Status Update: Speech

One of the most amazing and hilarious aspects of watching Ruby grow up is listening to the things that come out of her mouth. Even though it's expected that kids Ruby's age can say a handful of words and understand basic commands, it never ceases to amaze me when she learns something new. Perhaps it's because I remember a time not long ago when she didn't even know she had feet, and nowadays she knows how to say shoe is two different languages, will go find her shoes when asked, and tries to put them on her own feet.

In the last few months, Ruby's vocabulary has grown significantly. She speaks an about equal mix of English and Mandarin and seems to understand both languages equally as well. Her favorite language appears to be the language of song, and she can often be found humming classics such as Frere Jacques, Old McDonald, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Ruby's current repertoire of words include:

1) Baby
2) Wa-wa (water)
3) Wa-wa (doll in Chinese)
4) Ball
5) Bowl
6) Chair
7) Shoe
8) Xie (shoe in Chinese)
9) Xiang (yummy in Chinese)
10) Na-na (grandma)
11) Na-na (banana)
12) Deng (light in Chinese)
13) Home
14) Bao-bao (bread in Chinese)
15) Bao-bao (pick me up in Chinese)
16) Gan-gan (cracker in Chinese)
17) Toe
18) Tou (head in Chinese)
19) Ya (teeth in Chinese)
20) Ah-she ah-she ah fa DONG (Ashes ashes we all fall down)

With this newfound expressiveness and increased understanding of the world, Ruby is seeming more and more like a little person. Just when I thought we had maxed out on cuteness during the baby days, I see her feeding herself dinner while exclaiming, "Xiang! Xiang!" or following me into the bathroom when I'm brushing my teeth and requesting, "Ya! Ya!" so she can brush her teeth next to me, standing on her tippy toes to see over the counter. Or we see this:



And we realize that she has simply taken the cuteness onto another level.