#SummerofDad 13: Coming in Loud and Clear

Rrrraaaaaaawwwwwwrrrr! (Photo credit: Julie Miesionczek)

Rrrraaaaaaawwwwwwrrrr! (Photo credit: Julie Miesionczek)

Week 13 finds us in Seattle, staying amongst family and long-time friends, at the tail end of our summer-long trek. We’re here for another couple of days, enjoying the Pacific Northwest’s amazing sunny, cool summer. For touring, we’ve been to Discovery Park, Pike Place Market, the Chihuly Art Museum and the Central branch of the Seattle Public Library—all of which are great (except that Pike Place Market, which was a bit infested with tourists at the moment, but is probably great on a grey October day).

In the world of Gabe, you don’t have to be his primary parent to know that this is the week that he discovered his voice. And that he can be loud. And soft. But mostly loud. Fun!

He’s been non-stop babbling nonsensical gibberish for the past few days and, at times, “talks” over Jenny and me. He also realized he can use volume for emphasis, like speaking in italics, to show that he really, really sees that dog across the street. Other than that though, he’s also started mimicking our words quite well. He’s really going hard for “backpack” (bah-pah) and “duck,” which he really just learned today and can actually say. It’s very fun to hear him say these words back to us, obviously. Although it’s a double-edged sword, I really do look forward to him being able to talk and express his opinions!

Although he’s not as far along as other 15-16 month olds we’ve met, who can say little phrases like “tank oooo,” he’s coming along. And, more importantly, his meta-vocabulary, his receptive vocabulary—the words he understands—is growing by leaps and bounds. In the last week alone he’s learned: nose, sky, grass, trees, ears, chairs—you get the picture. So it’s been a fun week, besides seeing friends, family, Seattle, and Jenny’s reading (which went really well).

That’s it for this week—it’s been a long week with the travel back to Seattle and Jenny’s reading, plus the fact that’s now doing a 24-hour trip to LA to see a production of her play, Dragon Play. (For the record, she’s doing a trip within a trip within a trip: Summer travel, to Seattle, to LA.) The next time I post we’ll be back in New York City and it will be my last week of #SoD, as school starts on the 31st and Jenny will resume primary parenting duties.