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At sixteen months, Jax is talking enough to have a few "kids say the darndest things" moments already. Here's a few I want to remember from the last couple months.
A few months ago, maybe around April (so he would have been thirteen months), we were at my grandmother, Tita's house. At the time, "apple" was the word Jax used for any fruit or food he liked/wanted. We were in her front yard, and discovered small seed pods about the size of large grapes, perfectly round.
He picked one up and said, "Apple!"
I said, "Ball!"
He took one more look at it, then threw it across the driveway like he would with a ball.
We spent the next twenty minutes tossing "balls" up and down the driveway and lawn. At the time, he only had about 20-30 words, and I was grateful that even with that vocabulary, we clearly communicated with two words he knew well.
Fast foward to June, (he is fifteen months), and talking a lot more. We were down by the river, and he picked up a large rock out of the river bed. After taking a long look at it, he said, "Apple."
I said, "Rock."
Jax: "Apple."
Me: "Rock."
Jax: "Apple."
Me: "Rock."
Jax: "Apple."
Me: silence. I am arguing with a fifteen month old.
I posted this one on Facebook, but a few weeks ago, we were laying in my bed nursing. He still nurses to sleep at night, when he wakes up in the morning, and one or two other times during the day, usually around nap time. Sometimes while he is nursing, I check my email or Facebook on my phone. On this occasion, he decided to nurse only briefly, and sat up while I was typing a comment on Facebook. I kept typing, trying to finish what I wanted to say before going on with the day. My brain was half focused on what I was writing, and half realizing that Jax was saying, "Mommy. Mommy..! Mommy!! Mommy!!!" in the background. I just. wanted. to. finish. I don't usually ignore him. I usually respond, not only because I value responding to my children promptly, but because he will keep on like a broken record, repeating and escalating until he gets a response from me. Unfortunately, this time I didn't respond fast enough. He put his face between me and my iPhone, and said clearly, "Mommy! Ah- nah, Pone!" (all done, phone). That was his first sentence.
My sister Mercy got married a couple weeks ago. The wedding was beautiful, and held in a fancy Catholic church that her husband and his family belong to. Behind the altar are elaborate engravings, architecture, and near-life-sized sculptures of various saints. At the rehearsal, I walked toward the front of the church holding Jax. Ever the observant one, he stared openly at all the statues. Then he pointed and said, "Emo!" (elephant). I didn't respond because I was trying not to giggle. A moment later, very seriously, "Cow."