First words

In the last weeks Roan's vocabulary has started to blossom. It seemed like for the longest time she referred to pretty much everything - including me - as "dada". But now she can say all of these things, and knows what they mean:

• Mama
• Dada
• Dog
• Cat ("dak")
• Duck
• Quack (she loves to quack! but it sounds more like "kah")
• Sock ("dock")
• Hat ("at")
• Up
• Down
• Cheese ("she")
• Go (she says this crystal clear as she is zooming around the room or along the sidewalk)
• Food ("nana" as she calls it)
• Ice (which she says with a thick southern accent, "aaice"
  

I would have to say that the lightbulb has gone off in Roan's head as to the power of language. All of a sudden, by uttering a few simple syllables she can get what she wants (usually for me to pick her "up up" and give her some "nana"). She spends a lot of time babbling incomprehensibly too. She talks with such conviction it's as if she's fluent in a language we just don't understand.

This week I've started to see more toddler-like behavior. She's getting frustrated over the littlest things (like not being able to pick up something heavy, or not being coordinated enough to sort shapes) and have mini temper tantrums. She is also no longer placated by my attempts to distract her from unacceptable behavior. When she does something I don't want her to (like dig in the dog food), I try and offer her a choice of two alternate (acceptable) toys. The idea is it's a win-win. She gets to feel in control because she is making a choice, and I get her to stop doing the no-no without even saying "no."

This has worked beautifully up to now. But this week, when I show her the two toys she swats them both away and shakes her head emphatically almost to the point of meltdown. Guess it's time to pick up some new tricks!

Oh I should also mention she had her one year checkup and is 20 lbs 4 oz, 28 3/4 inches tall, in the 50th percentile for height and weight. And she is currently cutting her eighth tooth.