The Gift called Gab

Last year, I got a chain email entitled “4 Things About Me - Want To Know About U 2!” which said:

Return Directions: Now here's what you're supposed to do: And Please DO NOT SPOIL THE FUN! Hit REPLY Key. Delete my answers and write yours. Send this to a bunch of your friends including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little-known facts about those who know you. Remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you.

The last portion was 4 Things I Am Looking Forward To This Year. And I listed, among others, “hearing Caehl talk.”

It took a while before Caehl (now 28 months) learned to talk. Well, there was the usual babbling. He can understand us, and can recognize numbers and the alphabet. He has this Barney numbers chart and Lion King alphabet chart at home and he can say the numbers and letters while pointing at them. He speaks to us in the tone and cadence of human speech but not real words yet. Caehl is tall for his age that most people would mistake him for a 4- or 5-year old and wonder why he’s not talking yet.

Personally, I am not alarmed. Thanks to my exposure to Internet, I am consoled by studies saying that children vary in their development of speech and language. I told myself, his time would come. The fact that his Ate Cae was singing Lupang Hinirang before she was 2 does not frustrate me (although it does frustrate some people I know).

It all began with shapes. Azalea, my sister, gave him a Fisher Price yellow boat, which is actually an enhanced Shape-O (a classic Tupperware toy, yung mga ka-age ko would know what I mean). One day, he just said the shapes out loud. “Square”. “Triangle”. “Circle”. “Star”. Well, the words are not perfectly enunciated but endearing just the same.

Next was his farm animal book, which was a Christmas gift from his Ninong Jet. He goes, “Donkey,” “Sheep”, “Chicken”, “Cow”, while pointing to the illustrations. "Ney" is not just Ney, he can say it knowing that it’s the name of his Ate’s favorite band vocalist, Ney Dimaculangan (6Cyclemind). He can say “Ate” and refer to his Ate. “Da-ddy” is really Daddy, and it’s not just babbling. “Mama" is my mom (his lola). "De-de" is of course, milk. “Ahs teeee” is iced tea. His “Yehey” has become more recognizable, followed by a "na-na (no more for you)". “Sa-raaaap” is delicious. “Go” is what he says when he wants to go out.

His most current favorite is Ate Cae’s Family Tree project. He points to each family member’s headshot and says his or her name aloud. He calls himself “Ky”.

And yes, he so loves Wheel of Fortune. The announcer goes, “Wheel of….” And Caehl goes, “Cho-chun!” He participates by suggesting letters, usually “M” or “S” or “I”.

Me? Well, I’m “Na-nny”. Close enough. Don't argue with the mom.