On Taylor's eight-month birthday, she waved goodbye to her dad as he walked out the door to work. Then she waved as his car pulled away from the driveway. It was an up and down, full-forearm sort of wave, always accompanied by a full smile. She continued this ritual on a daily basis, but only with Dada, and usually only in the mornings. Within the last week, at nine and a half months of age, she started waving to other people as they passed or to acknowledge them across the room. This wave is a wrist-only sort of wave—more controlled and directed—and as it usually elicits a response wave, the action is being positively reinforced. I had fun traveling with Taylor through the airport this past weekend, as strangers seem to enjoy this kind of communication with a baby.
We've just returned home from a two-week vacation in Mystic, and while we thought Taylor might take her first steps while in CT, she hasn't yet taken more than one that wasn't the result of forward momentum. She has, however, increased her cruising and crawling speeds, and will occasionally stand up and in place unassisted for 15 seconds or more.
Ever more exciting is Taylor's expanding vocabulary. She began saying a version of "bird" at nine months, after our repetition of the word when looking out the window every morning into the single backyard tree, populated as it usually is with doves and the occasional grackle. "Ball" (BA) preceded "bird" (BIR) and came along with "book," (BUH) and now "boogie" (BOOGIE!). I thought the latter might be a version of "birdie," but she uses it in differing circumstances. "WHOOTH" is also now in regular use, which I take to be an imitation of "What is that?," a question we often ask her while showing her around an environment. Taylor has been pointing at objects that catch her attention for about a month now. The pointing is often accompanied by the surprised expression "OOH!" and now "WHOOTH!" She seems to be both pointing out objects that excite her and telling us "Look! Do you see that?" And yesterday, Clay and I each separately had the experience of Taylor pointing to something while we held her, then pushing our chins in the direction of the object to ensure we were looking at it. She did it again with me this morning and I'll be interested to see if this behavior continues. Her development is so delightful to see!
