bam!

Sam knows who he is: Baby. Throughout the day we hear about all the things that Baby wants: "Baby eat," "Baby more?" "Baby close it," "Baby do it," and, when he is not getting what he wants within a sufficient timeframe, we hear simply, "Baby! Baby! Baby!" as lips turn down and quiver, face turns a deep red, arms stiffen with fists raised, and tears well up. You may remember my prior attempts at getting Sam to say his own name. He obviously knows his name and responds to it all the time; he just doesn't use it to refer to himself.

Today we took a rather long car-ride to meet some friends at a children's museum, and Sam was doing quite well remembering his friends' names and talking about them during our drive. I decided to work with him on his own name, asking him, What's your name? and then telling him to say, "Sam." After repeating it only a couple of times, I asked, What's your name? again, keeping my eyes on the road ahead, and from the backseat I heard a little voice reply, "Bam." That's right, Bam! He did it! The very first time he said his name. Then we worked on another question, and he got that right away. We've been doing it all day long, including on the phone with Daddy. So proud!