words

caleb is talking a ton. realistically, he's the only baby i REALLY know, so it doesn't seem all that unusual to me. although, i was prepared for a boy to take a while to talk, i guess i just didn't have to wait all that long. a lot of what he says, probably only troy and i would understand. but more recently, i've had people from the nursery or at stores comment on his verbal abilities and ask me how old he is.
i've started to compile a list of all the words he knows. some of them sound a bit similar to innocent bystanders, but they are best understood in context. so far, my list is at 35, and i'm sure there are some that i'm forgetting. some of his favorites are: mama, daddy, please (cuz it gets him so much good stuff), more, music, doggy, hi, sit, up, no, yeah, all done, all gone, fish, and cracker... just to name a few.
it's made me think about the whole nature vs. nurture debate. i tend to attribute a lot of it to nature. i know i was quite the talker quite early and he seems to be a really "emotionally intelligent" (as one friend put it) boy. he just "gets" communication. he likes to listen to others and does his best to participate in whatever they are doing. on the other hand, though, i had a friend over last week who commented on how much i talk to caleb and how many words i give him throughout the course of a couple of minutes. maybe it's the teacher coming out in me, but that's just how i am around him. also, i know i try really hard to pay attention to what he's saying and reward his efforts. i assume this builds up his confidence to keep trying. it also helps that, so far, he's not showing any perfectionist tendencies when it comes to talking.
all that to say, it's probably a lot of both. and i'll be interested to meet our new little one and see how he/she develops verbally. maybe it will answer some questions. maybe it will just raise some news ones. we'll see...