Talking talking talking!

In January we had to take Christian in to the pediatrician for a developmental evaluation.  Since he did not walk until he was 18 months and 1 week and wasn't speaking very much at his 18 month check-up, the doc wanted us to get him evaluated, even though she wasn't particularly worried that there was anything wrong.  At the evaluation, he was walking but was still not speaking much.  Mostly, he said "car".  Everything was a car.  Actually, we started thinking that he was using the word "car" to ask us, "What is that? And that?"  Every time he would say car, we told him the name of the thing he was pointing at.  He started saying, "Car?"  It was definitely a question.  :)

The evaluation was an eye opener for me.  She asked him to do things that I didn't realize I should be asking him to do, and he DID things I didn't realize he COULD do.  The evaluator did list him as officially delayed and wanted me to bring him back if he was not making progress in a month or two.  Fortunately, since the evaluation he has grown in words and skills every day.  Around the time he started talking, he also got his first ear infection.  It proved to be a nasty bugger that took 8 weeks and three rounds of antibiotics to make go away.  After the infection was finally gone, there was still fluid on his ear drums, which affected his hearing, although I don't feel it has affected his speaking very much yet.  His words are mostly clear although there are some sounds that he can not say very well. He got ear tubes on May 23rd and I think his speaking has already improved.  Since it wasn't too bad, the difference is subtle but he starting to gain some beginning and ending sounds he did not make before.

He has finally moved from single words to two word phrases including, "Car go!" "3-2-1 Blastoff" (which sounds more like "tree-two-one dast off!" and "Mommy car".
Like an little kid learning language for the first time, he says some funny words.  My favorite mispronunciation right now is "bupcake".  We have been reading If You Give a Cat a Cupcake which is one of his current favorites to read, especially the page where they are visiting the science museum and seeing the dinosaurs!   He keeps asking for "Bupcake! Bupcake!" :)