When Anna was teeny, she was a reluctant talker. Steven was always willing to give any word you threw at him a shot. Not Anna. She pretty much waited until she was capable of forming full sentences until any audible noises escaped her mouth.
It was thrilling watching Anna, and all of our kids, struggle to learn to speak. There is that brief period between about 20 months and 2 1/2 years where the words just don't quite come out right. The resulting efforts are delightfully fun to remember. In fact, pizza is still referred to as "pooti" in our home - a term that was coined by a two-year-old Steven.
Back to Anna -
The "V" in David was a tricky consonant for her, so the pronunciation of Uncle David was much closer to "Day-Did." I can still remember the day that she successfully pronounced "V" and being very sad her verbal skills had progressed. (Of course there's nothing cute about a fourteen year old talking baby talk - so I guess it's all for the best.)
Mimi, until a couple of weeks ago, struggled with the letter "L." She's not alone; "L" is a particularly vexing letter. Ellie was lovingly (and sometimes not so lovingly) referred to as "Eh-Yi." Unfortunately Mimi has now mastered the "L" sound. "Eh-Yi" is now closer to "Ah-Li." Still fun; but it's sad to see it go away.
In an effort to preserve a memory of those building blocks of language, we thought we'd better capture the moment. Thanks to my sound crew - Rebecca and Ellie - and my baby director - Anna.
