Stinger's New Words

I thought it was time for a Stinger update.  Stinger can now say approximately 20 words!  Or maybe I should say he can say 20 words, approximately!  Here are some examples:

"ommy" = Mommy
"addy" = Daddy
"I ov oo" = I love you
"an oo" = thank you
"ose"= nose

and my favorite two words...

"yo" meaning Stinger
"er" meaning Bumble (sister or her)

Here is an example of the "conversation" that takes place between him and I every morning.  When he wakes up in the morning he asks, "airs er"  meaning, "Where is sister?"  Then at breakfast he asks for a "bowl" which he pronounces pretty accurately.  I give him the bowl and he politely says, "o, an oo ommy!" Then I pour his cereal in the bowl and he announces emphatically "YO, YO, YO"  which means "Don't you dare get the spoon mommy. I want to get it!" It makes me laugh every morning. 

A concern that his speech therapist has for him is the initial consonant deletion. He tends to not say the first consonant sounds of words.  It is more common for toddlers to leave off the ending of words instead of the beginning.   Also he is not consistent with words after we know he can say them.  Sometimes "apple" which he can say correctly comes out "upple", "ubble", or even "appy", which make it hard for me to understand what he really wants.  Another word that he switches is "ball" and "bowl" which we know he can say correctly.  She is however happy with the progress he is making.  I remember when we first moved here I was still waiting for him to call me mommy.  Now he "calls" me out of bed every morning!

Even though his speech is behind a little, he understands everything we say! He knows and can identify the alphabet as well as the numbers 1 to 10.  He knows his colors as well.  He is even able to read a few words like "me", "ball", "hi", "mommy", and "daddy."  Stinger continues to be my little singer as well.  He has pitch and you can identify the song he is singing by the tune.  His favorite Christmas songs are "Away In A Manger" and "Jingle Bells."  He still seems to learn words by singing them versus saying them.  He also started playing with toys a lot more. His favorite toys are balls, puzzles, and anything with wheels, including trains!