sometimes i feel a little guilty that we're not keeping a proper baby book for alden, documenting each and every milestone, for posterity. it isn't that we aren't constantly awed by his accomplishments! not at all. it's just that, especially now that i'm witness to the first year developments of so many of his buddies, most of what he does is age-appropriate and right on "schedule" so it seems a little silly to brag.

anyway, for the ages and the family, here is a list of alden's words as of almost 14 months:
mama
dada (or bapba)
no!
cracker
comb
up!
giraffe (raff)
ball
block
car
guitar ("gar" or "car")
snack
socks (this one is remarkably clear)
box
book
read!
yes/si/say
jeff (music together instructor)
walt (one of his best friends)
walk
swing (sssswwwww)
hot (accompanied by an adorable waving gesture that we didn't teach him)
watch (for videos, which i have on occasion, resorted to showing him when he won't sit still to eat. i know...i'm working on breaking this new habit already. this word is also accompanied by a gesture--he rolls his hands over one another! i have no idea how he comes up with this stuff)

animal sounds:
woof woof woof
baa
caw
meow (mao)
bok bok

i'm sure i'm forgetting some. his words are usually only detectable if you know them and when to expect them. no is quite clear, as are mama and car, and socks, as i mentioned. gs give him a lot of trouble and he often won't even attempt to mimic a word that starts with a hard g sound. guitars are just really very important, you see, but that's another post...