by name.  And one of your favorite things to say, for awhile now, has been "no no no..."
No matter what you say, Tucker, and no matter when you say it, we are thrilled that your words carry across the rooms of our home, and grateful that your voice carries us through each day.
There may not be words big enough to express our love for you, little boy.
Mama