I yuv you

My little guy, Simon, is almost 3 years old now (just over 3 months to go). He is nothing at all like his big sister was at this age. For one, his speech is very "little boy" where Anna was speaking like a grown-up by 3. I think this is more a factor of Anna being on the high end of normal than Simon having a problem, though for several months I was very concerned about his tongue-tie and whether it had been completely repaired (I had his frenulum clipped when he was 3 weeks old and breastfeeding him felt like nursing a cat -- ouch). He is slow to pronounce several sounds, mostly at the beginnings of words and he has a really tough time with diphthongs. We understand him for the most part, as does the general population who listens to 2-year olds talk.

While his pronounciation isn't always right on, what he says is amazing to me. He talks about feeling sad and missing me when I go to work. He tells people how much he loves spaghetti and broccoli ("pa-getty and bokkie") but doesn't care for beef ("it's bad for my body and my b(r)ain"). He talks about trucks that dig and trains that take people to the city, and will tell strangers in the store that he goes to the doctor if he's healthy, just for a check-up.

The default phrase for Simon, though, is "I yuv you." He'll be sitting, playing, quietly, then look up at me and say "Mamma, I yuv you." In the car, if I turn around to smile at him at a red light, he'll say "I yuv you." In the wee hours of the morning, when he comes into my bed to snuggle until we get out of bed, he whispers "I yuv you."

Someday, he'll learn to pronounce his "l" sound and probbaly will only tell me he loves me if I tell him first -- if I'm lucky. For now, "I yuv you" is music to this mamma's ears.