Quirky Yanka

This is an amazing time in Ian's development. He walked right out of babyhood with his first steps, and his brain switched its focus from large motor to language. His vocabulary had been pretty stable at about five words for several months, first words including Mama, Papa, num-num, and tickle-tickle. In the last about six weeks especially his vocabulary and sound effect repertoire have exploded! I counted nineteen animal noises alone, not to mention other wonderful sounds Mr. Brown can do (Dr. Seuss). His memory is impressive, too--when we're reading together he often anticipates a page or two ahead with the appropriate word or sound. Yesterday he cracked us up when the girl who had just babysat for us was bowing her head to pray over dinner, and he said, "Amen!" He'll try even the most difficult words, like "pozhalusta" (please and you're welcome). It comes out so cute--"peh-DA-peh-da", with great intonation and the right rhythm. As Great-Aunt Ann says proudly and knowingly, "He's very advanced."

He's also very stubborn. We think Yanka consciously said Papa even before Mama, and said it consistently in the fall. This made Papa very happy. Dan had been saying "Papapapapapapapapapa" for months in an effort to be first. Then, for unexplainable reasons, Ian decided that Dan was also Mama. He absolutely insists that Dan is Mama. He's eager to learn and say everything under the sun except "Papa". We've tried everything--consistent correction, reverse psychology, having Dan only respond to "Papa"... And still he'll point to Dan and say with his sweet, innocent voice, "Mama?", with that mischievous gleam in his eye. Poor Papa.