Soooo Close

Nicholas is getting so close to talking. He is saying bunches of things that I swear sound like words, but he has done this before and they just turned out to be his syllable of the week and were quickly forgotten.

But today when he was playing peekaboo by hiding behind the wall, he would say "a-boo" when he peeked out. That and laugh like crazy, of course. And when he heard the lightrail (which we just call "a train") this evening while we were out on a walk, he lifted his arm (which is what he does in greeting or when he sees something he is excited by) and said "a-tray."

Now, these are likely just coincidences, but between those and the suddenly frequent use of "ma" syllables around me, I think he is getting really close. However, it is Nicholas so what will likely happen is that he will now stagnate at this point for months. It is just what he does. He gets 90% of the way to a new skill and then just stays there for months on end before connecting the last dot. It is what he is currently doing with walking, it is what he did with sitting. (Remember when he had to have a pillow behind him for months because he could sit up fine most of the time but would randomly throw himself backwards sometimes?)

But today at daycare he was repeating "agua" to the teacher, so at least he talks in Spanish if not in English. (And I think she was right that it was intentional rather than random because she said that after he did it each time he did his cute raised shoulders, hunched back shy-looking smile that he has started doing when he knows he did something good. I know that description doesn't sound cute, but I can't find the words to describe it. Until I capture it on the camera you will just have to trust me that it is adorable. In fact, I think it is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. He is so aware of himself now!)