Let me just start by saying I am incredibly grateful that Alexis is ahead of the game on the whole verbal communication thing. I really, truly am because I understand just how frustrating it can be to know that a child wants something, but doesn't have the ability to tell you just exactly what that something is. Years of babysitting a little boy with Downs Syndrome taught me that lesson many times over. We have been blessed with a child that quickly figured out words are good, and fully intends to use as many words as she can in any given day. Any time she uses a new word, I do an excited little happy dance in my head and beam with pride. When she started to use sentences, I felt like I should install a neon sign above her head that said, "This is my daughter and she talks in sentences!" and pointed down to her.

But -oh- how these sentences are a double-edged sword.

Two months ago, if Alexis was thirsty, she would say, "Baba." It only took one time for my tiny little brain to grasp the concept and supply her with a toilet to drink out of (I kid, I kid, I showed her the bowl of water the cats and dogs use in the kitchen--it is filtered water, after all). Now she says, "I want a drink, please." Yeah, so that's really impressive and fantastic and all, but when she says it, it actually sounds more like, "iwannadink paa peez." My brain is old, and it is weak, and it takes me FOREVER to figure out what she is saying.

Yay! for advancing through the verbal communication stages but Boo! for making me think.

Bigger BOO! for making another Mom feel bad. Although, it is partly her own fault for comparing kids.

A little while back Alexis and I were over at a friend's house. There was another toddler there that is just shy of 4 months older than Alexis. That toddler is just now entering the land of words. She uses about 20 words routinely, but is certainly not as verbal as Alexis. I had noticed, but only because someone had asked me to pay attention due to some concern of whether the toddler was behind developmentally. I thought she seemed perhaps a bit behind where she should be, but probably not so far behind it was anything to be especially concerned about. If she were mine, we would be spending a lot of time working on words, but I probably wouldn't start calling in reinforcements just yet. My opinion was based in great part on the fact that the toddler started to repeat things that Alexis was saying. She learned a whole slew of new words such as snow, table, sit, and eat just in a matter of four hours. I think that's a pretty good sign that she just needs someone to focus on teaching her words.

That someone burst into tears and cried, "Alexis talks so much more than my daughter!" right after Alexis declared, "Look at the pretty snow!" (which sounded more like "Wookadapwettysnow" but obviously was intelligible to someone besides me). The mother and toddler left shortly thereafter, because she felt like it was too stressful to be there.

I felt bad about the whole thing for about ten minutes after she left. Then I realized I had nothing to feel bad about. I hadn't said a word to her about anything and I very highly doubt she knew I was even paying attention to her daughter's vocabulary. In fact, I wouldn't have noticed at all if I hadn't been asked to pay attention. What started as a concerned Aunt looking for consolation turned into a Mom's nervous breakdown. That is exactly why it's never a good idea to compare one kid to another. If I had done that, I would have been freaking out when Alexis didn't crawl until nearly 10 months then didn't walk until 13 months. I actually chose to enjoy the "my kid stays put" days, knowing full well that they would come to an end and life would never be the same.

Too bad I didn't do a better job of enjoying the days when I didn't need an interpreter fluent in toddler speak. Good grief my brain hurts these days.

(Bear had a baby. The father is a deadbeat and hasn't once shown his face, but her baby sure is cute.)