Mama or Dada? Baby's first words...

Have you ever wondered about the significance people put on a baby's first word?

When Bella first started to babble, she clearly said Dada. Now, I wasn't the parent that was over the moon because she said Dada. In reality, she really had no connection to the word. And if you think about it, it really is the easiest word to say between the two.

For those of you with stage fright, go to the bathroom. All you others: try saying DADA, and MAMA. Dada is all inner mouth. All tongue (save the reference for another time), and really takes no effort to say. MAMA, on the other hand, takes a whole other consortium of muscles to make your cheeks, lips, and jaw move to form the letter M.

Isabella - 10 months, Dada!

Jaxsen is exploring his voice and is making word sounds. While Bella took forever to say Mama (Angela was starting to get a complex), Jaxsen has said Mama already. But again, the kicker is that he has no idea what he is saying, and can't make the connection quite yet. I'm sure it makes Angela feel better that he's saying both now, but when does it REALLY count?

Bella began to make an association when I came into the room one day. And then it happened more and more, and more. And more. And more. There was a definitive point to where she could identify with Dada that it was ME. NOW I was over the moon!

Jaxsen - 10 months, Dada & Mama!

I think Jaxsen will make the connection quicker because he's already able to say both. He'll be able to understand the reaction he gets from us after saying the word. Pavlov's dog, I guess... In the end, it's just a first word of many that we as parents will be called, I'm sure. (Mom and Dad, don't read into that...)

But what do you think? Is there importance on the first word? Does it matter if a baby says Dada or Mama first? I'm sure there are people who do studies on this, and then there are people who study the people. And then there are studies by people who do do studies on people. I wonder what word those people said first?

Welcome to our blog!

Ok - so we know we're busy people, right? We don't always call, we don't always visit. But please know this: WE'RE THINKING OF YOU!

Well, in an attemp to help connect us to our families and friends spread out across the globe (seriously - all over the place some weeks) we've created a space for you to follow us at YOUR convenience! A few reasons:

• FACEBOOK has become somewhat of a joke to just post and update on our family without people jumping in or adding opinions where they feel like it. There just seems to be no privacy.
• TWITTER just seems like there's not enough information to share.
• OUR OWN WEBSITE just seems like too much upkeep.

As as such, we're left with a BLOG. Somewhere that Mike can access when he's on the road and bored in his hotel room in the city of (insert any city name here). Or somewhere that Angela can jump on and update a post when Bella shares one of her incredible and yet completely imagined stories, or Jaxsen reaches a new milestone in his development.

We want to reach out and share our lives, but we also don't want to intrude. So please feel free to jump on, follow us, and enjoy the ride. Pics and posts we hope to have on here at least once a week!

The latest update from us, our family pictures last week. Courtesy of Nikki Scott Photography, we hunkered down for a perfect Wet West Coast day, and snapped some family portraits amidst the wind and rain. Nikki brought out her excellent team of assistants (husband Trevor and daughter Paige), we all managed to get the most of the hour and a half or so of smiles and splashes. More to come, but here's a quick sneak peek on her blog. Scroll down on her page for the Speckman Family sneak peek:

www.nikkiscottphotography.com

We're very pleased with the outcome thus far, and we can't wait to see the rest. If you are in the area and wanted to get some professional photo's, she comes highly recommended by us!

Another week is on the horizon. The kids are asleep, the dog is snoring, and an alarm will be ringing in 9 hours...