Shooie...Pig Shooie.

Finally!!! I know all babies develop at their own pace and the worst thing you can do is compare yours to another, but - come on moms - you can't help it! And Lincoln's verbal skilled always seemed behind to me! But then I would always have to stop myself and realize that most of his little friends are also older than him. He had bunches of words that he has been able to say in the past 6 months or so and Jason and I could most of the time, understand what he was trying to communicate, but he has finally started saying SO many new words as of the past few weeks and even has a couple of sentences he says regularly now. Maybe I can stop researching speech therapists numbers/costs...just kidding (kind of).
The past couple of weeks I have attempted to tackle the tasks of teaching him to say/recognize "ABC", "1-2-3", and learn just two colors - red and blue. Small tasks but I figure we can start with the itty ones. On the colors deal - he can say the word "color" and I think he knows what I'm referring to...but he gets the "red/blue" matched with the right color about 60% of the time. He's got a 50/50 shot, so I kind of figure it's due to luck more than anything.
On the "ABC's", he can say the letters perfectly, but I still think he has no concept.
But the numbers...(this is where i get excited)...I've been going over "1-2-3" with him and simultaneously teaching him to respond to the question: "How old are you?" He can do this perfectly: "One" as he holds up one finger. But he still hasn't been able to count on his own. This morning at breakfast, I asked him how old he is...he responds "One". Then he sat there for a few seconds and goes "Two...Three...", with a HUGE smile! I cheered liked he scored his first touchdown by which he repeated to count to three over and over. At least he's getting that concept!
Oh and as for the sentences? He can say "I wanna a...." Usually it's followed by "paci" and lately "kitty" since we have a stray kitten camping out on our porch. This morning he said "Bruce wants a nack (snack)" and gave bruce a piece of his bagel. He can also say "I love mommy" and "I love daddy" as of last week.
It's crazy because I really do feel like these pas few weeks he's picked up on SO many new words and ideas - it's blowing my mind this little sponge!
Now - his claim to fame? He can now call the hogs in FULL FASHION. He puts his hands up and goes "WOOOOOOOOO" then brings then down and goes "Shooie...Pig Shooie." (you know...Bond, James Bond-ish). It's precious.
So, also this morning, we played the sound game:
"What sound does a dog make?"
Lincoln - "Woof."
"What sound does a duck make?"
Lincoln - "Quack quack"
"What sounds does a kitty make?"
Lincoln - "Meow meow meow meow meow"
"What sound does a cow make?" This one's his favorite.
Lincoln - "MOOOOOOOO!"
What sounds does a pig make?"
Lincoln - "Shooie...Pig Shooie."
Oh dear.