RE: 2 year old language development
The walking and talking analogy is excellent. Both are developmental milestones that just do NOT happen before the child is physically ready. Now we had other issues, but at 2 my DD was barely talking. At age 3 she talks in complete sentences and has a HUGE and varied vocabulary. She did receive speech therapy, but even the speech therapists agree that she was just not developmentally ready to talk yet at age 2.
And lest you think it was a gradual increase from 2 to 3, that was not the case. In June, the last time she saw the speech therapist for the school year, she still had VERY limited vocabulary and clarity. I mean her sentences were "milk mama" and "go please". Now her sentences are: "Lets play dress-up mommy! I'll be Princess Aurora and you be Snow White!" She tells long stories and is able to accurately and fully articulate her day for daddy when he comes home from work. She just was NOT ready to talk until a few weeks ago, and then BOOM she TALKED!
And believe me, NO ONE talked to their child more than I did. Maybe as much, but NOT more. I talked to her from day one ALL DAY LONG! It was extremely irritating to hear people say things like "oh, we talk to her all the time and thats why she spoke so early..." Grrrr.
There is just a very wide variation on normal.
Now where I think all that talking comes into play is in their vocabulary when they do start to talk. Once she did start talking, it was astounding to hear "little me"! All my phrases were parroted back to me, even ones I know I have not necessarily said recently, so she was just being a little sponge and absorbing it all.
Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)