Now that Mr. Independent can communicate his wants and needs, parenting has become easier. Sort of. He still uses his sign language, but now he's using it in conjunction with words. His words are:
1. ball (ba!)
2. dog (daaaw-awg!)
3. book (bouh!)
4. shoes (doos!, or joos!)
5. up (uh-uh!)
6. mama
7. dadada
8. no (nay!nay!)
9. boom boom (booboo!)
10. hi
11. bye
12. more (maaaawuh!)
13. all done (aw duh!)
14. baby (bay-bee!)
15. go
Dog is by far his favorite word. EVERYTHING is daaaw-awg!: squirrels, cats, dogs, horses, goats, cars, me. More is his second favorite word. He says more while making the sign for milk or eat. He's dropped the sign for more and says more whenever he wants to eat or drink anything. When I get him out of his crib each morning, he doesn't say hi, he doesn't say mama; he greets me with a "MAAAAWUH!" that becomes more and more shrill the longer I take to get him his more. He also appears to believe that he can do things he's not allowed to do by doing them and saying "nay!nay!" while doing them. This is what he does when he tries to open cabinets, put his fingers in electrical outlets, or go to the forbidden BEHIND THE TV. He'll wander over, nonchalantly, occasionally glancing to see if I'm paying attention, wedge himself in between the wall, the TV stand, and the DVD shelf, look at me and say "nay!nay!" as he pulls wires out of the television, Wii, or DVD player.
In addition to saying words, Mr. Independent has learned to shake his head for no or nod for yes. When he shakes his head, he turns his head back and forth, rapidly with a look of fierce concentration on his face. When he nods for yes, he has that same intense look of concentration, and the top half of his body jerks back and forth. Since we've noticed these abilities, we've had some fun with Mr. Independent.
Me: Mr. I, do you love your dadada?
Mr. I: jerks body or shakes head fiercely, depending on the day, time of day, or what Husband has recently told him he can't do.
Me: Do you love your mama?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you love your Memere?
Mr. I: jerks body violently and smiles really big
Me: Do you want to go to sleep?
Mr. I: shakes head with a look of terror on his face
Me: Are you sure you don't need to go to bed? You seem pretty cranky.
Mr. I: shakes head with an angry look on his face. Shrieks.
Me: Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?
Mr. I: jerks body while shrieking MAAAAAW!
Me: Do you want your vibrator?
Mr. I: jerks body and points to some indiscernible spot where he thinks the vibrator is.
We're going to visit my in-laws tomorrow, and when we go on car trips, I like to spend some time prepping Mr. Independent for the journey. The first time, our conversation was as follows:
Me: Do you want to see Grandma tomorrow?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you want to see Grandpa tomorrow?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you want to see Aunt Jen tomorrow?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you want to see your seven-year old cousin?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you want to see Uncle P.? (sidenote: Mr. Independent has an inexplicable adverse reaction to Uncle P. every time he sees him)
Mr. I: jerks body, twice, stops, hesitates, then shakes head violently
Me: Um, okay.
The next time we talked about our upcoming trip, the conversation was a little different.
Me: Do you want to visit Grandma tomorrow?
Mr. I: shakes head
Me: Do you want to see Grandpa tomorrow?
Mr. I: shakes head
Me: Do you want to see Aunt Jen tomorrow?
Mr. I: hesitates, then shakes head
Me: Do you want to see Seven Year Old Cousin?
Mr. I: jerks body
Me: Do you want to see Uncle P.?
Mr. I: shakes head violently
Me: Do you want to see Mama tomorrow?
Mr. I: shakes head violently
Me: Um, okay, so just to clarify, you only want to see Seven Year Old Cousin tomorrow.
Mr. I: jerks body and smiles
Sometimes I like to ask him questions that will be very mean in just a few months.
Me: Do you want a dog to come live at your house with you?
Mr. I: jerks body violently and says "daaaw-awg!"
Me: Um okay, well, that ain't happening. Do you want a baby to come live at your house with you?
Mr. I: jerks body and gets a look of hopefulness on his face
Me: Okay, well, good luck with that one. Do you want a monster to come live at your house with you?
Mr. Independent's answers have evolved on this one. He initially indicated yes, then indicated confusion, and now consistently answers no.
Me: Okay, Sweet Boy, one last question. Who is talking to you right now?
Mr. I: DAAAAW-AG!
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4 comments:
I heard him say "dee" for cheese this weekend.
For some reason, he doesn't hate his uncle so much anymore. I think it's because said uncle showed him how to open the door to the stereo cabinet.
Merridith has also become quite the talker. The one word we cannot say in front of her is "outside." If we do say it she brings us her shoes and says "side!" and if she does not get to go outside much shrieking ensues. She also insists on feeding herself no matter what she is eating. We are going through bibs like nobody's buisiness. She does the whole yes and no bit too and has become quite the picky eater! I'll send you the link to some updated pictures. We spent yesterday afternoon running up and down the sidewalk yelling "woof woof! Mommy, daddy, woof woof!" and pointing at the neighbor's dog, who was inside the house, while the neighbor looked suspiciously at two parents who were allowing their toddler to point at her dog...
a very important non-speaking related question...can he still do the fist pump?
One of my close friend's from work has a 17 month old who likes to pull out bottles of cleaning chemicals from under the sink and make like she's going to drink them, then yell "NOOOOOOOO" until you notice what she's doing.
It makes for funny pictures when we hide alcohol down there and watch her up-end a giant bottle of vodka toward her mouth. :)
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