The last three days have provided me with some incredible thrills: Isaac has been responding to language in a real and consistent way. I have known all along that he's paying attention, but this sudden leap in understanding is amazing. It's a totally different feeling, talking to him and having him understand the words that I'm saying, not just my tone of voice or intentions. I can tell that he finds his new comprehension thrilling as well, because his eyes shine with joy.
We were looking at a photo of a baby on the cover of Baby! Talk!, and I asked, "Where's the baby's nose?" I was prepared to point it out, but Izzy turned around in my lap and jabbed a confident finger against my nose. (Close enough.) Later, when we were reading Goodnight Moon and I read, "Good night light," he turned to stare meaningfully at the lamp.
That may not astound, but there's more! The first two pages of Baby! Talk! (a most worthy book) feature photos of various items of interest to babies: ball, spoon, cat, blanket, and so forth. I usually ask him where certain things are, then point them out. Tonight I asked, "Where's the dog?" and his finger went unerringly to the photo of the Bichon Frise (which looks pretty darn different from our dog). I asked him, "Where's the baby?" and "Where's the truck?" and he got both those right, too.
Later in the same book (I'm telling you, it's a good one) there are photos of babies raising their arms above their heads in response to the query "How big is baby?" We haven't played that game since Isaac was tiny, so he isn't familiar with it, but by the third time we read the book he was raising his own arms above his head when we got to that page. He also covered his face with my hand for the "Peek-a-boo" page, which features photos of babies covering their faces, and he clapped his hands for the "Patty-cake" page.
I could have cried. I felt like Anne Sullivan with Helen Keller.
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