Sydney helps read and sing Twinkle Twinkle

Library book: That's Papa's Way

We got new books from the library this week. One of them is called "That's Papa's Way" and it is a book about a kid who goes fishing with Papa. Yesterday, at bedtime, Sydney announced "Fffffsh (fish) Papa Way". (Previously, he hasn't added too many words together - other than "more betta-butta (blueberries) please.") Throughout the book, they say "that's papa's way" and Sydney often repeats "papa way" while I read it to him.

Opposites: loves whisper/shout!

We also have a library book on opposites. Tonight, he had me read it to him FIVE TIMES!!! He especially likes the page that has WHISPER and SHOUT. He gets excited every time I get to that page and he starts laughing when I read SHOUT in a louder tone of voice. By the time we read it 3 times, he started to yell "SHOUT!" at just the right time. (I thought it was kind of funny! He was especially proud.)

Baby's First Words (book)

One of his board books, that we own and haven't looked at in a while, is on Baby's First Words. We read one day last week and I was SUPER IMPRESSED that I could open to a page and ask Sydney "What's this?" He is able to tell me/us almost every page in the book. (He does, however, get confused on the page for BOOK because it shows a 2-pg spread from a book that we own so, instead of saying BOOK, he says LION because it shows the book open to the LION page.) He is happy to announce the other pages, like: hat, sock, shoe, coat, face, hand, feet, bib, apple, milk, bowl, and ball (to name a few off the top of my head).

Twinkle, Twinkle

A week or so ago, when I went to sing Twinkle, Twinkle to Sydney, I suggested that Daddy help us sing our nightly bedtime lullaby. So, when I would pause, Daddy would chime in with the last word of each line. 

Tonight, at bedtime, I asked Sydney if he wanted to help Mommy sing and he nodded yes.

He sang: STAR, ARE, HIGH, and a word that should have been SKY, but sounded nothing like it really. (I was pretty proud of him!)

Our little boy is talking MORE and MORE

Sydney is suddenly trying to talk MORE and MORE each day. He's catching me off-guard when he attempts to say words that he hasn't ordinarily attempted. It is interesting to watch him as it seems to take deep concentration to form his words.

He's been trying to willingly say words like APPLE, PEPPER and PAPER. (He calls Pineapple APPLE as well, but we know what he's asking for.)

In the afternoon, I asked Sydney if he could say the word GO. With a little thought, he - clear as a bell - said "GO". Then, I told him to go ask Daddy if he is ready to GO. He immediately ran into the living room and stood before Mike. Mike questioned "What do you need to ask me?"

Sydney replied "GO!" (Mike and I were both pretty proud of his latest word. We then got ready to GO to the YMCA where we took a hot shower together in one of the family locker rooms since our water heater is sadly STILL out of commission. Sydney has also recently attempted to say the word WATER, which comes out without the W.)

Right before bed, he picked out one of his books (Corduroy goes to the doctor) from the living room basket and announced "DOCTOR". Then, as he flipped through it, I asked Sydney if he could show Daddy the page where Corduroy says "AAAAH!" He quickly found it and proudly showed Mike the picture of the tongue depressor, saying "Aaah!"

 

(I have a papercrafting supply on my desk that Sydney is convinced 

is a tongue depressor, but really it is a folding bone. 

I'm impressed that he is THAT OBSERVANT to notice the similarity! 

See StampinUp! image - above. 

Often, when we SKYPE, he puts it in his mouth and says AAH!)

Last night, Sydney walked into his dark bedroom and said "IGHT ON" - requesting me to turn on the lamp.

He's also been doing a great job at trying to ask us to turn the television on. He points to it and says ON. On PBS, he enjoys a 30-minutes animated kids show called "Between the Lions" so, he also tries very hard to say LION. It comes out more like: ah-lee-I-on or ah-lee-own-lee-own, but he tries VERY HARD and we know what he's talking about.

We're also working on having him ask for HELP instead of simply whining or crying. When prompted, he says (with slight desperation) "HEP!"

When dressing, he now says "AHM" which is ARM.

It is AMAZING to watch his daily growth and development.

Sydney says his own name today

Sydney has been having a word explosion as of late. He's been attempting to say more and more all of a sudden - including lion, hyena, arm, apple, HI, on, and repeats lots of letters from the alphabet (A, E, I, O, B, L, M, N, O, P, and S).

There is no denying that he is my child as today he colored and drew on a large piece of paper on the kitchen floor for 50 minutes straight this afternoon! (Normally, we are lucky to contain his attention for 5 minutes; not even a 30-minute television show can keep him entertained for that long of a timeframe!) As a child, I could sit and color for VERY LONG PERIODS.

Sydney often handed me a crayon, asking me to draw or write something for him. He instructed me to draw a FISH, a bunch of balloons, a bunch of balls and a hot dog. I also drew an apple, banana, kiwi, heart, sun, moon and stars. As I completed drawing and writing the word APPLE, Sydney immediately announced "apple" with a HUGE SMILE on his cute little face.

I asked him what else I should write. He pointed to his chest and said "SYDNEY!"

I celebrated. "YAY, Sydney! You said your name!!!" (I got him to repeat it a few times during the day, but the novelty seems to have already worn off because tonight, he refuses to say it at all; little stinker.)

New yesterday was ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME....

New this evening was NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.....

We're having a word explosion here, people! Our little boy is starting to talk a little more every day and we are certainly QUITE PROUD!

3B's

Bath, Boob and Breastfeeding...

This morning, I woke before Sydney and had hoped to take a bath so that I could comfortably shave my legs. With just a few inches of water in the tub, I heard him start yelling "Up! Up! Mama! Up!.... Mama! Mama! Mama!..." When I went into his room, he insisted that we go downstairs to EAT right away. I showed him the tub of water, but he INSISTED that we eat so, we ventured downstairs to have some cinnamon raisin toast, sliced apple and some banana. The whole time we sat downstairs, I dreaded that the tub would cool off and that we wouldn't have enough hot water left to take a warm shower.

Thankfully, it was still warm enough for us by the time we were done with our breakfast snack. Sydney and I hopped into the tub together. Not feeling overly attractive anyways (with my growing belly and bulging leg veins), I opted NOT to shave my legs because Sydney probably didn't want to play in water that had stubble floating in it. After I had washed both of our hair in the tub and scrubbed him with baby body wash, I got out and started to dry off.

Sydney started talking. To me, it sounded almost like he said POOP.

"Poop?" I questioned (as my heart and thoughts started racing... NO, please DON'T poop in the tub... I HATE having to clean poop from the tub!) I decided that he had been in the tub long enough and didn't want to take any chances so, I quickly scooped him out and bundled him in his towel.

He shook his head NO and attempted to say the word again.

"Poop?" I repeated.

NO (shaking his head). Then, he reached his hand out of his towel and touched my boob, saying his word again.

"Oh, you said BOOB!" He smiled and proudly nodded his head YES! I confirmed "Yes, that IS mommy's boob."

I immediately took him into his room to dress him in a diaper and some clothes. As I knelt on the floor in front of his dresser, partially covered by my towel, I stood him back to his feet again. I was caught off-guard when he reached out to touch my boob again; I was downright SHOCKED when he leaned towards it - with an open mouth - and attempted to make contact with his mouth. "What do you think you're doing?" I questioned.

Ironically, just last Monday - at the library - I had talked to another mom (of 2 girls - about 2.5 years apart) about the thought of nursing NUMBER TWO and wondering if Sydney would remember it at all. She assured me "He wont have a clue!" Hmmm, now I am starting to wonder if perhaps she is mistaken in her analysis. (She had stopped nursing her first child at a much younger age than what Sydney was and her first-born was 7 months older when their second child came around .) It has been 5 months since Sydney last nursed; once NUMBER TWO comes around, it will be about 8 months since Sydney last nursed. I wonder what will happen once he sees his little brother doing it... or once he gets a whiff of that familiar (and comforting) "mommy smell".

I guess things will be interesting...

I did learn, however, that it is WISE to have an assortment of activities that Sydney can do while I am nursing NUMBER TWO. She said that her first-born wanted to sit near them while the new baby nursed, but needed to be occupied. I was also warned that I will most likely be nursing while doing TONS of other things around the house. We'll have to see how it goes...

Sydney noticed the baby kicking, now says BABY

The past couple of days, Sydney has been saying a new word: BABY! (He knows there is a baby in my belly, but I'm not sure that he knows WHAT that actually means.)

This morning, after he woke (around 8am) we were sitting in the recliner together as he was resting against my body. I could feel Number 2 kicking and kicking up a storm as Sydney's back was pressed up against my belly. Finally, I asked "Do you feel the baby moving around in there?"

He sat up, turned around and looked at my belly (with a furrowed brow) - as if saying "THAT's what that is..." Then, he started poking and prodding at my belly with both hands. 

It was kind of funny.

Closer to a baby name... (pic)

We purchased paper maché letters for Number 2; however, since we hadn't yet agreed upon a name - we bought the letters for TWO NAMES:

We've discussed that we really SHOULD pick a name soon. A few days ago, Mike DID talk to my belly and used one of the two baby names.

"Does this mean you've decided or are you just trying it out to hear how it sounds?" I questioned.

"That's the name you like, isn't it?" he replied. "It would be fine; it's OK."

(Still, I hope that he likes the name better than "fine or OK". This is a BIG DECISION; Number 2 will have to live with this name for the rest of his life. We want it to be a name that we LIKE and that has some thought/meaning to it.)

I think it's growing on us more each day... if only *IT were easier for Sydney to say. (He can say the other name... and NO, it's NOT Oscar, Elmo or Abby!) Sydney DID just say the word BABY yesterday for the first time; we'll have to keep practicing that, I guess, since he doesn't do it on command yet.

Word explosion in early January

Sydney's Christmas present from Rachel was a Leap Frog talking pot with veggies. 

When you take the lid on & off, there is a sensor that announces "ON", "OFF", "OPEN" or "CLOSED". Thanks to this toy, Sydney now says the words ON and OFF.

This morning, I asked Sydney "What should we have for breakfast?" Immediately, he pointed to the microwave and smiled a HUGE GRIN - as if he had just won the lottery jackpot. "No, we're NOT eating cookies for breakfast, but nice try though." Then, he ran to the fridge door and said "Ow-oh-oh". (This is how he has been consistently saying HOT DOG; other times, he drops the second OH.) So, for breakfast today, Sydney picked: a hot dog, an entire orange and a few carrots - to go with his cranberry juice. YUM! (Shiver.) All of this, of course, was AFTER we had finished off the fresh blueberries.

Sydney also has a slightly jibberish word for APPLESAUCE. (It's the APPLE-part of the word that is tricking him.) I wish I could tell you how he says it, but it's a tongue-twister of a word, especially since he likes to leave the first letter off of his words. It is recognizable enough that you can guess that he is trying to say applesauce though. I give him credit for trying!

This afternoon, in the bathtub, Mike and Sydney were talking. Mike was working on vowels with Sydney. After a little practice, Sydney says: A, E, I and O. (The U seems like a lost cause at this point.)

We went on a dinner date tonight to Salsa's Mexican Restaurant. Sydney LOVES to eat their salsa & chips. Thankfully, we brought a bib and a dishtowel for protection of his shirt... last time, his clothes were sopping wet from the salsa dripped all over his front. He especially likes that he gets HIS OWN BOWL of salsa there. Tonight, when his drink of water was gone, he indicated that he was still thirsty and motioned for mommy's drink. He got SUPER EXCITED to see that there was ice in my glass. Mike got Sydney to say "Mama, ice." and to motion the word PLEASE. It obviously helped that they just worked on saying "I" in the bathtub.

YAY! Another word for Sydney... the boy who almost never speaks! :)

NOTE: He says MaMa, but sometimes it is Am-Ma. He says DaDa, but sometimes it is Ah-Da. He LOVES to say UP, but sometimes that also means DOWN. And his new favorite is UH-OH. Ah-Pa-Pa still means Grandpa, but sometimes that means Grandma, too. It, apparently is interchangeable at this point... in the mind of a 19-month old.

Words for the week of 12/5-12/11/2010

At Sydney's 18-month well-child appointment on 12/1, we were slightly concerned about Sydney's lack of spoken words. The pediatrician assured us that he will talk when he is ready and that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM; in fact, assured us that he is MUCH BRIGHTER than the average 18-month old.

This past week, we seem to have had an EXPLOSION of words for the formerly mostly silent kid! 

When he sees Santa Claus (on the wrapping paper, on a Christmas ornament, on television or the Santa figurine on the banister) he announces HoHoHo.

His favorite new word is "UP!" He says it loud & proud! He says it often in the kitchen when he wants to be held so he can see higher. He says it when he wants to get into his booster seat or high chair. He says it when he wants to get out of his booster seat. He says it when he wants to escape from the shopping cart at the grocery store. He says it when he wants up on the couch (even though he is skilled enough to climb UP himself.)

In the grocery store, mostly at the check-out after he had already signed ALL-DONE, he kept saying it: up (pause) Up (pause) UP (pause) UP-UP-UP! (He thought that somehow, by repeating it often (and louder each time), that I would release him from the seatbelt and let him roam free. (Many onlookers smiled and laughed.)

Suddenly, he is saying MA-MA and DA-DA. (Sometimes, he seems to invert his words: calling me AHM-MA and Mike AHD-DAH; although, Mike and Grandpa Lowell thought he might just be saying HI MA and HI DA.) 

When eating a snowball, Sydney proudly said YUM, YUM, YUM. 

In his Little Monsters book, there is a page where the monster has outstretched arms and the words read I DID IT; Sydney now acts out the picture and announces I DID IT. 

The end of another Little Monster story is "Good Night" but I always read "Ni-Night" instead; Sydney now says NI-NIGHT (as well as signing it in baby sign language).

He tries to say OWL. He likes to look at the plastic owl yard decor (for deterring mice in your yard) whenever we visit daddy at work. There are owls in some of his books, too. One of the YahooNews stories the other night featured an article about bad toys - showing a critter that slightly resembled an owl; Sydney saw it on the computer screen, pointed and announced OWL.

Sydney says OW! He is now notorious for forcing his leg through the rungs of the crib and getting his knee stuck. He stands, cornered, yelling OW! (Sometimes, he says it when he runs into something or bumps his head, too.)

When his crayons fall on the floor, he now announces UH. (That is his version of Uh-Oh, but the Oh-part is silent.)

In his ANIMAL SOUNDS book, he likes to open to the page with the snake; now, he proudly hisses the "Ssssssss" of the snake.

If Sydney is holding a bowl or standing in the kitchen and makes the "Ssssss" sound, that is his way of saying "raisinSSSSsssss"

At Walgreens, when we picked up our photo Christmas card, he started laughing hysterically and announced "Gggg, Gggg!" Stumped, I said "What's THAT word?" He grabbed my chin and redirected my focus to some stuffed animals that were FROGS! "Frog?" I questioned. Sydney smiled proudly and nodded YES. (Funny how he is picking up certain SOUNDS of different words; I guess everyone has to start somewhere.)

We've also been hearing him say ELMO, which sometimes sounds like AhH-Mo, but other times, he nails it perfectly.

• • • • •

On a separate note, Grandpa Lowell and Sydney have been PRETEND FISHING for MONTHS and MONTHS! With Sydney on his lap, Grandpa casts an invisible rod, makes a PLOP sound when the invisible lure hits the water, reels it in and jerks the pole to announce "GOT IT!" (Sydney thinks it is great fun! He LOVES "fishing" with Grandpa.)

Last night, at Olive Garden, Grandpa announced that he and Sydney were going to go fishing. They both cast out their invisible rods and reeled them in. (This was a new thing for Sydney! Mommy and Daddy were VERY IMPRESSED!!!) 

It was SO stinking cute to watch him reel in his invisible fishing pole! (Grandpa thinks that Sydney might be ready for "the real thing" this summer at a nearby pond.)