First Words

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but last night I was really kicked into gear.

For the past 1.5-2 months or so she's been saying "Dada" with intent.  For a while she called everything that she saw "da da da da da..." and Justin of course loved to rub that in my face :)  Apparently (says the pediatrician and every book/internet source out there), the "D" sound is much easier for babies to make.

Right around 10 months she started saying "Dog".  Of course it doesn't sound exactly like dog, more like "A-duh".  You're probably saying to yourself: "Lauren, you're delusional."  I would've thought the same thing pre-baby.  However, at her 9 month appointment, the pediatrician told us that she'll say words that don't sound exactly like what they are, but if she says the same thing consistently when referring to an object/person/animal etc, then it is considered a "word" in her vocabulary.  Every morning, I go into Gwen's room to get her up and I'll usually sit her on the floor to play with her for a while.  Our lazy dog, Jackson will wake from his beauty rest and leisurely make his way into her bedroom.  When Gwen was 10 months, she started saying "A-duh! A-duh! A-duh!" in an excited, high-pitched voice and pointing to him as he walked into the room.  She'll also say it to him throughout the day.

Now comes my motivation for finally writing this post:
Last night, Justin and I had Gwen practice her walking.  We sat a few feet from each other on the living room floor and had her walking back and forth between us.  Of course she was all excited because the girl loves to walk.  Then it happened, she was walking towards me, and she (finally) yelled "MAMA!!" Yaaayyyyyy :)