Miranda Talking at 22 Months 2016

Unlike walking, talking doesn't have a "first day" which makes it tricky. When a baby says her first word you're never sure if she really means it or not. And then random words start coming and then disappearing, then two related words together... finally three... and then she's talking!

Puppeteer, February 10

 

Frog whisperer

At the beginning of January she was 20 months, Miranda said "no more jump-jump" while jumping on the bed to refer to the song No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. By the end of January we were having "one word conversations" where she would communicate a lot of answers and requests just using one word at a time. She also says "delicious!" when she eats something she likes. So adorable.

Drawing with her brother

By February she had gotten it together to actually say "No more monkeys." But over the last two weeks she's started talking for real. She uses three or more words at time, often making little sentences. She started making little word phrases: "See? A dinosaur! Roarrrr!"

Then and February 23 she reused and reorganized the Monkey song words she knew. When Kevin asked if she wanted a bath, she announced, "NO MORE BATHS" and ran away. And on her 22-month birthday, she started telling knock-knock jokes! Really bad ones, but still! I'm impressed.

M: Knock, knock.
E: Hi.
M: Mama, KNOCK KNOCK.
E; Oh, who's there?
M: Sheep.
E: Sheep who?
M: You! (Maybe she meant ewe? Haha. Unlikely. But maybe?)

Also, since she can now make requests, I know her favorite TV shows are Little Einsteins, Bob Zoom, Umi Zoomi, and Bubble Guppies, in that order.

Funny Yogurt Face

The only other thing going on with her, which is unrelated (or maybe not?) is that this month she stopped sleeping through the night. We started with gentle methods. Then we started to panic and tried to Ferberize her for a week. Since that was not working at all, I backed up entirely and started bringing her to the guest bed in her room. This is also not working well at all. I will implement Plan C when I return from Richmond.

Gets a blanket for naps and nighttime sleep now.

Miranda's Vocabulary at 19 Months 2015

Miranda had a big vocabulary explosion in the last two months, and we are now having what I like to call "one word conversations." The concept is a lot like the sound of one hand clapping, but it's happening. She appears to understand basically everything I say to her. She also pretends to talk on pretend phones speaking in mostly gibberish even though Kevin and I don't talk on the phone much. (Nana's genes I guess.)

Wearing Dada's shoes.

Miranda's speaking vocabulary~~

Nouns:

• Dada
• Mama (sometimes Mamama)
• James
• baby
• poop/caca (bilingual on this one issue only)
• ball
• book
• shoes
• duck
• block
• M&Ms (pronounced "eminem-inem")
• apple (but for some reason can't or won't say banana)
• "ish" (Goldfish snacks)
• "cook" (cookie)

Verbs:

• tickle
• go
• jump
• walk
• kick
• think (I don't think she knows what this mean but she sings it with Blues Clues)

Other concepts/ commands:

• Yes
• No, no, nope!
• Up!
• hi!
• bye!
• ow!
• Roar!

PS. James still says "pascetti" instead of spaghetti and I hope he always does.

Three Words- 23 Months 2013

James: WHEREDA. WHEREDA.
Me: What?
James: WHEREDA. WHEREDA.
Me: Where Dada?
James: Where Dada go?

 Three words! In a row! Only partially prompted.

James is 20-Month-Old Chatterbox 2012

James is 20 months old! We're getting so close to his second birthday!

Building a pillow fort, December 4

His vocabulary has exploded in the last month. He understands a ton of stuff in both English and Spanish. He says over 40 words now, mostly English. I'm going to lose track pretty soon, but here's a run down of the things he says regularly:

Things he loves:
1. light 2. a Mama 3. a Dada 4. tete (Spanish for pacifier)  5. a ball 6. a book

Food he loves:
7. milk (he also says this when he's hungry so this is helpful, rarely he says leche) 8. juice / jugo (He says both the English and the Spanish) 9. a coo (a cookie) 10. yogur (Spanish for yogurt)  11. apple 12. nana (banana) 13. agua (Spanish for water) 14. a cah (a cracker)

Animals:
15. a cat (also makes the cat noise meow) 16. a dog (also makes the dog noise woof) 17. a whale (there's one on his nursery wall) 18. a cow 19. sheep (also makes the sheep noise bah) 20. duck 21. chick 22. a mon (monkey) 23. pig (and pig noise oink/uck?) 

Other:
24. go! (when he wants us to play tag) 25. up (to pick him up) 26. "ow" (when he wants me to kiss his booboo)  27. hi!  28. bye!  29. eye/ojo (Spanish for eye) 30. nariz (Spanish for nose) 31. pelo (Spanish for hair) 32. choo-choo/ train 33. a door 34. a wall 35. a shoe 36. a car 37. a tree (Christmas tree) 38. a star (on Christmas tree) 39. baby  40. a T (Tigger from Winnie the Poo) 41. Oh tools! (from Mickey Mouse Club) 42. cache[te] (Spanish for cheek) 43. Santa 44. please (but he think this is the word he says to obtain yogurt bites) 45. touch (from us constantly yelling, "NO TOUCH."

James is the strangest kid. He hates car rides. He loves vegetables and routinely eats all of them at dinner before touching anything else. He also loves brushing his teeth. He'll ask for his toothbrush and refuse to relinquish it for hours sometimes. I think it's fair to say he takes after my dad in these things. Right?

Christmas jammies and Christmas tree, December 7

He seems to have gotten a little bigger because he's more comfortable in 2T pajamas now than the 18 month ones, but when I measure him I still get 34 inches. James loves the Mickey Mouse Club, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Blues Clues. He loves to nab things he's not supposed to touch. Kevin takes him to the park most days and he wanders around picking up leaves and sticks.

Bouncing on the bridge at the park

How he goes down the slide

To celebrate his 20-month birthday we took James to meet Santa for the first time. James sat there saying, "Santa. Santa. Santa." No one is surprised that Santa said he would be getting coal in his stocking.

James and Santa

James's Vocabulary at 16 Months 2012

James is 16 months old today! In lieu of a full update on James's personal growth and development this month, let's stick to the one thing that has been changing. James is starting to say words on his own more and not just repeating sounds we make. He understands a lot of stuff we say to him. Sometimes he even responds to stuff Kevin and I are saying to each other and not to him. As far as actually speaking though, we expect his language will be delayed and confused for a while because I'm teaching him Spanish as well as English.

One complication is that little kids don't pronounce things correctly when they're learning to speak, but their parents can usually guess at the words based on context, and reward the language by giving them what they request.  It makes it harder to guess what he's saying when it might be a mispronounced English word, Spanish word, or nonsense noise.

Collage of James's Spanish books

Another unusual thing is that I did a little reading on raising bilingual children. It was my understanding that, at first, James would learn one word for each item without regard for language, but that he would only learn the one word. Well, this is not turning out to be the case. Like many little boys, James is obsessed with light fixtures, and he says both light and "luz," the word for light in Spanish. I'm not sure what to expect going forward. I exclusively spoke Spanish for 4 years before I started learning English so my experience was different than James's will be.

Here's his current list of words/ word-like-babble in order of frequency:

1. "ight" = light
2. "loosh" = luz (Spanish for light)
3. "go go"= Diego (sometimes he actually says Diego, but rarely)
4. Boos Coos = Blues Clues
5. "ow" = used to convey painless injuries (he actually cries when he's hurt)
6. Mama
7. Dada
8. agua/aba = Spanish for water
9. tete = Spanish for pacifier, but I suspect he might also be referring to "leche" or milk 
10. "ba pa"  = back pack (from Diego)
11. Click = the camera on Dora and Diego
12. arbol = Spanish for tree

As you can see, "Mama" and "Dada" don't rate very high on his list of importance.

James and "Mama" at home

"Dada" and James at the park

James is 15 Months Old 2012

James is 15 months old and it's become pretty obvious I'm never going to stop doing these posts. He's 33" inches tall and rapidly gaining on me! He's a whole foot taller than when he was born, though back then we called it long because he obviously he was a purely horizontal life form. He wears 18 month clothing, but some of the 18-month clothing being a little slouchy on him still.

Wearing my sunglasses

He's got 8 teeth and 4 molars for a total of 12, but he's definitely in the process of getting more. (8 to go!) He puts these teeth to good use by eating everything! This month he discovered he's more talented with a baby fork than with a baby spoon, so for most stuff he gets a fork now. He can also (finally) drink on his own. He was really late on that one.

Some of you saw this picture from the beginning of the month. I posted it to Facebook with the label, The Most Interesting Baby in the World, "I don't always eat beans, but when I do, I prefer Cuban black beans. Stay hungry, my friends." (If you don't know about the Dos Equis campaign: http://youtu.be/8Bc0WjTT0Ps.)  Now note his progress in eating like a real person in one month.

James at close to 14 months with black beans on his face

James eating with a fork at close to 15 months

His powers of mimicry have really taken off. He doesn't have much of a vocabulary "mama," "dada," and "light" (which he pronounces "ight"). However, he repeats a ton of stuff randomly. I recently heard him repeat "go," "oh-oh," and "Boos Coos," his version of Blues Clues.  Beyond just words, he copies the things we do, and he pretends to talk on the phone, even though as most of you will complain, I rarely talk on the phone.

"Hello, yes, I'd like a large pizza with all the toppings."

We cut out his afternoon nap and made his bedtime earlier per parent-advice on Facebook (thank you!). Everyone said to cut out his morning nap, but I think what that really means is cut his afternoon one and then try to make his morning one later and later. I'm pretty sure he'd injure himself from tantrums if I just suddenly cut the morning one. He is not a morning person. So now he takes a 2 -hour nap once a day, goes to bed at 7-7:30, and wakes up after 5 AM. Usually at 5:15, but today at 5:45! Yes, it is sad that it makes me super happy when we're still up before 6 AM. Now I just put him in our bed for the one nap because he's so exhausted, and I don't have to hold him anymore.

The last nap I had to hold him

He's full of energy and personality. He jumps up and runs when he sees me coming to wash his face off with a washcloth. It's pretty hilarious. I can still eventually catch him, but pretty soon that might not be true anymore.  He loves to dance. He climbs onto our couches and coffee table. He plays a cross between peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek. He loves being read to, and he'll bring book after book to us to read him. If you don't respond right away, he takes your hand and presses the book into your hand. He can "ride" his "bike."  He pretends to write with capped markers in his books.  He plays pretend games by himself that we can only guess at because he doesn't talk. He invents and reinvents and laughs at strange things.  He behaves for most of the day! James has really hit a good stride now.

Riding his bike and bringing along a snack

Brushing his hair in the bath

Brushing dad's beard

Peek-a-boo!

I see you!

James's First Word? 2012

So James has been saying "ma-ma-ma-ma," for months, and recently started saying it with a bit of conviction, like he wasn't just making random noise, but meant something by it. Then yesterday at breakfast time, I thought he said the Spanish word for milk,  "leche," or maybe more of a failed try at it, "eche."  So I asked him,"leche,"?  Which I realize is sort of an unfair set up, but he said,"eche" again.  Wherein I ran into the bathroom where Kevin was attempting to have two seconds to himself while showering, and announced, "James said his first word! James said his first word! Well, sort of..."  This first word stuff is tricky.  

How did you know when your son or daughter said their first word for real?

James in February (9 months) loving his leche

James is 11 Months Old 2012!

Wow, James is almost a year old! How did that happen?  I mean don't get me wrong... it's been a lot of long days, but it's like Gretchen Rubin says, "The days are long but the years are short." So true.

James at 11 Months, March 20

Moving- He runs around the apartment like a crazy man. Full run. You turn around and he's zipped into the bedroom to admire himself in the mirror, or to the kitchen to look at my fridge picture-magnets. If you leave the bathroom door open, it takes him exactly two seconds to go in, open a drawer, and pull out my hairbrushes. If I let him be in his room for two seconds, he immediately starts yanking all the clothing out of his drawers, or EATING his books. Yes, his books look like they were attacked by starving mice. Teething has been hard for James.

Sleep- James is still sleeping through the night (mostly) and thanks to Daylight Savings, he now usually sleeps from 8:30 p.m to 6:30 a.m. Sadly, he still makes me hold him during all his naps which is a sad waste of precious recharge time.

About to grab my hair brushes, February 22nd

Eating- He eats anything you give him. Anything.  A short list of foods he's tried: beef, chicken, ham, turkey, egg, apple, banana, blue berry, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cheerios, oatmeal, pasta, rice, wheat bread. That's just off the top of my head. He's the least picky eater ever (so far).  Note, above, he eats books. More interestingly, he can now grab little bits of food with his hands and shove them in his mouth, although he's not terribly graceful about it. Sometimes he ends up licking the food off the back of his hand. He also actually sips liquid out of his sippy cup, though I've limited him to water because he likes to drool it out wherever he's dragged the sippy cup.

Eating Cheerios (making a funny chewing face), March 14

Licking the mango baby food, March 18

Growth- I'm not sure because we didn't have a doctor's appointment this week but he's been outgrowing a few items of clothing here and there.  He has 7 teeth, 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. He has 13 baby teeth to go!

Social- Oh boy. This is a mixed bag. He gives hugs and kisses sometimes, but it's not a daily occurrence. He shows the most affection when he "hides" behind you and you wonder out loud, "Where is James?" He run out and surprises you. He loves this game and finds it hilarious several times a day every day.  I think it's pretty great too.

On the other hand, he's learned to throw tantrums when the tiniest little thing frustrates him.  I didn't think that sort of thing happened until children were 2 and as it's impossible to reason with him I try to calm him down without necessarily giving him what he wants. That's not always possible though because if what he wants is to be picked up, it necessarily goes along with calming him.  In related news, my back is sore every single morning.

Oh and I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but when Grandma Kathy was here she taught him to shake his head no. So now when I tell him not to touch this or that, he shakes his head, and really his whole torso.

Getting a super awesome hug from James, March 2

He loves mirrors, maybe he needs some friends?, March 12

Language- Some days he says "mama" a lot. This isn't actually new to this month, but this month I became convinced that he meant something by it, if not precisely me. He either means me, milk, parent, or attend to me. I think he means something though. I've also started pointing at things more when I talk about them, so he points at stuff now too, though he points without any meaning behind it. He just randomly points. I try to respond to the pointing by telling him the name of stuff, but he doesn't actually care yet.

  

Close-up at the park, March 20