There are some good things and some bad things about Benji starting to talk a bit more. One bad thing: We can’t do secret Christmas presents in front of him, because he’ll give stuff away! But mostly we have highlights of Benji talking:

– He calls fire or candles “poof,” because that’s how Nana’s has fireplace turns on.
– He can say tiller truck, as “tiwwa truck” and enunciates aid car and pumper truck clearly.
– He can say sea anemone, sea star, coral, and sea urchin, thanks to the Eric Carle Hermit Crab book.
– He calls cement mixers “bwabwabwa trucks,” making a bla/circling noise with his tongue. Other construction trucks are accurately rendered, however, except “suck truck” for pumper truck.
– Benji often says things like, “Red part gone? No.” (Referring to a visual timer.) Or “Nana bye-bye? No.” Or “More cheese please, yes!” (Telling us what to respond ahead of time.)
– When uncertain, he says, “Hmmmm… Hmmmmmmmmm…” and just keeps on saying that until someone tells him the answer. Continue Reading >>

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.
James 3:13ish

I keep trying to find ways to talk about Benji’s talking — typing different introductions, waiting a day or so, then deleting them. Nothing’s working for me, so I’m just going to jump in. Benji doesn’t use words to communicate much.

He does communicate, usually using elaborate pantomimes complete with sound effects (his way of saying “excavator” and “cement mixer” are hilarious and effective), throwing only a very few words in. When he does “say” something, it’s usually a minimally-articulated syllables, so “more, please” comes out “muh puh yes” (he does say “yeah” and “yes” quite clearly, and alas, has just this week added “no” and “nope” to his repertoire). Most of the time I have to interpret for him; only Ian, my mom, and Ian’s mom usually have a good sense of what Benji’s getting at. Even then, sometimes I have to help out there, too. Worst of all, from Benji’s perspective, is when I don’t even know what he’s trying to communicate. Then things get really frustrating. Continue Reading >>