Say What?

Recently I overheard Jacob telling his dad on the phone that Micah was saying about a dozen words. I thought that seemed a little low, so I started to make a list of all the words our little guy is saying these days. Once I began, I was amazed by how quickly the list has grown. Even now, just before I started to write this, I asked him what he and Daddy are playing with and he answered "ball" - the first time I'd heard him use this word. If I could learn a foreign language as quickly as he's learning English, I would create my own Rosetta Stone program. This is exactly why my Japanese friends tell me that, after they've been here in Michigan a little while, their kids quickly surpass them and start correcting mom's English. Maybe he can help Uncle David with his term papers next semester - or at least write some blogs soon.

So here's his big list so far, at 15 1/2 months old:
Poppa (I think this is his most-used word - he asks for Poppa every time he wakes up and whenever our car arrives anywhere)
Daddy
Mamma (sometimes Mommy) (it took him a while to learn my name - he had Daddy & Poppa much earlier)
this
light
helper (this was his favorite for a long time - he loves to "help"!)
help
up
off
woof
Tyshe
milk
hi (this is what he says when he puts a phone up to his ear - or anything that he pretends is a phone, such as the remote, his hand, or the string from Mamma's hoodie)
puppy
yes
good
squirrel
cup
sock (he always helps Daddy put on his socks in the morning... and sometimes "helps" us by getting extra socks out of our drawers)
clock (Uncle David taught him this... well, he tried to teach "cuckoo clock" but Micah has only mastered "clock" so far)
stuck
duck (these last three sound very similar, so you have to pay attention to context!)
David
Heidi (he loves to find his cousin Heidi's photo)
fish (he points to the "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" that Grandma painted for him)
book (we have read lots of books over and over and over and... that may be the reason for his vocabulary increase)
happy (Miss Jan sings "If you're happy and you know it")
car (this was his first word)
hot
hat
amen (he is pretty good about saying this when we pray at mealtime... and last Sunday, he said it out loud right after he heard the pastor saying it - was he paying attention?!)
Calla (another cousin of his) (this one is barely distinguishable still...)
Josh (he started saying this after the last visit to Michigan by Uncle Josh)
bwak (as in the sound a chicken makes, though he thinks it is funny to say it backwards lately - kaba)
moo
dark
eye
please
cheese
bird
and finally, "ball"

Can't wait to hear what words he says tomorrow!