He speaks!

Henry has always been a bit advanced when it comes to size and physical activity (his mother said, ever so humbly). I think being born at 10 and a half pounds will do that to a person. He can already throw, catch, and kick a ball, use a spoon and a fork, open doors using doorknobs, stack toys/bowls/any item he can get his hands on, and do a lot of other things that don't usually come until 18 months or later.

Verbally however, he is a bit slower. He babbles constantly, but we haven't really heard actual words, other than sounds that occasionally sound like he might be saying something. Until now. The other day, we were on a walk, and we heard a dog barking. Henry stopped, looked toward the noise and said "dog". He did the same thing every time a dog walked by. It was very deliberate -- not at all one of those, "did he really say what I heard, or was that just a coincidental noise?" situations. Now every time we see/hear a dog, he says it. One of his favorite things to do is hold Albee's leash on our walks. He'll walk along and alternately say "dog" and make kissing noises (who knows why). It's stinkin adorable. Especially when he wears his Cubs track suit.

Today, we were getting ready to go outside and Henry picked up one of his shoes and said, "shoe." Then when I put them on his feet, he'd walk around and bend down every so often, touching his shoe and saying, "shoe". Again, very deliberate and clearly associated with an object.

I love that he is starting to talk. Especially since he's getting really frustrated with his inability to communicate. Plus, he babbles so much, I always want to know what he is saying. With all of his inflections, facial expressions and wild arm gestures, it sounds quite interesting.