The Fabulous Fifteen

Airplane. Bowling Ball. Touchdown. Remote. Yogurt. Cracker. Ceiling. Toothbrush. Lawnmower. Ocean. Birdie. Believe it or not, these are some of the many words that have entered into Taj's vocabulary! The more challenging, the more syllables the word has, the more Taj wants to say it! Meet our 15 month old Chatterbox!! I was looking up "language development of toddlers" the other day on the internet only because in the last month (since NY) we have had so many people comment how verbal Taj is, and parents at the playground with similar age children are amazed at all the things Taj is able to say. Well, according to what I have been reading, Taji's language development is within the 18-24 month age group!!!! He has bionic hearing and vision too (he can hear a plane or truck the second it goes by from inside the house, and can spot a ball or plane from a mile away!) He is eager to speak in sentences, saying "hi Mama" and "hi Dada" when we say hi to him, says "All Done" and does the hand sign when he is done eating or playing with something. He repeats phrases such as "Awe Man!", "Hey Baby!", "I dunno?", and says "Aye Baba, Aye Wawa, or Aye Ball" (his rendition of "I want____"). Its so fun, basically you can get him to say anything! He knows and says 2 simple prepositions ("up" and "down"), He also counts to 3, when I begin with 1! He can point to 6 of his body parts when you ask where they are (head, ears, nose, belly, toes, and "wee wee"- that one he learned by accident when he was in the bathtub LOL ) And get this..... he now repeats "thank you" and "please"!!

Here is a video montage of some clips I took over the last week, i was trying to get our little Taji to perform and do some of his verbal magic on camera! Pay close attention to the playground scene, he now prefers the big kid jungle gym ..... quite the dare-devil!

the taji 15 from jana grover on Vimeo.

Brad and I have been wondering where he's getting all his genius attributes...... i mean we are both smart but i wouldn't consider us above average intelligence by any means (i know because I tested both of our IQs during my school psychology graduate studies! ha ha) I really think its a combo of heredity and environment. From the picky minimal diet he does consume, he eats lots of Omega-3 foods: blueberries, strawberries, spinach, broccoli, salmon, eggs, flaxseed and whole wheat products on a regular basis, and still drinks his toddler formula which is packed with nutrients and vitamins (i am gonna keep up with the formula until he is 2, because I don't believe kids at this age can get all the vital nutrients from just milk and the little solids they eat and are choosey about..... especially since their brains continue to grow at a rapid pace!) Did you know that "between ages 1 and 2 the cerebral cortex adds more than 2 million new synapses — the connections between brain cells — every second," [according to Zero to Three, a nonprofit educational group.] "By age 2, a toddler will have more than 100 trillion synapses — the most he'll ever have in his life, and part of the reason why he has such an incredible capacity to learn."

I continue to give Taj the DHA and fish oil daily supplements (he loves the Dr. Sears fruit chews brand for toddlers). Both Brad and I also do a diligent job labeling things for him, and asking him to repeat us. We are also addicted to reading, and checking out variety of books from our library. What I try to do every couple of weeks is check out books based on the vocab he is saying (such as trains, trucks, ducks, counting, body parts, etc.) He totally digs this, and he understands what I am reading to him, and later I find him flipping through these books and labeling those familiar things. I really believe this speeds up his language acquisition. Music is also key, occasional Baby Einstein DVDS where he is labeling familiar things he sees, as well as listening to Czech storytellers on cd (ceske pohadky) when we are in the car, or listening to classical music.

Some of you may not know that becoming a mom the first time around and having a boy for that matter made me extremely nervous since I have dedicated the last 8+ years to working with young kids with Autism and disabilities. Although I am grateful to have learned so much, and have the ability to teach these children how to talk and play (using the ABA/DTT and other play methods) this has also made me very paranoid. Paranoid that my own children could potentially face these neurological challenges...... and boys are the high statistics (now double that when you have a 2nd boy on his way!) Call me neurotic or obsessive or what you may, but that is the reason this last year I have poured my heart and soul into researching organic foods, plastics, immunizations, household chemicals, food additives, formulas, language acquisition.... oh the list goes on and on. I made it my mission and dove right into preventive measures, always keeping myself updated on the newest breakthrough or healthiest food and supplement out there. I stick to what works and what has produced results, and maybe we are just truly fortunate that Taj is as bright as he is, but I have this feeling that all these components have assisted along the way. Brad and I couldn' t be more proud of Taj accomplishing these incredible milestones and his love for learning. He continues to blow us out of the water, and what an amazing role model he will be for his little brother! With everything that went on this year at my job, becoming a full-time mom was a blessing in disguise. It is something I was meant to do and am really good at! I have never been more passionate about something as important as raising, teaching, and nurturing my pride and joys. This is our time, to enjoy every waking moment as a family. :)

Since Taj loves learning, reading, and TALKING, we have ordered this cool reading program called My Baby Can Read! I can't wait to do this with him at home. The testimonial videos of real babies reading is truly amazing, just check out this video about baby Lauren (I especially love the 15 month progress of her talking), Brad and I were beside ourselves impressed so we just had to order this program for Taji! If Taj is reading like this in the new few months then I will definitely use it with Baby Jax as early on as I can!