Milestones

Perhaps a vacation prompts me to pay closer attention to my children and their milestones. Or perhaps a vacation provides enough of a change in their environment and routines to launch them into some new milestones. Either way, each of my children made some pretty significant strides during our stay in Orlando.

Tucker

Tucker's langauge took off. I really suspected that an introduction to Mickey Mouse might launch him into paragraphs, and that is just what happened. He has become a man of many words, always with something to say; he even puts words together now, into phrases and small sentences. He literally added dozens and dozens of words to his vocabulary, and he reminds us of them every day.

With very little prompting, he will casually tell anyone all about Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Manny, Duck, the giraffe with a long neck, the big drink, the big ball, the truck that went boom-boom-boom, the boat (that would be It's a Small World - the only event that brought tears upon its ending... which prompted us to get in line again), and how much he loved to swim. I could tell you more about each one of those, but you should really just ask him. He'll tell you.

Such a delight.

Tyler

Tyler began the trip with the occasional solid foods here and there, but he was largely still committed to his beloved baby food jars. No texture, thank you very much. But one look at a french fry, and he wasn't turning back. He is fully into solid foods now, all on his own. (Which has led to blissful independence at mealtimes, unless I sit beside him. At which point his sticky hands are all over me, asking for more of whatever I am eating. Speaking of textures, I could do with a little less of them inside my elbow.)

Also, he has started talking in his own language, adding words here and there. My favorite was rapido, which is evidence that he is learning spanish. (You may say it's babble, but I am convinced he is bilingual, largely due to the Los Caballeros DVD, a gift from his friend Reece for the plane flight.)

Even bigger and better for him, Tyler learned to walk at Disney World. At the start of the trip, he was toddling very precariously, without great success after the first step or two. But now? He's on the go. Look out, world. Tyler has found his legs.

(Sadly, this discovery cost him a chipped tooth when he tripped in our hotel room, landing teeth first on the frame of the couch. But it's not too noticeable, and I figure it will be a great story for him to tell his friends. "See this little chip right there? Look closely. See? That one? That happened at Disney World. Yep, that's right. You can just ask my mom.")

So... Tucker started talking and Tyler started walking. Significant strides, both physically and figuratively.

Someday you may need to remind me that I really wanted both of these things to happen, but for now, I'll just keep listening to Tucker and trying to keep up with Tyler.