Nonsense Words
It seems like I'm writing a series on toddler verbal development these days. I have several posts about Eamon's vocabulary, because I find his words just so charming. At 21 months old, he's just entering the "makes me pee myself from laughing so hard" verbal phase. He comes out with the most hilarious conversations these days. He tells us all about his day, and recounts stories from "Curious George" and other movies. He uses this incredible high-pitched inflection, and has the most expressive face I've ever seen. Add those together with his inherited weird sense of humor and knack for performing, and he becomes the funniest little person I've ever met. (Of course, I think Baby Daddy is the funniest big person I've ever met).
It's shocking how many words he can say - I couldn't even begin to count, since he repeats most everything we say. It's equally surprising how many nonsense words he says - these words he repeats again and again, so we know they mean something, we just can't figure out what. Lately, he's been saying, "Hogan poi." Over and over. I can't figure it out. And it's driving me batty. I've asked him to show me what "hogan poi" is, and he looks at me like I'm crazy. I ask him to use a sign, and he laughs, "Hogan poi?" Sometimes he just sits and babbles, holding a whole conversation with himself. It's very entertaining.
Equally funny are the incorrect word choices he has (maybe because I'm a grammar snob). He's started asking, "Mama, pick it uppa, please," when he wants me to pick him up. When something pinches his finger or falls on his foot, he'll exclaim, "Ow! Hurt you!" If he finds something difficult, he's been known to ask, "Mama, helping me?"
The other developmental changes we see are just as surprising. Some days, I can only look at him and sigh, knowing my sweet, content baby is nearly gone, replaced by a funny, kind, and independent young boy. His Y chromosome has fully kicked in, and despite my best efforts to raise him in a neutral way, he shows a preference for all things with wheels (especially trains). He spends his days building and destroying train tracks, finding muddy spots in the yard for digging, and fitting random findings (like screws, kitchen tools, and the like) into random holes - I frequently pull the vacuum cleaner out and find a screwdriver stuck into the screw holes on the back.
Potty learning is going very well - he's certainly on the train, but hasn't reached the last stop yet. He's completely out of diapers, and has been for nearly two months. He's consistently dry over night. We've discovered that he's much more likely to tell us he needs to use the toilet if he's wearing underpants, so he doesn't run around nudey-bottom quite as much now. I still carry two extra pairs of pants everywhere, but I haven't needed to use them in a few weeks. We mostly struggle with having potty misses when he's tired - before naptime and at night.
He's very helpful around the house - picking up toys, putting his clothes in the wash, and helping to dust and clean. If he sees me at the kitchen counter with baking goods out, he always drags a chair to the counter to "helpa you."
It's hard to believe how fast time goes when you are busy keeping up with a toddler. Yesterday I mentioned something about a one-and-a-half-year-old, and Chris corrected me. "You know he's one and three quarters, right?" How is it possible that he'll be two before we know it? It's so cliche, but where did the past two years go? When did he change from a baby into a complete little boy?
It's shocking how many words he can say - I couldn't even begin to count, since he repeats most everything we say. It's equally surprising how many nonsense words he says - these words he repeats again and again, so we know they mean something, we just can't figure out what. Lately, he's been saying, "Hogan poi." Over and over. I can't figure it out. And it's driving me batty. I've asked him to show me what "hogan poi" is, and he looks at me like I'm crazy. I ask him to use a sign, and he laughs, "Hogan poi?" Sometimes he just sits and babbles, holding a whole conversation with himself. It's very entertaining.
Equally funny are the incorrect word choices he has (maybe because I'm a grammar snob). He's started asking, "Mama, pick it uppa, please," when he wants me to pick him up. When something pinches his finger or falls on his foot, he'll exclaim, "Ow! Hurt you!" If he finds something difficult, he's been known to ask, "Mama, helping me?"
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| E is really into taking self portraits, and of course needs to "see picha" as soon as we take it. |
The other developmental changes we see are just as surprising. Some days, I can only look at him and sigh, knowing my sweet, content baby is nearly gone, replaced by a funny, kind, and independent young boy. His Y chromosome has fully kicked in, and despite my best efforts to raise him in a neutral way, he shows a preference for all things with wheels (especially trains). He spends his days building and destroying train tracks, finding muddy spots in the yard for digging, and fitting random findings (like screws, kitchen tools, and the like) into random holes - I frequently pull the vacuum cleaner out and find a screwdriver stuck into the screw holes on the back.
Potty learning is going very well - he's certainly on the train, but hasn't reached the last stop yet. He's completely out of diapers, and has been for nearly two months. He's consistently dry over night. We've discovered that he's much more likely to tell us he needs to use the toilet if he's wearing underpants, so he doesn't run around nudey-bottom quite as much now. I still carry two extra pairs of pants everywhere, but I haven't needed to use them in a few weeks. We mostly struggle with having potty misses when he's tired - before naptime and at night.
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| This was one of those sensory activities that flopped - it held his interest for about two minutes |
Eamon can follow complex directions now, but I've noticed it takes him a few moments to process the information. The other day he came to find me in the shower, then turned to leave. As he was going out of the bathroom, I asked him to close to door. He kept running for nearly ten seconds, then stopped, came back, pulled the door shut, and took off running again. He wasn't being disobedient, it just took him that long to process my direction.
He's very helpful around the house - picking up toys, putting his clothes in the wash, and helping to dust and clean. If he sees me at the kitchen counter with baking goods out, he always drags a chair to the counter to "helpa you."
It's hard to believe how fast time goes when you are busy keeping up with a toddler. Yesterday I mentioned something about a one-and-a-half-year-old, and Chris corrected me. "You know he's one and three quarters, right?" How is it possible that he'll be two before we know it? It's so cliche, but where did the past two years go? When did he change from a baby into a complete little boy?
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| Discovering acorns with 'Chelle. He came home with two pockets full ! |
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