Mom Comparisons

Leon’s got a huge vocabulary and understands two- and three-step commands. So I was shocked when a couple dozen moms in one of my Facebook groups commented with funny sentences their 20-month-old toddlers had been saying. Full sentences!

I had never compared Leon to other kids his age up until that moment. He had always been ahead on the developmental timelines so there wasn’t much to think twice about. I knew he’d figure out sentences eventually, and technically he has until 24 months to string two words together before we need to even think about worrying. But I was suddenly thinking about early interventions and speech pathologists and language therapy. Was reading 5-10 books to him each day actually enough? Is it OK that we read the same Arthur book over and over for 45 minutes at a time? Should I insist that we talk more about what we see in the pictures? Would he benefit if we actually let him watch a decent amount of TV?

When Minh and I picked Leon up from daycare yesterday, his teacher gushed about how much Leon’s been talking lately. With that Facebook thread in mind, I asked if she’s heard him put two words together. She said yes! — “he says ‘thank you’ and ‘no thank you’ and ‘I love you’ and…” She was so excited I didn’t have the heart to tell her that phrases that we’ve taught him don’t count.

Last night for my birthday celebration with Leon and Minh, we went out to eat in Plano and took pictures with the sunflowers in the field behind the restaurant. On the way back to the car, Leon confidently shouted, “Car blue!” I was so shocked and excited that I didn’t even correct him that the Jeep was actually black. On our walk home from the playground after dinner, Leon exclaimed, “Dog brown!”

I’m so excited that he’s now able to use two words at a time twice. All that time I was worrying he was actually so close to figuring it out. That’s what I get for doubting him!

Here’s my two favorite dudes in the sunflower patch last night. #cuuuuuuute