First Words!

On Sunday, September 11, our Little Man gave me a very special present – his very first word!

He and his sister were in their room. They were in rare form, amusing themselves. He was sitting up in the crib, and she was nearby playing and singing. I walked in on them, rather unexpectedly, and he startled – first in surprise and then in joy – and exclaimed: ¡Mamá! His immediate and obvious joy at his accomplishment seemed to prove his having used the term meaningfully, and he has since continued to say: ¡Mamá! in meaningful contexts.

Eleven days later, on September 22, he spoke the next most meaningful word!

We were at the airport, waiting for JM to arrive. When DJM first saw his Daddy, who had been gone for almost three weeks, he hesitated, studying him very seriously. Then he gave a little jump of joy. And then in response to my question: ¿Quién es? ¿Es Papá? He repeated: ¡Papá!

A few minutes later in the parking lot, we captured a similar moment on video:

Because DJM is growing up with two languages (as Elizabeth did), I frankly did not expect him to talk before his first birthday. Elizabeth attempted her first word/phrase la luz [/la lu/] almost one week after her first birthday. Because bilingual children tend to be later than their peers in their first attempts to speak, DJM’s earlier start probably means that we have another little talker in our lives!