A word on...

jargoning: an unintelligible language expressed with all of the conviction of understandability.

Ayden talks a lot... with variation in sounds and inflection. He knows exactly what he is saying to us, but we don't understand most of what he is trying to communicate. Apparently, children who can jargon have perfectly understandable conversations with each other, as evidenced by Ayden's interactions with other children. I wish I knew what they were telling each other or what Ayden tells Bryan everyday when he gets home from work. (He's probably telling on me!)

We can interpret some of what our son is communicating. Ayden uses "da" to mean "dad," "mom," "thank you," and any number of other things. Occasionally, he will say words that resemble "yes," "no," or "done." Two nights ago, he repeated "night, night" after me. He can also "moo" like a cow, and he attempts to imitate his daddy's impression of Looney Tunes' Taz. He can say "all done" and "more" in sign language, but he uses them most correctly in the context of eating. He waves "bye," which is often an attention getter as he leaves therapy or Target or wherever.

Even though we don't often understand Ayden, we are positive that he understands what we are saying. A lot of what he has begun to comprehend has come from everyday routine. For example, "Ayden, put your arm through your shirt hole." or "Ayden, put your pacifier in your crib." He enjoys the repetition of song, such as with the "Itsy Bitsy Spider," for which he does the hand motions. He also follows the instructions that characters give him on tv; for instance, today he was patting his legs because a character on Little Einsteins was telling him to do so. We know he understands when we tell him not to do something. It is interesting to watch the inner workings of his mind as he contemplates whether or not obedience is worth not doing something he really wants to do.

"The itsy bitsy spider..."

When Bryan was a toddler, he didn't speak at all until he was two years old. He then spoke in complete sentences. I guess he was silently studying and perfecting the language. I, on the other hand, was a jargoning blabbermouth. I guess Ayden takes more after me in this regard.