2015, May: Things I Never Said Before

Declan has inspired me to utter many strange comments and questions. Most are directed at Christian, some are to Declan, and a couple are at daycare:

Has he done his giant poop yet today?
Where did I put the emergency nipple?
Is poop coming out the sides?
Baby vomit isn't that gross.
Baby pee on the wall is better than cat pee.
Oh good, he farted. That means he's still alive.
It's only vomit. I'll brush it out.
Yay! Poop!
Please try to make dinner without making a sound.
Do you think we need to upgrade nipples?
Yay! Burp!
Was that a dry burp or a wet burp?
What color was his poop today?
Can you come here and look at his penis?

I think we'll leave it there.

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2016, September: 100 Words

Declan reached 100 words today. (Realistically, he probably reached this number much sooner, since there are undoubtedly words that he uses at daycare that I haven't heard yet.) It's been a fascinating journey to experience. At his 15-month doctor appointment he had maybe five words. Now, at 19 months, he has at least 100. His speech has exploded with new words arriving almost every day. He knows colors, shapes, animals, vehicles... and SpongeBob, embarrassingly. (The full list of his first 100 words is below.) 100 words is a lot, but a long way from being enough for effective communication. This progression, and Declan's frustration when he cannot make us understand what he wants, has me thinking a lot about language development and about how many words would be enough? I've followed the Nieder family blog / Facebook page for many years now. I discovered them long before I had a kid, long before we even thought that children might be in our future. I don't re...

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