Proud

Lately (well a few months now) Matthew and I have been worried about Noah's speech.  He just really hasn't ever been a talker and we've realized that more after Carson started cooing and just making noises because Noah never really did much of  that.  At his last check up at 18 months they said they gain a lot of speech from then to 2 years so we have just been waiting for him to make up that ground.  Well he is almost 2 years old and he is finally starting to say more words each day, not as much as we would like but it's progress.  We have been going back and forth about whether to have him evaluated for it and possibly start meeting with a speech therapist but the last week he has really been showing us he can talk and has been doing it more often.  He also has moments that you can tell he is really listening to us and soaking things in.  We have really been trying to work with him more (Matthew more, he has so much patience and will tell him what something is 50 times to try and get him to say it)  He won't say anything on command and some words we have heard him say he may use one week but won't use it again for 2 weeks.  It's so frustrating for us, but I know it has to be for him too when we are always trying to guess what his signals and pointing mean and can't figure it out. 

 Tonight I was just so proud of him as he gave me a book and said "read this" and then he snuggled up next to me (which I love, he is such a lover sometimes now, a huge change from when he was younger) and he totally paid attention while I read book after book and interacted with me as I read it to him and asked questions.  In our Bob the Builder book, he loves the end where it has all the machines and he pointed to each one when I asked where that color was, then in another book he pointed out the cow, pig, duck and sheep, and in another he counted things with me and said his favorite number 6 when it was time.  It's nice to know he is learning because somedays it seems as if he doesn't hear a word we say.  We don't doubt that he's smart because he very much is and has proven that to us over and over but it's nice to have the reassurance that mom I do listen to you and I will prove it to you like he did tonight.  Now if we could just get him to vocalize all the things he knows, we will be so relieved!  I'm sure once he really does start talking he won't quit and I will look back and this and laugh.