Jairo's "First Words"

This is a really fun phase with Jairo, because there are so many things he's experiencing for the first time. Eric and I are having a great time watching him learn and grow, and seeing the delight on his face with each discovery. One of his latest discoveries is the English language; he is adding words to his vocabulary at an unbelievable pace, humbling us as we recall our journey to learn Spanish. We're delighted to hear his new words every day, and we're so thankful to get to experience this unique phase of life with him.

His English progression began with individual words and then phrases that he heard us say. He's now beginning to string words together to form sentences, which is so sweet to hear. You can see him searching his mind for the nouns and verbs, and then using body language and facial expressions to fill in the gaps. And it's clear that he understands much more than what he verbalizes -- my parents speak only English with him, and he seems to understand most of what they say. I'm afraid it won't be long before he is speaking English all the time. For many reasons, it would be so good for him to retain his native language, so I'm going to try to continue speaking Spanish with him, and we're looking for opportunities to bring Spanish-speakers into his life.

Here's a look at his first words in English...

March
Mother/Father
Happy/sad (Pronounced with a Southern accent, like "say-ed" -- not sure where that came from!)
Hey!
May I have please ________? (Inserting whatever he's asking for)

April
What are you doing?
You're a little chicken! (Meaning actual chicken, not coward. He gets such a kick out of this, always full of laughter as he teases us with his favorite saying.)
Tickles
You did it! (Pointing at one of us after he burps)
Watch out
Wow!
This chicken is delicious! (April 28, his first complete sentence. Good thing he likes my cooking -- would have been a bummer if his first sentence was, "This chicken is awful!")
What happened?
"Chispy" (His attempt to say our neighbor's dog's name -- "Gypsy")

May
Don't peek
Oh my goodness!
You can do it!
Cool
1,2,3...Red! What kind of red? Big red! (His baseball team cheer)
Smells good. (Said with a mischievous grin after he "toots")
Come on, people. Let's go! (Clearly a nod to time spent in the car with his father in traffic.)
I'm hungry. (At which point he lifts up his shirt to show us his flat stomach. Conversely, when he's done eating, he lifts up his shirt and pushes out his stomach to show us how full he is.)
I am very strong.
I can do it!