At first I thought he was referring to his bottle. I’d ask if he wanted milk. He’d flash me the ASL (American Sign Language) sign for “all done,” which is Jaden’s way of saying NO, usually vehemently. I thought, ‘maybe he doesn’t understand that I am offering him a bottle’? So I’d pull the bottle out of the refrigerator and show it to him – again I’d get the sign for “no” – this time with a furious look on his face as if wondering “what is wrong with you- didn’t I just tell you NO?!”

We had an idea that we might know what he was saying with ‘baba’ but we didn’t have it confirmed until tonight. Rick figured it out for sure. It seems that all this time Jaden was saying Mama. Yes, baba==Mama in Jaden speak. Evidently we must talk with a very nasal tone (haha – no one from LI is nasal, right?), or maybe the ‘b’ sound is just a common first attempt at the ‘m’ sound.

The thing that threw us off for so long is that there was one afternoon we had popped in the “Baby Signing Time” DVD #2 and they sign “mom”. Every time the woman on the DVD said “mom” Jaden repeated it. I guess it was just pure mimicking rather than actually knowing he was saying mom since he hasn’t done it since then, and when Neville points to me and says “who is that?” he says “Baba baba baba….” So there you have it. Baba and Dada are SO proud of their angel. First words are beautiful.

Seriously, has it been 3 weeks since I last posted? Where does the time go????

This past week was huge for our little guy. He has built up his walking to a full 6 steps. His MO is to stand up holding onto the giant, TV-protection gate or a toy large enough to support him, then turn his body ever so slightly to aim for me (or Neville), and finally make a run for it. He takes as many steps as he can until he falls into me. He’s been testing himself out more and more by starting out a little further away from me each time. It’s very cool to watch, and has added years to my life with all the laughter it brings.

This morning Jaden woke up happy, gurgling like he usually does when he wakes up happy. He started climbing, as usual, to stand up by the front rail on the crib, but this time, instead of yelling “aaaahhhhhhh” at the top of his lungs to call me to come get him, he simply said “up.” Wow. How amazing that a simple little word can make my heart leap with joy. Neville came running upstairs because he heard Jaden over the monitor, and said “did I just hear him say ‘up’?” What fun we had this morning.

This evening we are going to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas. I’m not even sure who is going to be there besides my mother-in-law and father-in-law, but I’m sure it will be fun. We will be at my parents for Christmas since we leave from there shortly thereafter for our vacation to Arizona. Hooray!!

Speaking of vacation, I’d better start my packing list. It would help to get that done today, since I have to pack tonight and tomorrow. Packing has become a much greater challenge now that I have to worry about my stuff AND Jaden’s stuff.

Have a wonderful week!