I am in a language development class at BYU. Today I gave a presentation on increasing language input with young kiddos. Talking to your kids is good for them in all sorts of ways listed in my text book but I like practical applications and they didn’t list any. So here is what I found.

Infants 0-1: Spend TIME face to face. Imitate their babbling/ Take turns. Sing songs.

Toddlers 1-3: Practice turn taking. Ask open ended questions. Don’t correct grammar. Expand on what they say. Describe everything.

My two cents:

Children learn to communicate (and a host of other things) by our being engaged with them. It is so easy for me to busily wash dishes while Eden and Alden are occupied eating breakfast. BUT rather than just acting upon them I can treat them like active participants. I cannot be supermom and sit down and play all day with my kids. I can however make an effort to eat with them, indulge in night time rituals of bathing and story time, and use parenthood has the perfect (and legitimate) excuse to think out loud and talk to myself to the level of crazy.

I have always talked a lot with Eden but I have noticed that our little interactions overshadow those between Alden and I. over the last week or so I have already enjoyed the effects of being more engaged with Alden.

I do not pretend that many people frequent our blog. For one, we have been lousy at updating it. Two, we don’t really try to write for other people. Our beautiful life is pretty lame to others. Regardless of our hit count we will be going private. Hopefully when our kids are applying for jobs someday their childhood idiosyncrasies wont be what surfaces during a google search.

It is difficult to censor the eruption of nonsensical thoughts we have that mean something to us. So consider yourselves warned. This is OUR space. I will definitely discuss the remarkable things the kids are doing, because they are a HUGE part of my life– but I’ll also use this as a journal for whatever else I am thinking through, learning about, questioning, think is just plain wonderful.. etc.

We went to Boise this weekend and stayed with Jeff and Sarah. We snuggled up on couches while the kids played and we watched General Conference. Sarah made enough amazing food to feed us three times over. And I think we all did. Yummmm.

While the girls were occupied playing chase or pretend with little animals Rebekah and Alden were toddling around practicing their walking skills.

Alden proved what a lady killer he is. Besides flirting with all the ladies around while Sarah and I were shopping he showed his favoritism for Sarah. On numerous occasions he walked over to Sarah, climbed up into her lap and nestled his head right into her. He would just snuggle up intending to stay. It was adorable.