I Like to Talk

I'm left speechless in the face of my boy's exploding speech. Tonight I told Daniil how much I enjoyed listening to him and hearing his English develop. "I like to talk," he said and clearly meant it. There's been a palpable shift in the past day alone, like turning on a faucet. It's been exactly 3 months since we touched ground in Boston and Daniil started his English-language immersion. I've always been told when it comes to behaviors, like giving up caffeine or adopting an exercise routine, that it takes 90 days to break an old habit and solidify a new one. I'm not sure if this three-month rule of thumb applies to languages, but it sure seems to be the case with Danya.

Today we checked out from the library for the second time the low-brow toddler classic Everyone Poops. (We'd already checked it out once and read it aloud most nights for two weeks' running.) When we got to the next-to-last page, Daniil took over and narrated non-stop in complete sentences straight down the line of animals:



"Giraffe eats leaves. Lion eats meat. Gorilla eats bananas. Zebra eats grass. Pelican eats fish. Pig eats slop. Boy eats kasha." Complete sentences, in English!
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I took one look at my boy and realized that he was as bowled over as I. It was then that I applauded his progress. "I like to talk," Daniil replied. "And I love to listen to you talk," I said.

I look forward to years of talking and listening, listening and talking, as language opens up my boy's heart, mind and soul to me and others.