Sometimes as parents, you have to just follow your gut. In our case, we knew that Thing 1 and Thing 2 were perfectly on par with the rest of their development (gross motor skill, cognitive, social, etc), so the speech thing was less troubling. Plus, they were preemies, boys, first children, and twins, all four risk factors for delayed speech. Add that to the fact they stayed at home with their dad for the first three years (no older kids around to model after) and we didn't let them watch tv for the first two years (kids really do learn a lot from Sesame Street) and we had two 3 year olds who were still speaking in two-word phrases and were barely understandable to anyone except for us.
But it's true what they say about watch what you wish for, because now they won't shut up. Actually, that is just a phrase for effect. They talk a lot, but I LOVE it!
Here are some awesome things they've said recently.
When I got home last night, I was telling Superman a story about Thing 1 and his friend from school. He had declared his new little Korean classmate his best friend, which I, as a prior ESL teacher, loved. (I'll tell this story in more detail later.) The boys overheard Superman tell me that he hopes Thing 1 and Thing 2 are always one another's best friend.
Thing 1: No. J----- is my best friend.
Thing 2: Yeah. B----- is my best friend.
Thing 1: Yeah, J---- is my best friend. And B----- is your best friend.
Thing 2: Yeah, (Thing 1) is my brother. B----- is my best friend, daddy!
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While I was making dinner, Thing 2 sat down at the table with a crayon and paper and seconds later said "(T) for (Thing 2)." Sure enough, I walked over and there was a perfect (well, almost perfect) letter scrawled on the paper. His first letter! Without me prompting him! Then he asked me to help him make the letters for the rest of his name. Yes, my kid with the speech delay can spell his name already.
Thing 1, not wanting to be left out of the action when he heard mom cheering and encouraging, came running over and proceeded to draw, unassisted, the first letter of his name. It was backward, but how adorable is that!?
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After my walk/jog last night, I picked the boys up at the driveway on their trikes and they did my walk the block cool down with me. Thing 1 was trailing behind with Superman, but Thing 2 was right up with me the whole time. We got to a T in the road, one way was up hill but back towards our house, the other way was down hill but away from our house. Thing 2 said "Let's go that way" pointing down the hill (they like to ride fast down the hills). And I said, "No, honey, we have to go this way, back towards our house for dinner." And he said "No mom. That way is too steep."
Seriously? What 3 year old says "that way is too steep."
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My last story happened while I was in Madison. Okay, another bad parent confession is that my kids know all of the words to the entire Bowling for Soup Hangover You Don't Deserve album. Their hands down favorite song is 1985 (which they call Woo-hoo-hoo), however most recently they've discovered hidden track 18 (which they call Hello). It's basically a reprise of another song, Ohio (Come Back to Texas), where the band members really drunkenly sing "(Insert decidedly Texas item) wants you back" over and over, laughing and burping a lot. After Superman got them out of the car one afternoon, they kept singing the song long after the radio was turned off, and the were making up their own phrases. "Thing 1 wants you back" "Thing 2 wants you back" "Kitty wants you back" "Doggies wants you back" (even though we don't have a dog!). Then, they told Superman that they wanted to call me and sing me the song. They proceeded to sing me about 10 verses. It was the sweetest thing!
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