Once you have a two and a half year old, if he is speaking like mine he is forming complete sentences now. L combines words and ideas and is not only able to follow commands but also to instruct you. My little “L” still communicates often in grunts and expressions, but more than ever he is truly verbalizing his knowledge, questions, feelings, and desires. As runs true with the rest of my bl0g posts, what amazes me more than any aspect of a child’s development is cognition and language, because it is in these qualities which he seems to be transforming at a breakneck pace. For the majority of the patients I also notice this tremendous growth – especially when the times I am seeing them spreads from every 6 months to every year – what a rapidity of change in these kids!
Below are some of my son’s favorite sayings, present if only to plant themselves firmly in my memory.
“Whaaat is THAT?”
Ah, the emergence of my questioning toddler asking “why” incessantly and insistently never fails to amuse me. I love telling him what new things are and I especially love when he asks me questions to which I know he has the answer. He simply wants to engage me in questioning the same way that I engage him as I ask him letters, numbers, and colors. It works well to give the wrong answer and then ask him what the right answer is.
Me: “That’s a car. Is that right?”
L (readily correcting his mom): “No, mommy, that’s silly. It’s a train! It goes choo choo!” (trains are his absolute favorite toy/vehicle/character ever)
“Are you back? Are you coming to stay with me?”
The little one gets so excited every time his dad comes home, so much so that we routinely mimic this phrase. So clearly and thoroughly he expresses his desire for us to be a family!
“Scoot me up!”
Whenever little L climbs into his high wooden chair and says this I cannot help but assist the little dude, who only wants to fiddle with food he has no intention of eating. Though I must admit, if he is eating ice cream he does not leave behind a single bite.
“I’m coming! I’m coming with you! I’m on my way.”
Last night when my parents left the house they were tickled pink to hear these words from L. How cool is it to know that what he wants in the future is to join you and to get ready to be with you?
“My turn! I clipped it!”
Whenever we get in the car, L usually exclaims, “I want to sit in the front seat. I want to drive.” A few moments later he admits to himself, “I do not know how to drive.” In this case, he fortunately allows me to put him in his carseat in the back where he belongs for the moment. The newest evocation of L’s independence is that he wants to be the one to fasten his seatbelt. “It’s my Tohn!” he screeches and yelps. Then for the drive we sing a variety of songs including my own personally composed version of “I spy with my little eye!”
I’ve learned a lovely little trick from my mother and how to approach songs with children. A simple trick but I sing the song incorrectly with the wrong words. Mom used to sing “Yankee Doodle” with me with practically every permutation of wrong words one could imagine, and I found it hilarious. Yes, it’s been done, but it can’t be appreciated fully until you do it with your own kid and appreciate the look on their face when you sing “Yankee Foodle went to town riding on bologna!”
“You silly goose! Silly Billy!” says little L.
How wonderfully funny. And when I accomplish something, such as build a tower of blocks:
“You did it! Good job, Mommy!”
Oh the satisfaction of being congratulated by my little boy. And when he receives a new toy, it’s: “Oh wow! Woooow! Oh yeah!”
And when he’s frustrated it’s raspberries:
Pbbbtt with his lower lip fluttering and his eyes which say, “I am not amused.”
We saw this one for the first time last weekend when he asked to do “one cupcake on the iPad” and dad said, “No, we have to eat dinner.” If looks could kill. The eye roll that T got and lower lip raspberry sent me into hysterics. Is it a bad thing to find it absolutely hilarious when your child is angry at you for the injustice of not letting him get away with everything? Ha! You are so funny, L. As my work colleague responded, “would you like to fill out a comment card, son?”
But I don’t mean to make fun of him. It’s just a tiny bit amusing to see when things that must or cannot be done suddenly lead him to such intense frustration that he cannot enjoy the lovely world around him. Then twenty minutes later when he’s still throwing a tantrum, I’m sitting there questioning whether I should just give up the fight and get him the iPad. (No . . stay strong).
But most of the time the talk is quite enjoyable. He’s come up with a great rendition of “Bustopher Jones” and “Row Row Row your Boat” and, yes, the ABCs. And new songs. When we leave the house, I always used to sing out, “On with the show let’s go let’s go. On with the show let’s go let’s go!” Now, whenever we get ready to leave and L puts on his shoes, he flails his arms out and swings from side to side singing the little ditty and clearly getting excited to get out of the house.
And finally, a lovely saying which he no longer says:
“Who that making a noise?”
Ah the phrases that depart from the lexicon. Whenever he heard a strange sound – a car or a train or someone crying his ears would perk up and he would exclaim it suspiciously. Brows furrowed and his mouth pursing into a “Whatcha talkin’ bout, Willis,” he would say it every time and wait expectantly for the answer. I just loved it. Now he goes back into the “what was that?” like normal people say. Couldn’t you keep up your strange sayings a little longer, L. For mommy?
What phrases do you remember your children once (or currently) saying frequently? What do you love about them?