Chatty Patties

The kids had their 19-month appointment (disguised as their 18-month appointment) last week. The doctor is pleased with their builds (she proclaimed Tanner "all muscle"), their eyes and ears (though she called Tanner's ears "very hairy"), and their development (she said Jane's mobility appeared to be "great"). Though the average eighteen-month-old has about six words and our kids don't necessarily have that many (Tanner especially), she saw how talkative they were (in their own language) and said we shouldn't worry about their lack of vocabulary yet.

And now (drum roll, please) for their first words!

Both of them can roar like a lion, which they've been doing for months now (though they kind of whisper the roar) and which they learned from Elmo on Sesame Street. No, I'm not ashamed.

Tanner's first word was "car," which he says with a Boston accent ("cah"). We think he actually might mean truck.

Jane's first word (other than "Mommy," "no," and "no way" -- those aren't very fun, so we're not counting them, although Tanner has yet to say those) was either "baby" or "ball." We can't really remember. It's hard enough keeping track of the whereabouts of these chitlins, let alone what words are coming out of their mouths, you know?

We've realized that if Tanner's first word was "car" and Jane's first word was "baby," that follows right along stereotypical gender lines. These kids are pretty much offered the same stuff (they both play with the truck and dolly from GG & T, for example), so it's fascinating to see the inherent stuff come through (Tanner much prefers the truck and Jane much prefers the dolly, though Tanner is also obsessed with a friend's pink doll stroller at the park). We're curious to see what happens as they get older. For now, let's get some words down!