G-isms

Here's an example of one of my favorite G-isms.

A couple of young girls have been visiting their dad, who's staying in our neighborhood.  G wants to play with them, so he checks in with me:

"Mama, I'll just go and ringbell the door."

That's one way that G uses "ringbell."  The other is when he's actually pushing someone's doorbell.  As he pushes it, he says, "ringbell, ringbell!" It's very similar to "dingdong," but it's all his own.

Love it.

Pronoun Awareness

G seems to finally be moving past the stage where everyone is "him."

This stage has provided plenty of awkwardness as G has not only asked loud, ill-timed questions of me, but has added the insult of gender confusion. For example: "Mama, why him (the lady standing 2 feet from us) smoking dat cigarette? Dat gonna make him sick?"

Not that he's getting his pronouns correct yet.

Now it goes more like: "My teacher gave dat to me. Him said - her - him - she - HER said iz for me."

We're getting there.

Saturday: When G Became a Sausage

It is HARD to keep this boy still.

Let's list his favorite activities:
- Riding his bikes
- Running
- Jumping
- Climbing (Specifically, climbing over the back of the couch. Makes me crazy.)
- Playing with his cars while running, jumping, and climbing

And - which of those activities is he allowed to do now, while his retina is detached?

Exactly.

I took this photo to show you what we did on Saturday.

That is, a LOT of reading and a LOT of watching movies.

Also a LOT LOT LOT of me yelling "Slow down!  No running!  Calm & still, calm & still!"

We got to the end of the last movie.  G gave a long sigh and declared, "I'm a sausage."

"What, Honey?"

"I'm a sausage."

I think about 101 Dalmatians.  Threats of sausage?  I wonder: is he hungry?  I do not understand.

"I'm sorry, G.  I did not understand.  What did you say?"

"I so tired Mama.  I'm a sausage."

"I'm exhausted too, Baby.  Me too."

Understanding G

I zip around, trying to get breakfast on the table, when G pipes up:

"Im-a play in the puddle."

"NO.  Do not play in the puddle." (rotten, leaking refrigerator)

"Im-a play in the puddle!"

"Mama said NO.  I will clean up the puddle in a minute." 

"Mom.  I say you.  Im-a PLAY INNA PUDDLE!"

"G...."  (sees him opening the fridge)  lightbulb  "I'm sorry.  It would be great if you would get out the butter."

Sometimes the speech issues cause trouble, but mostly they're just adorable.

Two more of my favorite G-isms:

DEE-DAUSE = "because"

DAS NOK OK = "That's not ok" (a phrase that I regularly use with G, and with sometimes comes back my way from G - usually very calmly & seriously - as he warns me: "Mom.  Das nok ok."

The Latest in Language

G's language development continues to provide daily amusement.  Some of the latest...

- When G wants my attention, he used to call: "Mama!"  Lately he's been calling: "My Mom!"  Hilarious, no? 

This morning G was sitting on the kitchen chair.  He yelled to me: "My Mom!  My bottom huwts.  I wanna sit in you lap."  "Why, yes, your majesty - allow me to act as your cushion."

- With our winter weather, the sidewalks have often been slippery.  Only instead of "slippery" G says "swippy."  How could I correct "swippy?"

The other day when G woke up, it had snowed again.  He had just been talking about his babysitter, Mr. Jim, when he noticed the snow outside.  He called out, as if Mr. Jim could cosmic-ly hear him: "Oh Missuh Jim: it's reawy swippy!"

- G has a new habit for ascertaining what people want.  It's a Statement-Confirmation system, where he very seriously adds "yes and no" on to the end of sentences (meaning "yes OR no").  He just asked Joseph: "Jajesh - you wanna pizza - yes and no?"  Who knows - maybe we've been too long-winded with our answers, and he's encouraging us to just stick to the bottom line.

What do you think - yes and no?

The Hungry Caterpillar

We have the pop-up version of the book. G has been helping me read it lately. Do you remember the last page, where the caterpillar turns into a "beautiful butterfly?" Oh, but you need to see this version....

The Back Seat

I just can’t seem to slow down lately and get to the computer. I hate to be leaving you out of the deliciousness that’s happening here every day.
Here’s one of the reasons I laughed today:


This morning I placed a bag FULL of papers on the backseat of the car next to G. As I rounded the first bend, the bag tipped & the papers started sliding around. G was peering down from his carseat and calling out to me: “Be fahfuh (careful)! Fahfuh Mama! Too fas, too fas! Be fahfuh!”

Wish I could record his sweet voice for you.

Who's On First

G's speech challenges do result in some frustrating conversations.

Tonight he informed me that he wanted to brush his teeth. 
I said, "No, you can brush your teeth later."
He asserted, "Brush my teeth!"
I responded, "G, Mama said No. You can brush your teeth later."
Pointing & gesturing to the other room: "Brush my teeth!  Brush my teeth!"
(Lightbulb suddenly piercing the darkness)
Me: "G, what do you... Oh... you want mac and cheese..."

Because, you know, "Brush my teeth" and "Mac and cheese" sound exactly the same.

I realized that I needed to inform the blogging community about this discovery, so I got my List of Ideas (Scrap of Paper in a Random Pile)... and learned that I had already written myself a note: "Brush my teeth"="Mac and Cheese."

G may be taking a while to learn enunciation.  But I'm not moving any faster in the listening comprehension department.

Oh - also on my List of Ideas was this note: "People"="PooPoo."  Now THAT would have made a story worth blogging about.

Learning to Read

Lately G is making discoveries all the time.

"Look!  Joseph!"

"Look!  Mama!"

 "Look!  Poo-Poo!"

Ok.  Perhaps I should have thought a little more before I taught him that one.

Counting

First I'll review how your average child counts:


one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight


You're welcome.


Now G.  Picture this with a bit of a French Caribbean spin:


juan
too
thethen (seven)
aye-t (eight)
thethen
aye-t
thethen
aye-t


I really love when he counts.


And - as a bonus - I'll also share with you that I love the color orange.  Or "oh-jin" as G would say.  A sample conversation:
"G, say 'orange'."
"oh-jin."
"orange."
"oh-jin."


Hours of fun, guaranteed.

Repeating What I Hear

my my my my my my my my MINE! my my my my MINE MINE MINE!

Tonight's example:  We were climbing the front steps to our house when G noticed a spider web near the door.  He immediately asserted his rights to it: "Das MY spider!"  Sure, kid, that's your spider.

New Expressions

There are two frequent phrases lately that I love.  I'm not sure that either will come across without photos of the attendant facial expressions & gestures, but I will try.

- G will do something ridiculous.  I'll ask him: "What are you doing?"  He'll look back at me, totally perplexed, and say "I na no, Mama."  (I don't know, Mama)

- I'll be trying to accomplish something (always).  G will be troubling around my feet (always).  Finally he'll think of something that he wants to go get/accomplish.  Before he goes, though, he'll call for my attention.  Then he'll stick up his index finger, drop down his chin, raise up his eyebrows, and sincerely assure me: "I be reye ba (right back) Mama.  Reye ba."

Bip Bop

One of Joseph & my favorite things is when G declares that he wants to wear his bip bops.

Speech Progress

I love you:
"I-uh-oo" has become "I-luh-loo"

What happened:
"Ha-happen" has become "Wha-happen"

I noticed a five-word sentence: "Look, I opened it Mama."  That was exciting.

I'm a little sad over the progress.  "Ha-happen" was just so cute.  I mean, I want G to be able to speak properly.  But like when he's 20.  It's all just going so fast.

Explosion

That word - "explosion" - still makes me think of the days when I was cleaning sheets twice a day due to crazy diaper blow-outs.  But I'm not here now to talk about that.

We're seeing a language explosion.

Every day G is adding new words to his vocab! 

Now, you, the casual listener, might not recognize that "poo" refers to a "spoon" (or a fork, if we're being honest).  But I know - and I'm finding it very fun.

The only part that is not as fun is when the classic questions come at me for the quabillionth time.  This includes:
Wuz-za? (What's that?)  and  Ha Happen? (What happened?)

I'll illustrate with a popular discussion from my house:
G: Wuz-za?
Me: A wall.
G: Wuz-za?
Me: Wall.
G: Wuz-za?
Me: That is a wall.
G: Wuz-za?

No joke.  That discussion can last for hours (or so it seems).

But beyond that frustration it's pure fun around here.  Some language examples:

- G's word for "elbow" sounds identical to his word for "apple."  That one was figured out after he got very frustrated with me for repeatedly asking if he was hungry.
- I clapped for G the other night, and he insisted: "Bubble.  Bubble Mama."  I kept asking if he was ready for his bath, then finally realized he wanted me to add "Bravo" to my clapping.
- Yesterday he covered his eyes with his hands and announced: "Ideeg.  Ideeg Mama."  Because when your hands are over your eyes you're obviously "hiding."
- My most favorite G-ism is "Wat-ow!"  How often do you suppose I've warned him "Watch out!"

Really fun.

----------------------------------------------

And in other explosion news, I measured G tonight.  I think he's up to 35" and 31#.  If I'm right, that's an inch & a pound since my last check.  Onward!

Ownership

I've been meaning to post that G has been into Identification.  Multiple times a day he thumps his chest and asserts "G!" (his version of his name).  Apparently, this is so I remember who he is.  He often follows that up by poking at me and asserting: "Mama!" 


We've recently made a transition from the great Identification game to the even better Ownership game.  It's a very similar game.  Both of the words are said exactly the same way.  But now, instead of thumping or poking us, G sticks his finger at whatever item requires clarification of possession.  Examples include my chicken dinner... (finger inserted) "Mama!"...  and my old tshirt (clutched to him) "G!"


Hours of fun, I'm telling you.

Big Happenings

This morning we had G's full school evaluation!  We met with the school psychologist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and an intern.  They apologized that the social worker couldn't make it - !  So far, I'm impressed with the team.  They seem knowledgeable, caring, and professional.  I was hoping G would at least qualify for speech therapy.  They think he'll qualify for the whole morning special preschool program.  Unfortunately we won't know for sure until late August.  That'll make for interesting daycare arrangements.

During the eval, I was shocked to see how much G has learned in the past 2 months since his 1st eval.  He can do so much more - language, behavior, strength, coordination, comprehension - it's unbelievable.  My favorite moment was when one lady asked about his ability to identify body parts.  I told her that "nose" was the only guarantee, with "eyes" sometimes making the list.  G correctly did "nose" and "eyes"!  And then "mouth", "foot", "ear", and "head"!  Yee-haw!  He couldn't do elbow, but who really needs to know "elbow" anyway?

Also today was G's preschool graduation.  Yep, after 3 weeks in school he's earned his diploma.  I'm expecting he'll be finished with college by September.

The children did a "performance" for the parents before the diplomas were handed out.  They had been practicing their songs all year.  Of course, you couldn't hear much because several of the children were freaking out screaming - first, because they wanted to sit with their parents; and then, because they're 2.  The parts of the performance that we could hear were approx. 8 different children's songs sung solo by the teacher because not one child would sing with her.  It was well worth the hour of vacation time that I had to use in order to attend.

After the "performance" there was a "party," where the children all sat around the table & ate tons of snacks.  (Yes, all right before dinnertime.)  Some of the parents hovered over their children.  Other parents mingled.  And one parent chose to drill me with bizarre-ness.  Observe:

- After confirming that G belonged to me: "His hair is so soft."  Sharing this news with me was apparently the reason she approached me.  I wasn't sure how to respond.  I considered: "Huh, I haven't analyzed your child's hair yet" or "Please don't pet my child."  But I think I settled for "uh-huh." 

- Undeterred, she carried on, asking me where G was from.  She asked: "So, how do you pick your child?  Do you get to go there and say (pointing) 'I like that one?'"

- She also needed to know if I'd adopt again and if I'd do "one like him again" or I could "get a Chinese."

All the time, I'm getting better at fielding & avoiding personal questions, but I would have to say that I lost this particular skirmish.  At least I've been able to ponder some wonderful new responses for next time.

What a day.

Some News

Last time I wrote that I wasn't inspired to post.  Since then, I've thought of a million things I want to tell you.. but Joseph has been married to the computer, working on a thesis paper.  Finally, I again have access.  I'm glad you didn't give up on me.  Here's some news...

Joseph had TWO band concerts and a band practice last week.  Doesn't that seem a bit extreme?  G's ability/inclination to sit still is improving; I got to enjoy a couple of the songs.  The last concert was Joseph's last concert since he's not taking band next year.  Another chapter finished.

A common occurence while driving is to hear this exclamation from the backseat: "AHBUHZ MAMA, AHBUHZ!"  The boy likes to spot "a bus", for sure.