Language update I

I promised earlier this week to give you an update on Natalie's language development. It's more like an explosion. But it's the kind of explosion we like!

The videos I wanted to show you had to have two adults to produce: one to talk to Natalie and one to shoot the video, so this morning Tom and I made a few little videos that we'll share over the next few days. The reason it takes two people is that Natalie's voice is soft and hard to understand and mine is loud (especially since it's right next to the camera), so we tried to balance the sound a little by having me away from the camera.

I also tried to talk and sing softly, but in some cases Natalie mimicked me, talking and singing softly herself...which defeats what we're trying to accomplish, but I hope you can hear her, and don't be afraid to turn up your speakers, because there won't be a loud voice popping in.

Over the past few months we've been excited to see that many of the songs we've been singing to her since she was born are now coming out of her mouth. For instance, I sang Amazing Grace to her a lot when she was born, but I haven't sung it much in the past year. A month or two ago, I happened to sing it, and she began singing it with me. Needless to say, I sing to (WITH) her a lot more as we learn what she's able to express.