Although Maia has been advanced in her physical development since the early days, I’ve often wondered about her social development.  Chris and I are both fairly shy, quiet people, and while I’m certain this means she’s likely to be one as well, I worried about her verbal development.  Were we talking and reading to her enough?  I mean, right now, she’s almost ten months old and we’re still just getting “mamama” and vowel sounds from her.  Lots of “aaaaaah” and “uuuuuuuh” but not a lot of consonants.

That is, until last night.

All day, Maia babbled her vowel sounds, or more aptly, hollered them as if wanting to share her voice with the entire world.  Then at night, she kept walking between Chris and I while talking.  At one point, though, as we asked her to try to say “Dada”, she started babbling.

Real, consonant-laden babbling, the stuff I’ve been waiting to hear.  She’d say “Nu nu gi bwa” or whatnot, and look at us as if expecting a response.  It was just amazing to see her make the realization that she can make a lot of different sounds with her tongue and to hear her continue exploring rudimentary language and tone.  She wants to communicate with us in a more sophisticated manner, and I’m so eager to help her get there.

My worries are eased.

And I cannot wait until she wakes up tomorrow morning.