A Runaway Mommy

I remember clearly the time when I didn't think Corbin would ever talk.  Whereas Abby started saying words at 6 months and was talking in sentences by a year, Corbin barely uttered any words until he was two years old.  I recall having dreams before he talked about hearing him speak -- and waking up to think, "that day will never come!"

Well, the day came...and that's the end of that!  The boy will not close his mouth!  While still not as "wordy" as Abby, he is definitely right on track -- if not advanced -- for his sex and age.  What did I do before I got to hear his thoughts directly from his sweet little mouth all day??  Such a joy for him to be able to share himself in that way now!

I whole-heartedly believe that how much we read has been a great contributing factor in his surge of speech lately.  The kids have been incorporating phrases and words from the books we read into their daily conversations more and more frequently, and to hear Corbin doing this, especially after going so long without hearing a peep from him, makes my heart swell! 

The other night I was putting him to bed and was sitting in the rocking chair in his room praying while he was trying to calm down and doze off.  He would periodically roll over and check to make sure that I hadn't left him.  Then, out of the blue, he turned to me and said, "Mommy, you run away from me I will FLY after you, 'cause you my Mommy!"  While we had to return Runaway Bunny awhile ago, I immediately recognized the phrasing he was borrowing from it.  I said, "Oh yeah?  What if I climb a mountain to get away from you?"  He grinned and said, "I climb up high and come get you, 'cause you my Mommy!"  We did this back and forth for a couple of minutes before I told him that it was time to go to sleep.  It was fun for us to be able to play that game together, having both shared in the tale of the the little runaway bunny and his mommy. 

Both Corbin and Abby have been absolutely obsessed with Sam and the Tigers by Julius Lester over the last couple of weeks.  Randomly one of them will say, "Sam, I'm going to eat you up," to which the other will respond, "Uh uh...I don't like that idea.  Take my red coat instead!"  They go back and forth acting out Sam's encounter with the tigers, using new words they have picked up such as "indeed", "fine", and "declared".  Daddy and I will chime in, too, and act out the different scenes.  I am seeing how these books are introducing new words that I never would have thought to intentionally teach my toddlers and preschoolers, and they are using them in creative and correct ways!  Chalk it up as one more benefit to reading aloud on a daily basis!!

Tomorrow is library day, so I'm sure I'll be checking back in with a list of our loot!  Happy reading!