PBS Parents says that I’m still correct in calling Poppy my “baby.” I was worried that she had stumbled into toddler territory, but they say she’s a baby until she hits 18 months. Which means I still have a few months left. Thank you, PBS Parents.

I wasn’t really looking for validation on that point this morning, though. I was looking for some info on Poppy’s vocabulary. I’ve read that parents should talk to their babies to help them learn to speak. Most places suggest basically talking your way through the day — “Now I’m putting away the dishes.” “Now I’m brushing baby’s hair.” I’ve tried to do that, but I don’t talk much as it is (Rockford might tell you otherwise; don’t listen to him), and I’ve found that I forget to do it much of the time. This is not to say that it’s silent around here. We spend most of our day reading and playing. I just feel like I haven’t done a great job at the talk-all-day thing. I’m most successful with it when I’m cooking. I just pretend I’m doing a cooking show with an audience of one.*

Anyway, I was wondering how Poppy was doing with her language skills, so I turned to the PBS Parents site. And here’s what it had to say:

During this period [up to 18 months], your baby goes from having a couple of babble-words to a speaking vocabulary of about 20 words. She won’t necessarily pronounce those words correctly because the small muscles that support her mouth and lips are still developing. Many babies will speak one word at a time, but often mean whole sentences by these words. For example, a baby who says, “Mo” may mean “I want some more milk.”

So I made a list last night of Poppy’s words. I think there are a few we’ve left off; if they come to me, I’ll add them. Here they are:

hello

hi … her first word. she’s very sociable.

bubbles

Mama

Daddy

Bible

shoe

apple

Target … her most recent word. and what does that say about how (and where) we spend our time? at least she hasn’t said “tall Peppermint Mocha” yet.

Papa … from watching two episodes of the Berenstein Bears, roughly two months apart.

bow-wow

Elmo … this seems to be her catch-all word for the television.

potty … and this is the catch-all for the bathroom. it’s a start.

night-night

bye-bye

Pooh

go

baby

alright … as seen on They Might Be Giants’ “Here Come the ABCs”

no

please … we’re working on context for this one

oh no

uh-oh

seal

neigh

moo

baa

nose

eye

wow

nice

key

jump

She doesn’t use them all with great frequency, but with the exception of “please,” she uses them all in the correct context.** I’m a little surprised that she doesn’t say “yogurt” yet. She’s a little yogurt fiend. Instead of saying it, she just latches her little hands around the refrigerator’s door handle and wails. It’ll be nice when she is able to say, “May I have a yogurt please?” But I’ll take a little wailing if it means I get to hang on to “baby” for a little while longer.

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*When I was coming out from under anesthesia after having my wisdom teeth removed, I said, “I had a cooking show.” So says Rockford, anyway.

**I’m willing to give her “potty” and “Elmo” on this one.