Jac has started teaching NIcie words! Last night they were playing with their laptop (we have out in their play area an old laptop that we don't use anymore). Nic was pointing and saying, "that," which is his way of asking what something is called. In response to each, "that," Jac was pointing to the same thing and telling Nic what is was called. For example, Nic pointed to the screen and Jac said, "screen," Nic pointed to the keyboard and Jac said, "keyboard."
In the car today they were doing the same thing but with objects in the car!
This to me is an amazing moment of seeing my little boy teach my other little boy! Watch out world, here come the Chiu boys!
"Bye bye Mommy, I'll see you later" - This phrase was uttered by Jac as he left the apartment with Katie to walk down the hall to take the trash. "Bless you, Nicie" - From Jac to Nic when Nic sneezed. (I have not taught him this, just said it myself) "Thanks" - Spoken frequently by Jac to me, Katie, Nic and Daddy when we give him something - I did not teach him to say this, just modeled it. "I can't do it" - Jac says this when he either can't or doesn't want to do something and wants you to do it for him. "Not yet" - This is used when Jac doesn't want to do something, to hold you off for a while. Like if you ask him if he needs a fresh diaper, he will say "Not yet" or if he wants to put on a suit, or go out, or eat something, or take a bath! "Oh my" or "Oh my gosh" - Uttered by Jac when he is watching or seeing something interesting. He said this a lot during the recent Winter Olympics, usually when watching someone go fast. BTW, he particularly liked the ski jumping, speed skating, and bobsledding. "Wearing necklace" - When Mommy is wearing a necklace. "I want soup back" - When we were out to dinner at Hurry Curry and Joseph moved the soup away from Jac (because he was playing with it), Jac very emphatically managed to get this sentence out. You could tell it took some work but he got the whole thing out!
Our little Nicie is 17 months old! Oh man! Time is really flying! It feels like we are flying towards two and three!
So what is our little Nicie doing these days!
More words!
Nicie is saying more and more words! I have been trying to write them down so I have a complete list but I am failing! Here are a few new ones since 2/9/10 ( my last words entry for Nic)
"Boo Boo eh" - This is what he calls breast feeding. He started saying "Boo Boo Eh," and so that is what we call it now! His plaintive cries of "Boo Boo Eh" can be heard when he is hungry or tired. "Watch it" - This was a new one just tonight! We were watching their favorite Tomica video when Jac left to play with the new Shinkanzen train. I paused the video since Jac wasn't watching it. Nic grabbed the remote and walked over and said, "Watch it." "Jac" or "Jacie" - Nic has learned Jac's name - although sometimes he calls himself Jac! "Nic" or "Nicie" - He knows his own name now and will point at himself and say, "Nicie." "Dadda" - He knows Dadda's name and calls him it consistently. "Momma" - He now calls me by name consistently - although he does still call me "Dadda," sometimes! "Katie" - He knows Katie's name. "No, No, No" - Nicie has been saying No for quite a while, but he really likes to say his Nos as "No, No, No." "More" - He has known the word more for a while, but he is quite clear in his more now, usually when he wants more food. "Up" or "Carry" - Pick me up and carry me! "Draw" - Nic likes to draw with pens, and he asks for them by saying, "Draw."
I am going to have to try a word list tomorrow and see if I can come up with the rest of the list!
He loves to throw - still! He can throw with both hands, really well. He will pick up a ball in each hand, and throw them equally well, at the same time. Although I still think he is left handed I think he may be quite ambidextrous. His new throw is with a balloon. We have discovered the joy of balloons and Nicie really likes to see them fly up over his head and float back down. He grabs it in both hands, does a few practice motions, and then chucks it, underhanded, over his head! He looks like he is trying to throw a basket underhanded.
He can now ride his fire engine toy without help. He can sit down and push it quite well!
Running - he is a faster and more proficient runner now. He can really get moving, with his belly out! He takes really cute little steps! See the running post!
Climbing - Nic is quite a proficient climber now. He can climb up most things that he can reach. Tonight he climbed up my chair right behind Jac, and they both stood on it and played with the lights!
Mischievous - Nic can be really mischievous. He will look you straight in the eye and say, "No," with his little finger held in front of his nose, and then do whatever he just acknowledged he was not supposed to do.
The "No" with the finger in front of the nose is an interesting thing, and I have not managed to get a video of it yet! When Nic is acknowledgeing my "No," he holds his finger up in front of his nose, and says, "No." At first I couldn't figure out why he did that, but then Daddy pointed out to me that sometimes when I am saying, "No," I hold my hand up and point, to show I am serious! So he is imitating me! It is really cute and hard not to laugh at sometimes!
Nic nurses for naps, for comfort and for sleeping at night. He wants, "Boo Boo Eh," if he is upset or hurt or tired.
He likes to eat, and his new trick is to stuff his cheeks until he can't get any more food in his mouth, and then sometimes he chews and swallows! This is a new thing, and we are rolling with it, although it is really hard not to bust up laughing when his cheeks look like they are going to explode.
Yelling - This is a new one. When Jac is upset and crying Nic's new thing is to start yelling, although it is more like screeching, and we call it his "Mothra" yell. Jac really doesn't like it when Nic does this, but Nic seems to take great pleasure in it. We are working on getting him not to do this.
Laughing - He and Jac crack each other up, several times a day, and just laugh and laugh. They feed off one another.
Playing by himself - Nic has made a very dramatic change in his ability play by himself in the last week. All of a sudden he can stick with a task, ignoring what Jac is doing, and play! It is amazing. I knew things had changed one night this weekend. Joseph was tired and had gone to sleep and the boys and I were still up. I wanted to watch Olympics, and I was tired, so I plopped down in front of the TV and started up the TiVo. After about 5 or 10 minutes I realized I was still watching the Olympics and that I had not gotten up to mediate a dispute yet. The boys were in their play area in the living room, each playing with their own thing, on the train layout that Joseph had made earlier in the day. This went on for two hours or so! They came over to me, and I went over to them, we interacted, but I did not mediate any major disputes in that entire time! It was truly amazing and hopefully a sign of things to come!
The video is of Nic playing with a night light and putting the batteries in and out. We use these night lights as we are going to sleep and every couple of weeks we have to replace the batteries. The boys really enjoy doing this! Usually as we are working on it they get involved in the process. This night, Jac was helping to screw and unscrew the battery cover, and Nic was taking the batteries in and out. He sat and played like this for at least 10 minutes!
Daddy has taught the boys to "Dab, dab, swipe," their faces after they eat to clean them. It is really cute and injenious. They love to do it! Jac has been doing it for a while and he says, "Dab, dab, swipe," when he does it. Nic just recently started to do it and he now says, "Dab." Super cute!
Daddy has taught the boys to "Dab, Dad, Swipe" to clean their faces and mouths. It is super cute and Jac will say, "Dab, Dab, Swipe," and Nicie can say, "Dab."
Jac is pretty good at it now, he can get his face pretty clean after he eats, at least sometimes! Nicie is still more of a rookie at it but he gives it a college try if you ask him to!
Jac talks up a storm now. He is forming short sentences and putting together ideas from the past and the future. He can talk about things that happened a week ago and what is going to happen tomorrow (the past is easier than the future though!).
When we were visiting Grandma and Grandfather we asked him to say a bunch of things so Grandma could get a recording of him saying, "I love you Grandma," and "I love you Grandfather." The rest was gravy!
Jac is 31 months old! He is now headed toward three! Whoa!
He is turning into such a big boy! His language has absolutely taken off! He is truly narrating the world, and shaping it, using his language. Here are some of my current favorites!
"Very dangerous" - He says this when we are in a parking lot or near cars! "Very careful" - He says this to Nic to tell him to be careful in a parking lot! "That was" *pause* "fun" - Jac has learned the phrase, "That was" and he uses it a lot now. He usually has a pause between "that was" and the whatever he is talking about although tonight he linked "That was fun" all together! It is so cute though because he says, "that was" and then there is a pause and then "fun", or "phone" or whatever "that was!" "Mommy, Daddy, Katie" or "Mommy, Daddy, Nicie" or "Daddy, Nicie" or "Mommy, Jacie" - Tonight he was linking all of our names together in different ways. BTW, Katie is our new Mother's Helper. She is great and the kids have really taken to her. You can now ask Jac if he had a fun day and he will tell you, "Wes." You can also ask him what he did during the day and he will sometimes tell you about something, and if prompted with a particular thing will tell you more about it.
Jac's language has reached a point where it is getting harder to write these posts. He has so many words and phrases! I can now ask him yes, no questions and get pretty good answers. I can ask him to pick between two things and he can do it. I can ask him if he wants to stay home or go out and he can answer!
I think Jac's enunciation is quite good. Katie has only been with us for about a month and she can already understand almost everything he says. Sometimes she has difficulty if it is new word that he is mispronouncing but usually she can get it. His speech is supposed to be evaluated pretty soon by a therapist from the Lanterman Regional Center so it will be interesting to see what they say.
I used to have a lot more feedback about Jac's progress relative to "normal" when we were getting Part C services in Colorado. Since he didn't qualify for services under the "budget-cut" changes to the policies here in CA he hasn't had any OT, PT or Speech therapy. I don't think he really needs it but it was nice to now how he was "doing."
Jac is still a little guy but it feels like he has gotten a bit taller. He is still very skinny but he feels so strong. When I carry him I can tell how strong he is as he pushes back against my arm to lean away from me. He can now climb over the side of the couch with nothing to stand on to get a boost from. He is running like crazy and has gotten a lot faster. He still falls occasionally but his ability to get a little off balance and then regain his balance has gotten way better.
It feels like his eating has generally gotten better. He eats so many different things and his volume feels like it is at least holding steady - good days and bad days, although Nic has those also. I don't feel as stressed about his eating as I used to. Now, I just feed him. I make all sorts of different things and see what they eat. We go to McD's sometimes, we go out to other things, we eat at home, we have snacks, we have M&Ms (we all love them), we eat! And we just eat!
Sleeping - Jac knows now when he wants to go to sleep. He wants to sleep in the bed usually, although sometimes he wants to stay on the couch! He has pretty much stopped taking a nap. He usually has a quiet period about the same time as Nic takes a nap, where he relaxes on the couch and watches YouTube but doesn't sleep. When he wants to go to bed he says, "Bed, Yogurt drink, under."
(Update - 2/12/10 - More phrases) "Too much" - Jac says that something is too much when he doesn't like it. So if you are taking him in to something that he doesn't want to do, or into a place he doesn't want to go he will cry out that it is "too much." "What are you doing?" - I wrote a blog post about this one before. This is another of Jac's phrases he uses when you are doing something that he doesn't want! It is generally yelled! "Very dangerous" - Genrally Jac uses this to talk about cars in the street but today when we were riding on the bus and I leaned in to him a little too much and took up a lot of his space he said, "Momma, very dangerous," to tell me to move back! "Buy it" or "Buy this" or "Buy it nnn" or "Buy more nnn" - Jac knows what he wants! He tells us to "Buy it" all of the time! He will be looking at something that we have bought for him and say, "Buy it" and we will say, "We did buy it, we bought it." This never seems to satisfy him! He understands if you tell him you are going to buy something when you go out!
Trash - which he calls Wa Wa (same word but different meaning for water!) Wall - because he bumps into the wall a lot!
I know there are more but at 2 am they won't come to me! I wil work on this list more tomorrow!
(Update 2/11/10 - 1:33 am) Okay - I figured out what more of the words are! Yeah!
Seat - Meaning his high chair Apple - He really likes to chew on apples, although not necessarily swallow them. This is also true for grapes and tangerines. I think it is because he is teething but I can't blame everything on that ;) Dog - He loves dogs and gets really excited when he sees them. Woof - He knows the sound the dog makes. Abby - Our friends dog - he has met her a couple of times. Kick - He likes to kick his legs, at people and at things! At least he tells you when he is kicking you!
(Update 2/12/10 - 3:42 am) More words! These are not new I have just had to write them down!)
Eyes - He knows what eyes are he points to mine and his own and Jac's and says "eyes" Dump - He loves to dump out the bins of toys Bottle - This comes out "Bo Bo" but it means bottle. We have been giving Nic a bottle for a couple of weeks now. We started it because it felt like I wasn't always able to give him enough milk. He is still breastfeeding well and he feeds for naps and for comfort throughout the day and then he nurses to sleep and then throughout the night. He does like to have bottles although he doesn't generally drink that much from them. Cup - A sippy cuy. He likes to drink water and juice from sippy cups.
Jac has been having a little biting problem. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it happens really quickly, before I realize that something is really going on.
A few days, the boys were playing, and it got contentious over a toy, and Nic tried to take it, and Jac bit him. It was a pretty hard bite that left teeth marks on Nic's arm, and the bitten area swole up a bit. Nic was very upset and cried for a bit, and as I worked to calm him down, I talked to Jac about what was going on, and why Nic was crying.
After NIc had calmed down, I saw that the bitten area had gotten swollen. We talked about that, and decided that Nic needed a bandaid, like Mommy had on her finger. The discussion about the swollen arm and the bandaid went on for a while.
This was several days ago and we have discussed it a few times since then, all initiated by Jac.
Tonight he said "swollen," which was a new word for him that came out of the discussion of Nicie's arm. His enunciation of swollen is a little unclear and I am not always able to immediately recognize it. Tonight, he said "swollen," and I didn't understand him. He said, "remember, swollen arm." Amazing!
He is such a little sponge! It is so fun to watch!
On Sunday, Grandma asked Jac to say "I love you." He said it but not very clearly.
We have been practicing saying different phrases, like, "Good morning Dadda," and "Bye, Bye Katie." Jac now has a great sense of praciticing saying things for the future and that they are not actually applicable right now.
So tonight I asked him to say, "I love you Dadda," and he did! And then he said, "I love you Momma!" I also asked him to say, "I love you Grandma," and "I love you Grandfather," the next time we see them. He said both!
When Jac said, "I love you Daddy," it flashed me right back to the NICU. I remember sitting for hours with him in Kangaroo care, and watching him laying on Daddy in Kangaroo care. The feelings that I had back then, to protect him, to help him grow up, to hear those words, were so strong, that as soon as I heard him say, "I love you Daddy," it took me right back there. I would sit, and think, "I love you little one, grow, and be well, we love you." It was a powerful flash back that brought tears to my eyes! My little boy is growing up!
Nic has started calling me Momma - sort of! Over the last few days he has finally! started saying Momma - but not all of the time - and it still doesn't really feel like it is directed at me! But I will take it! Except when he is crying about his diaper change and crying, "Momma, momma" - I think I preferred it when that was "Dadda!"
When Jac wants something that Nic has he will tell you that what he has is Nicie's. By this he means that what Nic has is his and Nic should take what he has. He tells us this when it is not true, when Nic has what he was given, but what Jac wants! Lying! He is thinking!
Tonight, we were in Little Tokyo. Jac had a pooper diaper and Daddy picked him up to take him to the restroom to change him. Jac was none to happy about this development and as Daddy was carrying him away he yelled, "What are you doing?" to make it clear that he wasn't happy about this turn of events.
Jac has learned to use the word "yes" - and he uses it all the time to tell us which train video he wants to watch on YouTube! It sounds like "Wes" though - no Y sound. Apparently I said the same thing when I was little! (Ooops - My Mom says I said "Es", not "Wes" - Also - Jac also says "Wyeah!")
Jac now narrates what is going on in the world to me! Wherever we go or do, Jac tells me what is going on! He understands so much now and has so much language to express it!
Yesterday he told me the following things:
"Daddy glasses blow" - We were talking about cleaning something - and he demonstrated blowing and then told me "Daddy glasses blow" to remind me about how Daddy blows on his glasses to dry them after he cleans them.
"Grandfather" - My Dad has been trying to get Jac to say Grandfather but pretty much the first moment he laid eyes on him! Last week Grandfather went out to dinner with Jac, Nic and me and Jac said, "Grandfather carry," as a request for Grandfather to carry him. This is the first time I think he ever said Grandfather. Last night, we were eating dinner and I was talking about having dinner the next night. When I mentioned that we might eat dinner with Katie (our new Mother's Helper) Jac said, "Grandfather," as a request that Grandfather also join us for dinner! Precious!
"Grandma car" - Later during dinner, Jac saw a white Prius and pointed at it and said, "Grandma car," to explain that Grandma has the same kind of car (Grandma's is green!)
"Too much" - Tonight we went to pick Daddy up from work. When we got there Daddy's cell phone had died and I went around the block to look for him. Jac knew we were there to pick up Daddy and was talking about it. I explained that we were going around the block to look for Daddy but Jac didn't understand. He got very upset saying, "No Daddy", "Too much". The too much was his way of saying I had gone too far and I needed to go back to get Daddy!
He has added at least a word a day to his vocabulary this week.
"Up" - I want to get up in my seat, on the couch, in your arms
"Ball" - His favorite toy! Nic loves to throw balls and palm them!
"Cap" - I am amazed he learned this one! I was writing with a pen this afternoon and he wanted it. I offered him his own pen to play with and all he really wanted to do with it was take the cap on and off and write on himself and say, "cap."
"Boobie" - when Nic wants to nurse I ask him if he wants "boobie!" I am sure I will greatly regret calling it that later but Nic has now learned to say it!
He also now understands the word bottle, as in "Would you like a bottle to drink?"
It just feels like his receptive language has gone through the roof and his expressive language is increasing quickly also!
Nic has discovered the phrase "No, No, No," while shaking his head no. Jac has known "No" for a while but he is really discovering its power this past week! And man can the to two of them put up a fight! It is getting hard to go anywhere!
You ask Jac if he wants to go to the park, "No!" In the car, "No car." In the train, usually his favorite, "No train!" Oh man!
Ask Nic if he will put on a fresh diaper, "No, no, no."
Nic is learning this "No" thing a lot faster with a big brother to watch! It feels like Nic is growing up so much faster than Jac with a "mentor" to teach him how to jump, and run, and say No and play! When Jac was Nic's age he played with all kinds of "baby" toys, and Nic just wants to play with all of the big boys toys like cars and trains, that Jac plays with. It makes a big difference that Jac did not walk until he was 18 months old and Nic has been walking since 12 months! But oh man and my boys growing up quickly!
Normally I put Nic in the carrier and I carry Jac. Since Nic is heavier and holds on to me less well it is much easier for me to have him in the carrier and then put Jac up and down as needed. Now that Nic is such a good walker this is not as much of an issue except that he is so much heaver than Jac.
This past week Jac has taken to asking to ride "in carrier", meaning he wants to get in the carrier. This started with him asking to go "in jacket", meaning he wanted to get inside my jacket with me to get warm. It is so cute and I really love carrying him in the carrier, which I have really not done much since Nic was born.
I am trying to figure out how to carry them both in carriers at the same time since they are both getting too heavy to just strong arm - at least not for very long. Last week I carried them both and pushed the stroller (which they did not want to go in). We made it to Paseo (about .5 miles away) and back! Not bad Momma!
Jac likes to say that something is "not working." In this video he is saying that his fire engine is not working. You have to listen carefully as he is fairly far from my iPhone when he says it but I love the way he says "not working"!
When I put Nic is his seat today to have some breakfast Jac was over playing. Nic then pointed at the other seat and said "Jac" because he wanted Jac to come and join him for breakfast. Oh my gosh! So many words!
Snack - I call the veggie straws that the kids like snacks and Nicie started saying snacks. Mind you that when I say he is "saying" the words is an overstatement. He is making the general sounds associated with the word but no one other than me could possibly figure out what he is saying. Jac - I told him that his brother's name is Jac and he said it. Cheese - He tried for that one also!
Nicie is starting to make more word sounds! Still no Mama! Everything is Dadadadada! He tried to say "snack" today which is what I call the Veggie Straws that they like! He has also tried to say a few other words but I can't remember what they were! It is hard being the second! Mommy has no space in her brain! I will do better Nicie!
Jac used the word "the" for the first time when he told me to "hold the money"!
Jac loves to carry money and he calls coins coins and dollars dollars! He wants money for the bus and for the train and sometimes for candy!
I was very excited yesterday when he told me "hold the money", normally it would be "hold money"! Go Jac! That is the first time he has ever used "the"!
Last week Jac started asking, "What's that?" - All the time! He asks what everything is! This past weekend we took a road trip to San Francisco and the "What's that" questions were very helpful in keeping him busy in the car when he was awake as he could ask what all of the cars and trucks and bridges etc. were! It was great! I am sure the "What's that?" questions will get tiring quickly but right now I love it! His whole word has opened up with that question! His language has taken off to such an extent that he can really understand the answer to a lot of his questions now - and I feel like I can see the neurons in his brain connecting!
Along with the "what's that" came, "No, no, no, no" - and "Too big", and "Wrong side". When he doesn't want to wear something now he tells us it is "too big". When he doesn't want to sit in his car seat he says it is "too big" or that he is in the "wrong side" of the car! When he doesn't like something he says "no, no" over and over again.
While we were playing after lunch I was changing Jac's diaper. While I was changing him he started talking about candy. After he mentioned candy he said "Nathan." He remembered that two and a half weeks ago we went to Nathan's birthday party where he got a lot of candy! Amazing!
I frequently use the phrase "two boys" when I am doing something with the boys. I commonly say it when I am carrying both of them, like "I am carrying two boys." Jac picked this up and started saying "two boys" also. Now, when I am carrying both of them or doing something else with both of them he tells me "two boys." It is absolutely adorable!
Nic is doing so many amazing things! It is so fun to watch his physical and verbal abilities develop! He has started asking for my hand when he wants to step up or down stairs. He knows that he can up or down them by crawling and he will do that if I am not right there or he just wants to go quickly, but if I am there, and he wants to walk he holds his arm up and waits for me to take his hand so I can help him go up and down.
He is also now saying "Step" when he goes up and down the steps!
He is also walking backwards, everywhere! I think he is just showing off sometimes!
I can hardly believe that Nic has only been walking for one week! He is walking all around the apartment - making turns - and following the magical left arm wherever it leads him! He can get up anywhere he wants to and go. He is hardly crawling at all now, except when he really wants something. He doesn't get anywhere quickly but he gets there! He has also walked backwards three times now! Joseph saw it once, I saw it once, and we saw it together tonight. When he walked backward for me, he looked me straight in the eye and then took two steps backward, very deliberately! Amazing! We have been looking for walking things to praise Jac for as we praise Nicie for walking, so Jac has been getting a lot of praise for sideways and backward walking, and crouch walking - so we are wondering if Nic caught on to that and decided to try it!
We are also pretty sure that Nic has started to use a few words. "Wa Wa" - water - used at the fountain. "Da Da" - Joseph. "Ne Ne" - breast milk. "Up" - I want to be picked up or I am standing up.
So many developments!
I don't have babies any more!
The boys were having a lot of fun in the lobby tonight walking, talking and eating "Out Out" - frozen yogurt!
Yesterday in the car, on the way to Cerritos, Jac was having a long chat, and Nic was eating snacks and not crying!
During his chat Jac brought up the word foot. I was talking to him about it and what do I see but Nic grabbing his foot!! He was so excited! I waited a little bit and then said, "Nicie, foot" and he grabbed his foot again! Oh man! He understands!
Nic and Jac were sitting in their high chairs in the kitchen this evening. Jac asked for "Wa Wa", which is his word for water. Nic repeated the request and said "Wa Wa". It has been hard to identify Nic's first word as I have heard him say Momma and Dadda but they have never seemed to be related to any one thing - but tonight it was quite clear to me that he was repeating the "Wa Wa" request. This might be his first word!
Jac has always called me Momma but in the last week or so he has started calling me Mommy. It is so sweet! It melts my heart when he says Mommy! I still only calls Joseph Dadda - not Daddy yet! I will try to get a video of it but I never know when he is going to say it!
I think Nic is saying some words - or at least repeating the sounds - especially things he hears Jac saying.
I am also positive he said "under" which Jac was saying over and over again this morning when he was playing in the tent. He also says "Mama", "Dada", "NeNe". I am not sure he knows they are words per se but he makes those sounds.
Oh man! Jac is improving his language by leaps and bounds! Today he started saying "Oh No" and "All right", two things that I say pretty frequently! Two words combined together! A big developmental milestone!
Ama and I were letting him drive the car (while parked of course) and he kept on saying "All right" over and over again!
Also, all day - "No!" no matter what you asked him! You could have asked him "Do you want to drive the car for real?" and he would have said "No!" Oh man! Cute - and happy about it - but "No!" This is really the first time he has started really saying "No" to everything - I guess I should be glad since he is 25 months old!
Jac loves airplanes and he loves to say the word, "airplane." He says it all of the time even when there are no airplanes are around. I think he says it sometimes when he hears a sound that reminds him of an airplane.
We are in Boulder, with Ama, and on our trip here we were in the coolest spot in LAX. It is Gate 1 in the Southwest terminal. You get a full view of all of the airplanes at the gates in the terminal and a side view of the runway so you can see all of the planes landing!
Jac loved it! He hung out with Ama most of the time we were waiting for our plane just watching!
The boys have been playing in the Baja deck of my parents' pool. It is less than a foot deep - and Jac can very easily walk around in it. He has also discovered that he can do a modified sort of swim. He puts his hands down on the bottom of the Baja deck and then lets his body float out behind him - doing this he can then walk around on his hands and use his hands and a little bit of his legs to propel himself around! So much fun! His arms are just long enough that he has to really work to keep his face out of the water - and so there has been some swallowing of water. He doesn't seem deterred by it though, and has been having a great time, "swimming" around!
The other cool thing is that we taught him about the, "stop line" at the edge of the Baja deck. This is a line of white tiles on the background of the dark blue bottom of the pool - very clearly visible. We taught him that he has to stop at this line - so he goes up to the line - not too close - and then tells me "stop line". So cute!
It is amazing how many words he has now - I cannot! count anymore - and he repeats so many things! It is truly amazing to watch him acquire language!
Jac's vocabulary is increasing every day! It is amazing to watch! Yesterday in the car he was cracking up saying the word "old"! Every time I would say it he would repeat me and then crack up!
Today he said two words together several times. I asked him to bring me the, "other ball" and he repeated it and brought me the ball. Later, I called Nic, "turtle face" because I love the turtle face that he makes, and Jac said "turtle face." Oh man! I really have to watch what I say!
This is developmental mental milestone for speech that is expected by two so hit it three days later!
The number of words in Jac's vocabulary has skyrocketed in the last month. On May 30th I made a word list of words that Jac could say at that time. It was 34 words long. It was probably more like 40 or so at the time - I am sure I missed a few. On June 24th I made a new list and he was up to 107 words! Amazing! And I am sure I am missing a few! Meghan (one of our Mothers' Helpers) helped me make the list!
Jac's language skills seem to have taken off in the last two weeks! He is identifying buses and birds and dogs and bikes and cars when we are out. He recognizes that there is a ball on the TV when I watch tennis or basketball (there has been a lot of that in the last two weeks with the NBA playoffs and the French Open). He is repeating all kinds of words. Se says "these" when I say it. He was saying box when he was dragging a box around. I can't even remember all of the words that I have said that he has repeated. It feels like he is all of a sudden comprehending a lot more of the language that he is hearing all of the time. It is really cool to watch - and means we have to be even more careful what we say around him!
Jac has started saying, "Mama." Yeah! It gets right to my heart when he says it. So sweet. He also will sometimes give me a kiss when I ask for it! He also gives his brother kisses and says "mmmm" while he does it! Uh! I love it!
When Jac's Occupational Therapist was here today she was working on "more" with Jac. This is a common theme that his therapists have worked on for a long time. For the first time today, Jac signed and said more as a request to play with his toy more!
Yeah! It seems like Jac's communication is going to start taking off more. He tries to say a lot of words that we say and gets at least the beginning sounds of some words.
Current word list Mama - Non-specific Dada - Non-specific Hi Bye More (added today) Ne Ne (Taiwanese for milk)
Jac is saying "Ne Ne" when he wants his bottle of formula. "Ne Ne" is Taiwanese for milk and Jac has learned to say it when he wants his bottle! Yeah! This is real communication! He has said it quite a few times and it has become quite clear what he wants! Yeah! Communication with words! Jac's intent for things has been clear for a while but with reaching and whining like sounds but this is the first time he has used a word to tell us what he wants - although it is usually accompanied by a little whining and reaching. YEAH!
We are pretty sure he knows the word ball. He can point to a ball in one of his favorite books and he sort of says "ball." It comes out more like "ba" and he kind of whispers it but he has done it several times and I am quite sure that he is saying ball - or his equivalent.
I also think he has learned to say "bye bye." Daddy says bye bye all of the time when they are saying goodbye to the toys in the bathtub and we say bye bye frequently in his different classes when we say goodbye to toys. Two days ago when some friends of ours came over and they were leaving and I said bye to them he said "bye bye." I think! And Daddy says that he said it this evening when he was putting Jac's toys away in the bath with him.
It is pretty clear that something has changed in the last few days in terms of starting to think about forming words. We have been reading with Jac a lot for the last month and a half or so and it seems to be making a big difference! Prior to that he did not seem very interested but now he will sit and listen to us read. He has a few favorite books that he likes the most and we read those all of the time and we have a bunch more that we try also. He has also learned to turn the pages, and he likes to do it, although he frequently opens or closes the entire book - which is fun also!
One of his favorite books is Baby Dinosaur by Fiona Watt. (Thank you Susan for giving it to him!) It is a soft book and he loves to turn the pages and touch them. He also smiles every time you read the very last sentence when the baby dinosaur find his brothers and sisters and they ask him if he wants to come and play. He smiles every time you read that. But only if you read it when you get to the end of the story. If you try to read it out of order just to get the smile he won't go for it!
Jac loves to be changed. We have a routine way of doing it, and he loves it. He particularly likes to thump the changing table. His changing table is a dresser, so it is hollow beneath the changing table. This means that when you thump the changing pad you get a nice thumping sound from the table. So fun! He loves it.
It is pretty clear that he knows what "Thump, thump" means. If you say it to him, anytime he is laying down, he will start banging his feet against whatever he is laying on, especially if he is being changed. He will thump even if you don't encourage him, but if you encourage him he really goes to town.
