Talking points

I recently came across a list I made of words that Uno could say at 15-1/2 months (the same age Tres is now). For comparison, here is Tres's list, with non-standard but consistent pronunciations in parentheses:

Mama
Dada
baby
hi
bye
night-night
all done (ahduh)
go go team (gogotee!)
diaper (biper)
more
book (buh)

Not too shabby for 15mo, right? Yeeeaaah. Now let's look at Uno's list, as recorded on April 25, 2004:

ADJECTIVES
Bad
Cold (Coe)
Cute (Cue)
Gross (Gwoe)
Hot
Owie (Awwie)
Yucky

NOUNS
Baby (Babah)
Back
Ball (Baa)
Bathroom (Bawoo)
Blanket (Bakie)
Book
Breakfast (Bafa)
Bunny (Buhyah; Bay)
Cat (Mow)
Cheese
Clothes (Coe)
Cracker (Caca)
Cup
Diaper
Dog (Oof-oof)
Duck (Guk; Cack-Cack)
Ear (Aw, pointing to ear)
Eye (Aw, pointing to eye)
Hair (Haa)
Hat (Hot)
Head (Heh)
Hippo (Happo)
Juice
Magazine (Maga)
Milk
Moon (Moo)
Night (Ny)
Nose (No)
Pants (Pass)
Pictures (Picka)
Plate (Pay)
Poop
Prayer (Peh)
Shoe
Shirt (Sh*t)
Sock (Cock)
Spoon (Poo)
Toes (Toessytoe -- for "tootsie toes," my word)
Window (Endo)

PROPER NAMES
Billy (Bee)
Bobby (Baa)
Camilla (Milka)
Dada
Eliza (Paa)
Esther (Essa)
Mama
Mary (Meh; Mehmeh)
Meghan (Maga)
Mimi
Paul (Paa)

VERBS
Don't (Doe)
Go
Help (Hap)
Open (Opa)
Pray (Pay)
Stop it (Topit)
Talk
Walk

PHRASES / MISC
Fell down (Fa dow)
Here you go (A-go!)
Help you (Hapoo -- really she means "help me" when she says this)
Hi, you!
No
Out


Poor Dos doesn't even have a list, so I have no idea how her verbal abilities compare (though she has a big vocabulary for her age now). Looking this over, I'm simultaneously amazed at what I figured at the time was Uno's normal language development and disappointed that Tres isn't getting the same attention (or something) to develop her skills. I don't worry that she's behind or anything -- but SHEESH. What a contrast.

My mom says that subsequent babies often speak later or less than their older siblings because they have plenty of people to do the talking for them -- but her own family doesn't bear that out: I was a #3 and the most verbally precocious of the bunch; #8, the baby, came in a close second; we both spoke in elaborate and clearly enunciated sentences before our second birthdays.

I'm sure Tres will catch up. With (humble) me for a mom and such a Chatty Cathy for a dad, how could she not? ;-) It's just crazy to see how different the girls are. (Or at least these two, since I don't recall how well Dos talked at this age.)


~RCH~