Reading into Speech

It could possibly be argued that dog was Clara Grace’s first word. It is even more probable that Da-da was her second utterance with meaning, and Clara Grace’s mommy wonders whether or not she might have spoken her third word on Sunday, May the 29th. This all came about, ironically, in a church service during which Clara Grace’s mommy was doing her utmost to keep the little girl quiet. Numerous toys lay strewn below the pew at Mommy and Daddy’s feet, but finally, a shoe seemed to hold the baby’s attention for longer than the customary thirty seconds. Clara Grace pressed the shoe to mommy’s nose, then to her eye. She rubbed the shoe up and down mommy’s cheek and then shoved it into her mommy’s smiling mouth. At this she giggled and uttered what sounded very much like “Eat!” As with her other forays into speech, the merits of this imperative could be debated; however, she did only speak the word when the shoe was thrust into the exact location where she has observed the act of eating occur. “Eat” does also seem like a word that she has had ample opportunity and motivation to acquire.

Michigan Milestones

Clara Grace’s grandpa was hoping to see her achieve one major milestone during the week of her first visit to Michigan. As it turned out, he got his wish several times over. On Sunday, May 29th, Clara Grace pulled herself to her feet in order to meet her daddy in the morning. He reported to her mommy that he found her standing up and gripping the crib bars tightly. Clara Grace also found a new melodic way of talking that week. It involved her upper register and most of her conversation came out as cheerful singing. Finally, while Clara Grace was still by far a better backwards crawler, she did find enough inertia to get herself moving forward during the stay at her grandparent’s house.

Sit Ups

Clara Grace’s mommy went in to greet her daughter on the morning of Sunday, May the fifteenth. There was Clara Grace, sitting up in her crib and proudly waiting for someone to notice.

As Good as it Gets

On Thursday, May twelfth, Clara Grace, her mommy, and her daddy all went to a party. During the mingling, many people tried to figure out exactly which parent the little girl took after. “I can’t tell,” they all concluded, “When her mommy holds her, she looks like her, and when her daddy holds her, she looks like him.” “She is a good mix,” Clara Grace’s mommy told them proudly, “that is exactly what we wanted.” Furthermore, as more of the baby girl’s personality is revealed day by day, it is clear she got the very best of not only each parent’s looks, but of their inner traits as well. For example, she seems to be as curious, excitable, and determined as her mommy, and as content, happy, and playful as her daddy. All of this goes to make Clara Grace a truly amazing baby.

Mother's Day Resolutions

On Mother’s Day, Clara Grace’s family celebrated with a picnic outside after church. Clara Grace sat on her Grandma’s lap and was quizzed over three familiar words. Unfortunately, it became quite plain that she was most familiar with the word dog. A close second was the word daddy, and then bringing up the rear was mommy. “Where’s the dog?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace looked down at Katie who was making a general nuisance of herself by scrambling over people’s feet under the table. “Where’s daddy?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace turned toward her daddy and grinned. “Where’s mommy?” Grandma asked. Clara Grace looked at Uncle Jimmy. “No, that’s not mommy, where’s mommy?” Grandma tried again. Clara Grace began to suck on her toes. “I’m right here,” her mommy called dejectedly. “Remember me? Happy mother’s day and all that?” Daddy snickered, obviously a bit pleased with the turn of events. “Well,” Clara Grace’s mommy asked, “how do you think she learned your name so well, hmm? And maybe if someone said ‘there’s mommy!’ whenever I walked into the room, she would know my name too.” Slightly less smug, her daddy promised to put more effort into teaching the word mommy from then on. Good to his word, her daddy wore out the word “mommy” that afternoon. By evening, Clara Grace knew it as well as daddy, but, try as he might, “dog” was still the front-runner.

First Mother's Day

Clara Grace’s first Mother’s Day fell on the eighth of May. Before mommy awoke, she and her daddy secretly cleaned the entire house. After that, they cooked a marvelous breakfast for mommy over an open fire. After mommy unwrapped a box from daddy containing all sorts of jewelry, Clara Grace decided it was her turn. For several weeks, she had been preparing her gift with much secrecy by building lip strength with funny sucking sounds and many spit bubbles. Now, the time had come and she proudly blew her very first raspberry. To the little girl’s extreme delight, her stunned mommy and daddy praised her profusely and laughed hysterically. Their reaction resulted in a bumper crop of raspberries that morning. The excitement carried on into the afternoon when Clara Grace found it even more fun to blow raspberries with a mouthful of sweet potatoes. Not only was a better sound possible, but daddy’s face was splattered with orange goop and mommy was thoroughly amused. Of course, after the second time, mommy decided laughing might not be the best reaction since it would be her turn to feed little Clara Grace next. In the end, both parents resorted to a firm, “Not while we’re eating.” And the raspberries held off for dessert.