Words on words

Last week, I got an early childhood intervention assessment to fill out for Oliver. Some of the questions asked about his communication abilities: does he use any recognizable words?

At the time I got the assessment, I would have said, "I don't think so." Sometimes he said "dada" and sometimes he said things that sounded like Andrew or Evelyn. But it was never directed enough for us to be sure.

Today, however, Dan and I both witnessed Oliver clearly applying specific sounds to specific individuals. I'm still not sure about Evelyn, but it's clear that Dan is "dada" and Andrew is "ah-djoo."

Oliver stayed home from church today because of a cold, but when I approached the house with Andrew and Evelyn, Oliver got really excited and started repeating Andrew's name.

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that "Mama" wasn't his first word (it was for the other two kids). But if I have to play second fiddle, I'm really happy that Oliver loves his brother so much.