"Cheese"

Every word that Siahna says is a milestone for her and us.  While she can say some words, she needs to be prompted to say them and they don't come automatically.  But, one thing she knows is "Help" when she wants the ladder out in the kitchen because she wants to see what's going on.  She walks over to the ladder, does the sign for "help" and then says it.  It's precious and hard to ignore. 

Saturday she grabbed a bag of cheese off the kitchen counter.  As I tried to then pry the bag out of her mouth (that's where everything goes these days), I asked her if she could say "cheese."  She released the bag, said "CHEESE" and walked away as if she says these sorts of things every day.  It was a word crystal clear that we both heard and there was no doubt that she had just said a new word!

The following thoughts are from a blogger my sister recently introduced me to, but her words are my words - she's just better at writing them down.  She has a son, Tucker, who had speech delays and wasn't talking at the age of 2.  These are her thoughts at that time and if I insert Siahna's name, they are my thoughts.

I truly can rejoice in Tucker’s growth and victories, especially when I compare him only to Tucker.  He’s doing great.  I’m so stinkin’ proud of him, and I never, ever get tired of his darling little voice.  Today he discovered the word noodles, and although you might not recognize it if you heard it, I do.

It all brings me back to the same point again and again: God has put us on this path together, Tucker and his family.  We are learning things we didn’t know we didn’t know, and Robb and I have found ourselves exchanging quiet glances across the table or tender hugs at the end of the day, all in celebration of our sweet Tucker.  We are a team, even on the lonely days.

And in the end, I don’t think I’ll miss the chats with my little man.  The truth is, I am investing in his heart everyday, trying so hard to help him know without a doubt that his every word is important to me.  So later on, even if it’s longer than I had hoped to wait, I hope he’ll still want to talk to me.
Maybe we’ll talk about Mickey Mouse and Bob the Tomato.  Or maybe we’ll talk about his favorite books and songs.  Maybe he’ll tell me what he’s afraid of, or what he is striving for more than anything.  Maybe we’ll talk about the girl he’s crazy about.  Maybe we’ll talk about the paper he has to write for his college English class.  You know what?  I just want to listen to him talk and talk and talk.
And I’ll be listening.