More sentences again

Boy most likely to say: 'Daddy/Mommy legos do'

At night, known to say: 'Daddy milk downstairs get it'

More sentences

"Where is Rabbit?" (says the boy holding said toy behind his back)

And lots more not quite so perfect sentence chatter. Particularly involving the throwing of sand onto the floor at nursery, thus: "Carl floor sand, did it" (and in any other order really).

Leaps and bounds

"Four, six, one more, digger, dune buggy": this car counting tutorial comes to you from the young master.

"Daddy did that lego". Carl's brilliant sentence (if the proud mommy says so herself).

2012 already

The year in which I turn forty (how did that happen?). New Year's resolution is do something nice for myself every day. Anyone who knows me at all well, will know being nice to me isn't something I'm great at, so this is quite a resolution.
Day 1: not only had a bath, had a long, hot bath.
Day 2: went for a swim.
It's back to work tomorrow, and a new job at that, so that will be when testing the resolution really begins.

The progress towards sentences by the young boy continues, as evidenced by 'noise...daddy...warm', which can be unpacked as '[I can hear a] noise[. It's the water running.] Daddy [is filling the kettle to boil water, which he will use to make my milk] warm.' More usual, of course, is 'No, Mommy, no' as we fight over every imaginable boundary possible.

Family quotes that made me smile this week:
Boy to chocolate bar (Kit-Kat): 'Meow, meow' (the cat obsession continues).
Boy re: Communion Wine: 'Mommy juice'.
Husband on realising that we had Hob Brite because he had refused to let me throw it away despite not having a hob that could be cleaned with it for the past 3 years: 'I'm a nut job, but hurrah for me'.

plurals, possessives, and wishful thinking

legos
daddy's coat/hat/yogurt
mommy's dog
MINE
mommy gorgeous [ok, that was actually 'mommy, legos!', but for a split second I thought it might be 'mommy gorgeous', aided and abetted here by a nephew who used to come out with the most complimentary and impressive adjectives]

and (amongst others)

my daddy gone
my daddy['s] coat
hello rabbit/dog/ooo/etc
Carl['s] hat/coat etc
mess
giraffe
poor mommy
one, two, three, four [where one, two and four are definite concepts, but three may just be a word you say before four]

And new words for mommy too

For the baby:
medicine
away
hop
jump
mouth
another one

For mommy:
skuttlebutt

Or...

...Halloween, sparkly, wiggle.

Did I mention...?

again
away
dolphin
rough
smooth

And...

circle!
bigger
hair
comb

More words

and/or some old words joined up:

yellow digger
red car
green car
big lorry
trousers

To which I should add

alarm clock
noise
cough
Cheerios
again
pipes
hear/listen
pig

(and many other words I am too tired to remember now)

Snapshot

For my own interest, here is a list of the words a certain 22 month old can say, sign or otherwise communicate.

coat
hat
shoes
socks
trousers

bath
bed
door
keys

bagpuss
bee
bee (meaning any insect)
bear
bird
bunny
cat
chicken
cow
dog
donkey
duck
elephant
frog
horse
lion
mole
monkey
owl
penguin
(polar) bear
rabbit
sheep
spider
sooty

belly button
ears
eyes
fingers
head
heart
knees
nose
toes
tummy

bubble
cuddle
done
go
gone
kiss
listen
more
one more (book)
ready
steady
stop

baby
Cordelia
daddy
Emily
George
grandma
grandpa
lady
Magda
man
Mia
mommy
nanny
people

apple
banana
cake
cheese
custard
fruit
juice
milk
potato
pudding
rice krispies
strawberry
toast
yogurt
weetabix

hallo ("arrow")
phone
goodbye

aeroplane
bus
bicycle
car
lorry
tractor
train

down
down here
down there
here
out
there
up

light
dark

wee wee
poo poo

boogie
book
dance
music
lullaby

drum
shake

excuse me
please

park
slide


Given that that is almost certainly not a full list, its a shame he spends most of his time going 'ugh, ugh, ugh, wa-wa-wa-wa'. But not sure he is dealing well with Daddy being out all the time fixing up the new house.

We learn what is important to us (2)

'Keys' and 'door' weren't our actual first words, however. The first was 'dog' (with major emphasis on the second syllable). This was accompanied by the sign for dog, which helped me understand the word, although, to my shame, it took me ages to work out that he was doing the sign (dog panting). I thought he was hyperventilating with excitement at the thought. This marked the beginning of the 'Woody and Gemma' stalking phase - when we spent as much time as politely possible staring through a neighbour's window at their dogs. ('Dog', minus the sign, was a major word this past weekend when we visited Nanny and her new puppy).

The boy's second most popular sign is 'done', as in, 'I'm done' or 'I've had enough' (to be used at mealtimes). The little monkey, however, uses it at the start of a meal when he doesn't want whatever is on offer/just wants to play. Not that stops him hammering the message home by flinging food to the four quarters. Hopefully this behaviour is going to improve....

Other signs we have seen: 'bath, bird, duck, horse' (quite popular), 'cat', 'mouse', 'flower', 'rain', 'eat'.

The weekend at Nanny's heralded a few new words: 'hello', 'yellow' and 'stuck' (as in, 'hmm, this stair gate keeping me away from the dog is stuck'; 'the door to the dog's cage is stuck', 'this cupboard Daddy is leaning against so I can't get in it is stuck'). I think you get the idea.

We learn what is important to us

The boy's most recent words are 'door' and 'keys' which rather neatly sum up what he generally wants: to go outside. Door is not said once, but in an unending chant, as this morning. Although the allure of the front door was much diminished once it was clear that stepping through that portal was but a step closer to nursery.