Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #1: "Mommy, I Love You!"

Drum roll... My absolutely favorite Joshua moment of 2011 was a year ago this week, when he delighted me by suddenly saying, "Mommy, I love you!" He could barely say any words but for a few days he was warming my heart with this phrase.  I saw it as an early birthday present.

I just wish he said it now! ha ha. You've got three days to learn it again for my birthday, Joshua. Come on, you can do it!

Thanks for tuning in for my Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011! More 2011 videos to come, including several of Katie.

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #2: "Oh Man!"

In a prime example of how our children pick up our own expressions, Joshua suddenly started saying "Oh MAN!" this past spring.  He couldn't use basic vocabulary but he could say that.  Here's a video of his unique way of expressing himself, shot June 17, 2011.

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #4: "Dip Dip"

My children will eat almost any raw vegetable if they can dip it in Ranch dressing.  But they don't call it Ranch dressing; they call it "white dip dip."  (Many of their friends now do too -- we're starting a trend!)  And I just love how Joshua said "dip dip" back on September 12 when I took this video.

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #7: "BEACH!"

Last February, Josh couldn't say much but he did know one important word: BEACH!!  And he could say it on cue!  This video was taken Feb. 21, 2011.

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #8: "Jesus Loves Me"

Ever since he was a baby, part of Joshua's bedtime routine has been his father or I singing "Jesus Loves Me" over him before kissing him goodnight.  He sometimes will fill in a word or two while we sing, but I almost never hear him sing it on his own.

On December 11, I stumbled across Joshua (wearing his sister's hat, mind you) sitting in his room singing "Jesus Loves Me" to himself.  I thought it was adorable.

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #9: "The Hello Song"

Continuing with my countdown of my favorite things that Josh said over the past year is #9 -- "The Hello Song."  He learned this song in preschool and will often sing it over and over again with the hand motions.

"Hello, hello to you and you and you.  A big hello and a small hello, a high hello and a low hello.  Hello, hello to you and you and you."

Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011: #10: "Trick or Treat!"

I've decided to make a list of the Top 10 Josh-isms of 2011 to celebrate his discovery of language over the last year.  Here's my 10th favorite: He tries to pronounce "Trick or Treat" in order to get one more piece of candy from me on Halloween night.

2011 in Review

Hope you had a Merry Christmas, and hope you have a wonderful 2012!  Due to my sporadic blogging, I missed talking about many events and milestones this year.  Hopefully this post will catch you up a bit.

January

We started off the year at John's parents' beach house -- what would be the first of 9 visits there this year.  Thank you JPa and Oma for allowing us to stay there!

While having new neighbors over for dinner, we met a young teenager named Morgan, who loves our kids (and they love her!) and has become our "go-to" babysitter when we need to get away for a few hours.

On January 21, Joshua told me he loved me for the first time.  This was a joy to my heart, since he had spoken very few words up to that point.

On my 35th birthday (Jan. 26), we celebrated by getting dumped with a ton of snow.  Some people we know didn't get home from work until 2 am the next morning.  I was thankful John made it home safely with take-out in hand, and though I didn't get a romantic date that night, it was fun toasting marshmallows over a fire.  We were also so thankful that our power barely went out, while others we know lost power for several days.  We hosted some of them later in the week.

On January 29, I had several girlfriends over to celebrate my big birthday with a night of karaoke.  It was a blast!  Many of my friends participated, and I allowed Katie to stay up til the party wound down around midnight.  She and I started off the evening with a duet of "Good Morning Baltimore" from "Hairspray."  The night climaxed with a huge group of us singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

February

In February we hosted our small group for the Superbowl, celebrated John's 37th birthday, went to the beach for Presidents Day weekend, and got some couple time at a Love & Respect conference.

March

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday by throwing a surprise party for him at work, then gathering almost the entire family in Gettysburg, PA on March 5 to humor his love of history.  My parents had a lovely time at a B&B, and the kids still snicker about our cheesy tour guides. 

John and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on March 22. John went on our church's men's retreat.

I received belated birthday flowers from my (younger) friend Martha the day we learned she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  This marked my biggest cry of the year, as well as the beginning of fervent daily prayers for her healing (she's currently cancer-free, thank you Jesus!).

Joshua celebrated his 2nd birthday with a family trip to a moon bounce place, followed a few days later by a pizza and moon bounce party with his friends.

April

In April we enjoyed a massive spring festival hosted by our church and went to the zoo with friends.  Joshua started speech therapy, which he continues to do weekly.  We spent half of spring break at the beach with my brother Jason and his kids -- in other words, "THE COUSINS!!"  (cue giant shriek from Katie)  And in case you're wondering what we do at the beach when it's cold and rainy outside, Jason had a great idea - making a fort out of blankets, couch cushions and a toy tunnel!

May

In May, Osama bin Laden was killed -- a big deal to us as two of my brothers are current or former members of the armed forces.

On May 15 John and I were overjoyed to pray with Katie as she asked Jesus into her heart.  To this day, when she hears the song "Welcome to the Family," she identifies it as "MY song!"

For several days we hosted the Castillos, very dear friends who were visiting from Texas.  Katie loved re-meeting their sons, and even skipped preschool to have a few more hours with them.  While they were here, we had what would turn out to be the first of four crab feasts that we would have this summer.  Yum!

Sarah Castillo and I with our respective Joshuas.

Katie and I went to see our friends Janet and Caitlin in a local middle school production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."  Katie knew almost every word, and it was fun to sneak backstage to cheer for our "stars"!

Also in May, the kids moved to bigger beds, Katie cut her own bangs (!!), we spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach, and then Katie celebrated her 4th birthday with friends at our neighborhood pool, which we told her opened just for her birthday.  :-)

We continued to visit the pool several times a week throughout the summer.  The kids are now totally fearless in the water (including Katie who can swim without floaties) and we developed a great friendship with the Bulgarian lifeguard Veselin.

June

I did blog about June with lots of pictures here.  But here's a summary with some additional details.

In June we were delighted to get together with visiting friends the Wirtzes and the Farahs.  Katie finished preschool for the year.

On June 4 we went to Danville, VA to celebrate my grandma's 85th birthday.  Kudos to my mom for organizing a huge and terrific party from out of town.  It was a real blessing to honor my only remaining grandparent.

My grandma with two of her surviving siblings.

On June 3, however, I had been hit with a double-whammy.  First I threw out my back as I was packing for the party.  Thirty minutes later I realized I had lost my engagement ring; it had been in my pool bag and had fallen out somewhere between the pool and my house.  Thus began two summer sagas: (1) Regular physical therapy appointments (thank you to the many of you who babysat to help me with this!) and (2) much prayer for my family-heirloom ring to appear.  Thankfully my back was all better by the end of the summer, and my ring was eventually found in a crevice inside my SUV. 

On June 11 we celebrated Katie's birthday at the Grachur Club, a rustic river club that we belong to.  It was so fun hosting our friends for a day of swimming, food and friendship.

On June 18 we visited a petting zoo, and on June 19 my friend Abbie and I went to a Monkees concert. Katie attended Vacation Bible School June 20-23.

On June 24 we embarked on our most ambitious adventure of the year: Disney World!  There's no way to summarize Disney World, so let me again promise that I will post photos in another blog post.  (And they're already on Facebook.)

July

On July 2 I was honored to be able to host my client's company picnic.  It was great to deepen my friendships within the organization, and to give them a glimpse into what I do when I'm not updating their website.  :-)

The second week of July was a highlight of my year: My college roommates all flew/drove into town with their families for a week with us at the beach!  It was wonderful to welcome some of my dearest but least-seen friends.  They now live in Idaho, Oklahoma, and Ohio, so I rarely see them.  I'm so thankful they invested time and money to join us on the East Coast!

July was a month of theatre.  We organized a small group to see "Wicked" (my 4th time!) at The Kennedy Center.  And Katie and I went to see a matinee of "Seussical" (a new obsession for her) at a local dinner theatre with another mom and daughter.

Also in July, Katie attended four mornings at Sports Camp at a nearby church (her first camp experience) and we had several families over for a Crab Feast.

August

In August we had our sixth trip to the beach, this time with my family.  All 13 of us were there at one point or other.  There is nothing that makes Katie happier than to be with her cousins.  I particularly enjoyed making peach jam with my mom and sister-in-law Lindsey.

We went to the County Fair twice in August, once with John and his mom, and once with the specific intention of seeing my best friend Sara perform in a princess performance.  I was proud of her for her first public performance since high school!

The other Big Deal of August was my brother Stephen's ordination.  On August 20, he was ordained into the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to serve as a Chaplain in the Army Reserves.  I am so proud of him!  Just in the last few weeks we've found out that he is now officially a Chaplain and a Captain, and he is currently awaiting word as to which unit he will be assigned.

In August we also had two "natural disasters" which turned out thankfully to be pretty mild -- the first really noticeable earthquake of my life, and a hurricane which left little damage in our lives besides a short power outage and cancelling our Journey concert.

September
  
Over Labor Day weekend, I had a special treat -- I got away for a weekend for the first time since having two kids!  I flew to Miami with my friend Katie to spend a weekend with our friend Martha, who as I mentioned before, has been bravely (and successfully!) battling cancer for several months.  We had a wonderful time touring Miami, enjoying ceviche for the first time, and watching an entire season of "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD.  Truly a treat.

While I was gone, John took the kids to his parents' house in Baltimore.  One highlight of their weekend was riding a camel at the Baltimore Zoo.

Also in September, both kids started preschool.  Yay!  Katie returned, expanding to three mornings a week, and Joshua started for the first time, going two of the three mornings that Katie was there.

This not only has been a wonderful experience for our kids, but is a great source of refreshment for me.  I need a regular break from the kids, and have mostly used my bonus six hours a week to run!  I've never really run before unless out of necessity, so I decided to challenge and push myself by training for my first 5K.  In related news, three of my brothers participated in a 200-mile relay on September 24.

October

Over Columbus Day weekend it was John's turn to go down to Florida without us.  He went to visit his sister Laura, who lives in West Palm Beach, and they spent most of the weekend enjoying Key West.  While he was there, the kids and I went to the beach with John's parents.

The following weekend the four of us went with John's parents and brother Jamie, and with good friends the Petrulises, to Sesame Place in PA.  The kids enjoyed the rides and meeting the characters, and Katie enjoyed her first roller coaster.  On Saturday night Katie also had her first "sleepover" with Sydney Petrulis while we stayed overnight with the family.

In October Katie and Joshua's preschool went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch and farm.

Also in October, my grandparents' house went on the market.  My parents spent almost every night and weekend at that house for months, trying to get it cleaned out and prepared to sell.  I spent several evenings over there as well, packing up stuff we never knew my grandparents had.  There is no better motivation to de-clutter one's own house than to have to clean out someone else's.  That said, the house looks amazing and we're hoping it sells soon.  (Pass the word to anyone looking in the Quince Orchard area!)


For Halloween, John carved our pumpkin to look like Minnie Mouse.  He and I dressed as Hawaiian peasants, Katie was Minnie Mouse (see a theme?) and Joshua was Buzz Lightyear.

 

November

In November our adventures all centered around Thanksgiving.

First, my first 5K was Thanksgiving morning!  My goal was to run more than half of the race, and I did.  I ran the race in just under 40 minutes, beating my mom (sorry Mom!) and feeling very proud of myself.

We raced home so I could host Thanksgiving dinner for 17 of us (thankfully I didn't have to provide much of the food).  We had all of my family there as well as John's parents and brother and one of my brother's friends.

The next day we headed to the beach with John's family and got to watch the movie we'd been waiting a year to see: The Muppets!  I was so excited I even recorded a video for you.

December

In mid-December we spent most of a week visiting friends and family in NC and VA, tagging along with John on a business trip.

With the Purvises in NC

Along with visiting loved ones, we enjoyed seeing this house in Cary, NC, which had lights synchronized to Christmas music on a radio station:

Christmas is more fun as the kids get older and can understand more.  As excited as Katie gets about presents, if we ask what Christmas is about, she knows the answer: "Baby Jesus was born!"

We spent Dec. 23-24 with John's family, Dec. 25 with mine, and Dec. 26 with his.  Then we headed back to the beach for our 9th time of the year.

In 2011 we were saddened to lose several people dear to us and to our loved ones, including my parents' groomsman Joe Keegan; Eddi Davies, a dear friend of John's family's; and the parents of our friends Stephanie Schaaf Reyes (mom), Glenn Wheaton (dad), Tasha Rayburn (dad) and Brian Lee (dad).  We continue to pray for their families and other friends who are struggling with illnesses and various trials.  We also celebrate different degrees of healing we've seen among our friends, as well as the safe arrival of several babies.  We pray that you would know God's presence and joy in your life in 2012!  Happy New Year!

Joshua's First Sentence

And my heart is absolutely melting...

Quick Joshua Update

Joshua has a few new words, including "ball," "bubble," "book," and "mock" (milk).  Again, he is motivated to learn how to say things he wants.  :-)

Also, I wanted to jot down a few of his growth statistics before the paper gets lost on my desk again.

18 month appointment:
Weight: 26 lbs, 4 oz (50%)
Height: 32 1/4 inches (50%)
Head: 48 cm (50%)

He is 50th percentile across the board.  Take that, those of you who talk about how huge my baby is.  :-P  He's just broad-shouldered!

I don't think I ever wrote down the 12 month statistics either:
Weight: 23 lbs, 12 oz.
Height: 29 1/2 inches
Head: 46.8 cm

Joshua's Growing Vocabulary

Hi!  We're still busy unpacking and organizing, so I'm going to skip the photos and just fill you in on Joshua's growing vocabulary.

Katie was much more of a talker; Joshua is much more mechanically-minded.  He is always trying to push any button he can find and figure out how things work.  He would be content to flip light switches all day. Once I needed to keep him occupied in a hotel hallway so I showed him how to use the ice maker.  He pushed it and pushed it and pushed it -- I could have been Pavlov since he just couldn't get enough of the reward of watching the ice fall.

So needless to say, he hasn't been all that interested in talking until recently.  He enjoys making noise, mostly by screaming, but also "singing" along to "Jesus Loves Me", "Elmo's World", the ABCs, and the "Muppet Babies" theme song.  Singing here refers to making random noises including grunting and raspberrying, but I can tell he's trying to do it along with the song.  Make ANY joyful noise, Joshua!

Last time I wrote, Joshua had three words: "Dada", "Mama", and "Caca" for cookie/cracker.  That night Joshua kept saying "Caca" as he pointed to his diaper, and I was wondering about that since "caca" is Spanish for "poop" (but I was pretty sure he wasn't bilingual).  It turns out that he was pointing out that Cookie Monster (aka "Caca" for "Cookie") was on his diaper.  I was so excited to see him break through and express a new thought with his words!

In fact, Joshua's vocab mostly consists right now of Sesame Street characters: "Caca", "Melmo" for Elmo, "Buhbuh" for Big Bird, "Bird" for Bert, "Gaga" for Grover, and my favorite of all -- "Tsss" -- his word for Ernie because that's how Ernie laughs.  I love it.

I should mention Joshua's fourth word though: "Muppet Babies."  Yes, he said dada, then mama, then caca, and then "MuppaBaby".  REALLY?  But I promise you that's true.  He first said it as John came to  pick him up from his crib after naptime.   And now he uses it to ask to watch TV -- and of course, his favorite show, Muppet Babies.

Other words/ understandable sounds:
"Ligh!" (light)
"a i a i"  (trying to sing the ABCs, as in "H I H I")
"hi"
"goodni"
"ooh ooh" to bark at Bella and other dogs
sheep and horse noises (sounds more like a laugh)
"geh down"
"baby" (mostly used to ask in shorthand for Muppet Babies)
"Daniel" (taught to him by his Uncle Daniel but said repetitively as he chases Katie's best friend Daniel around the yard)
"Papa" (Grandpa)
"No" (used for both yes and no)
"Peasss" (please)
"ball"

I'm sure I'll think of more and then I'll add them to this list.  Thanks for reading!

Quick update on the kids

Hi!  We're MOVING on Saturday (hopefully more about that later), so I'm super-swamped, but I couldn't resist taking a quick break from packing in order to fill you in on the kids.

JOSHUA

Joshua's vocabulary has doubled in the last few weeks.  Up till now, he would say Dada (a lot), Mama (only when he wanted something, and usually in a frustrated tone), and NaNa (for "no no" when he was getting into something he knew he wasn't supposed to).

Recently he started saying "CaCa" for "cracker," and he uses this term for any snack he wants.  He will hunt me down carrying whatever he finds in the pantry -- from boxes of cookies or crackers to individual Peppermint Patties, and repeat "CaCa!  CaCa!" in the hopes that I'll open it for him.

He has always loved bananas; they're often what he eats for breakfast.  Recently he has alternated saying "Bana" and "Nana."

His "NaNa" (no no) has become a decisive "no," which is actually a word I'm so glad he knows.  Now if he wants something at mealtime, I can hold up different objects until I find something that he does say "No" and shake his head at.  We've also heard "yeah" on occasion though it's not consistent yet.

He comes very close to saying Grandma and Daniel, two of his favorite family members.  His tone saying "Mama" has softened too, as he's learned how to communicate in other ways.

I'm really enjoying him so much more now than I did just a few months ago.  As he learns to communicate, our times together are much more enjoyable and fruitful, instead of me trying to figure out why he is angry.

I finally weaned him last week (Aug 14) (hooray!  Do you know that I've been either pregnant or nursing since Fall 2006??!!!)  and though he was a bit needy at first, he and I have found other ways to bond.  He is much more snuggly now, and he will snuggle into my shoulder and allow me to rock him, sing to him, and pray over him.  He never sat quietly in my lap before now.  He also sits in my lap and we'll watch TV together -- at least until Katie asserts her right to my lap as well or he eventually gets restless and wants to run.

And run he does!  He went from crawling to running very quickly, and it's so funny to see him go.  I'm so thankful that we'll have a bigger home now because he'll have plenty of space to stretch his legs.  He also is constantly trying to get to the highest point in the house.   If I accidentally leave a chair next to the kitchen counter (which I've done a fair amount recently while packing dishes), he will get up and try to pull everything off the counter.  Once I found him on the floor with my coffeepot, with coffee all over himself.  I can't figure out how he pulled it down to the floor without breaking it, but thankfully he was ok!  And I've learned my lesson about leaving chairs near counters!

I tried hard-soled shoes on Joshua for the first time last Thursday (8/19) before my parents took my kids to the County Fair, and it was fun to watch him navigate with the new sensation on his feet.  (Please excuse the pre-move mess!)



Within the last week Joshua has learned to "blow" kisses -- which consists of simply going "mmm" in my direction, or accompanying that sound with a hand from his mouth into the air.  Simply charming.

Ah yes, and one final new "first" to tell you about with Joshua.  I returned from Home Depot the other day to John and the kids, and John greeted me with a laugh and a "Look what he's doing!!"  I was honestly afraid to look.  Here's what I found.  Apparently he stole the controller out of his daddy's hands.



KATIE


Katie is as delightful as ever.  Though she's had spells of being rude or too rough, she takes quickly (so far) to correction, and a timeout or even threatened timeout is usually enough to change her behavior.

After trying various bribery techniques (lollypops, Disney movies), Katie has started using the potty almost exclusively.  In fact, though she's been wearing diapers all week, her diapers have been staying clean and dry; she always tells me when she needs to go!  Hopefully she'll keep this up!

Initially she was registered this fall in a preschool that required her to be potty-trained, and the nearing deadline was stressing me out.  Then we learned we were moving, and I couldn't imagine trying to enforce potty-training during the already stressful (for all of us) transition of packing and moving.  So I'm so thankful that she's doing this herself.  Plus we transferred her to a new preschool that will be minutes from our new home, and that does not require 3-year-olds to be potty-trained.  So I thank God for relieving that stress from me for now!

Well, I have much more to say but it will have to wait till post-move.  Thanks for caring about us!

Quick and Fun Facts

Joshua: Apparently Joshua pulled up from sitting to standing for the first time last night. He was crawling around in the family room and suddenly he was standing next to the couch holding on. Go Joshua! I was out on a girls' night so John is the lucky witness to this milestone.

Katie: Two funny things that Katie has said recently:

1. On several occasions Katie has mentioned "Joshua's other belly button." It took me awhile to realize that this is how she understands his different anatomical element. :-)

2. Tonight we were reading "I'll Teach My Dog A Lot of Words" by Michael Frith. We read the page below:

Her response to the bottom left picture?

"Is that JESUS??!!!!"

Happy Nine-Month Birthday, Joshua!

Joshua's nine-month birthday coincides with today, Christmas Eve, so we won't have our 9-month appointment (with measurements) until January. It's safe to say, however, that Joshua is a BIG BOY. He was 20 lbs. a month ago and seems to be bigger every day. Many of us have complained about our backs after holding him -- that includes Joshua's mommy, daddy, and strapping Uncle Daniel. Katie still weighs a little bit more, but since she's taller, she seems lighter, while Joshua is DENSE -- more pounds per square inch. :-)

Joshua is cutting his sixth tooth, which will give him all four front teeth as well as an extra one on both the top and bottom of the right side of his mouth. Sometimes he audibly grinds his teeth, and I joke to myself: "What kind of mom must I be that my nine-month-old baby is already grinding his teeth?" He also loves to chew on things. He enjoys gnawing on chins, particularly mine and my mom's. Favorite foods right now are diced veggies and fruit, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, meatballs (thanks for the tip, Sarah!), bread... well, basically any grown-up food he can get his hands on.

Joshua continues to practice his "da da da"-ing, and started headbanging this week. John and I each had a headbanging phase, so watching Joshua shake his head up and down sent me into hysterics. Other favorite activities include playing with balls, clapping, rolling around, and watching Elmo when he comes on (poor second child -- he didn't stand a chance of avoiding TV with a big sister who loves it so much).

Joshua is also THISCLOSE to crawling. He will lunge from a sitting position and get one knee under him and try to lunge further, but can't quite get that second knee facing the correct direction. I expect he'll figure it out by the end of the week.

Happy nine-month birthday, Joshua! And merry Christmas to all of you!

Joshua at 8 1/2 months

Teeth: I just discovered Joshua's fourth tooth. His teeth are coming in a very unusual pattern. Here are the ones he has so far:

Look out, young female "Twilight" groupies -- at this rate, my son is going to be a Vampire Baby!

Talking: Recently Joshua started saying "Da da" very distinctly. Yes, he uses it for general babbling. But this week it's obvious he's using it to mean his father. Whenever he sees Daddy, hears him on the phone, or even sees me answering a call, he starts cheering, "DA DA! DA DA!" It's quite adorable.

Eating: Joshua may only have four teeth, but he's not content to eat mush anymore. He may let me spoon food into his mouth for a little while, but then he tries to grab the spoon and cries if I don't give it to him. I tried a food grinder this week (thanks for lending it to me, Katie M!), and he enjoyed trying to scoop the tiny pieces up off his tray -- but boy did that make a huge mess (see above photo). The grinder makes tiny pieces suitable only for spooning into a baby's mouth -- the pieces are way too small to eat by hand. So now I'm just tearing up my own food into small pieces. I'm nervous about it, but he seems to be doing well so far. He's downing Goldfish, turkey, ham, bread, grape pieces, mashed potatoes, Cheerios, green beans, and anything else he can get his tiny little hands on.

Tiny? Well that may not be the best word -- he's over 20 lbs now, closing in fast on his big sister.

Funny Katie Quotes

I got Katie out of her crib this morning and lifted her up high to show her how excited I was to see her. She said:

"I touch the stars!!!"

No idea where she learned that one from. :-)
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Another funny one: Last week we got pretend food to go with her newly-inherited kitchen set (thank you Marce!). Katie wouldn't stop sticking the plastic food in her mouth, and I kept telling her not to eat it. Her response? "It delicious!"

I had never heard her say that word either.
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Other favorites:
"Jean Jeans" -- her word for my brother Jason
"Mucus" -- her word for music, as when calling for the "Elmo Mucus" DVD
"G-Ma-Ma" -- her word for my mom's mom, when we tried to teach her "GGMa" for great-grandma
"Hap Birday!" -- what she says whenever she sees a candle

Tiny Talk Saturday

Well I've given up trying to post Katie's funny sayings on Tuesdays like my friend Mary does. Instead, you'll get my stories while my preggie memory is still fresh, and when I have time to type them up! :-)

Today Katie and I were cleaning out the room that will become her "Big Girl Room" (actually I was cleaning; she was pulling things out of the closet). One of the things she pulled out of the closet was the top half of my gift wrap organizer (which is basically a big container that holds all your gift wrap rolls; the top pops open to allow you to store scissors, tape, etc). Here's what the top looks like:

While I cleaned, I noticed the distinctive smell of a dirty diaper, and I mentioned it to Katie. She started banging on the organizer top like a drum and saying "Pie! Pie!" I figured her actions were unrelated to our conversation, until she sat on the open organizer top and continued to say "Pie! Pie!" And suddenly I knew what she was telling me. She thought she was sitting on a potty! LOL!

I give all the credit to Katie's new DVD "Elmo's Potty Time" (thank you for the Christmas present, Stephen and Lindsey!). Katie's been watching it off and on for a month now, and now proudly talks about "pee pee", "poo poo" and "doo". It's a hysterical DVD to watch as an adult as well (at least the first time). There are songs about how everyone has accidents sometimes (my family uses that song to joke about our bouts with the stomach flu), and about how everyone uses the potty. There's also a segment where kids and Muppets discuss which words they use for pee pee and poo poo, which is where Katie is getting her new vocabulary.

Needless to say, I'm seizing this opportunity. I ordered the Baby Bjorn potty seat from Amazon tonight. Who knows, maybe we can start a bit of potty training before our son arrives -- he's due in 8 weeks.

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Another fun talking story:

One of Katie's favorite books these days is Dr. Seuss's Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? I had never heard of this book before my friend Beth gave it to us for my baby shower, but Katie adores it because it features the sounds that all kinds of things make -- and Katie has always chosen to refer to things (esp. animals) by the noises they make rather than by their actual names.

One of the sounds Mr. Brown makes is "Dibble dibble dibble dopp" to sound like the rain. Although I've pointed out rain to Katie before, there's been no recognition that she understood what it was. So last night we were reading Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham before bed, and Sam I Am asks, "Could you eat it [Green Eggs and Ham] in the rain?" Suddenly Katie started bouncing in my lap and saying, "Dobba dobba dobba".

She had been a bit distracted during our whole reading time, so I thought she was just goofing off. But then it hit me: She's making rain noises! And I said, "Katie, that's right! It's the rain!" And you should have seen the proud expression on her face when she realized that I understood her. She literally started leaping into the air from my lap and laughing. It was adorable.

And today when we got into the shower together (which we do almost every day now -- it allows me to use her naptimes for my own naps instead of for my showers), she again started her noise: "Dobba dobba dobba". What a smart girl -- she connected the water falling in the shower to the rain that falls. She is constantly astounding me with the connections she's making. I'm sure I don't notice or understand 95% of them, but it sure is a delight when I do.

The Talking Tally, January 2009

Katie is quickly becoming a little talker. In the last few weeks, her vocabulary has grown immensely, and now she is trying to say almost every word she hears regularly. It's quite amazing. I've been trying to write down as many words as possible over the last several days, although I'm sure I'm still missing some. But here are most of the words she can currently say.

Fictional shows and characters: "See-see" or "Elmo Cookie?" (when she wants to watch Sesame Street), Abby (one of the newer characters on Sesame Street), Elmo, Cookie (Cookie Monster), "Buh buh" or "Boo-ard" (Big Bird), "Book" (Bert), Pooh, "Teh-tale" (Veggie Tales)

Real people:
Family: Bella, Dada, Mommy, Mike (my brother), "Aah-ee" (her cousin Alli), "Ah-drew" (her cousin Andrew), "Ama" (Oma, formerly known as Grammy) , “me!”
Friends: Mark, Anna, Kai, Amy
"Whooz dat?" (used for everyone else)

Animals: Bee, "Coggy" (Doggie), Cow, Puppy (and countless animal noises and motions to indicate the others)

Eating: "mawk" (milk), juice, apple, "balla" (banana), "cocker" (cracker), cookie, chip, cheese, "ah gah" (all gone)

Clothes: coat, sock, shoe, diaper, hat

Parts of the Body: eye, nose, "mock" (mouth), toe, "eyebow" (eyebrow)

Toys and Fun: ball, beach, book, Bible, "baa" (Bath), bead, "bubbles!" (always said with an exclamation point), "boon" (balloon), car, hug, "Whoa whoa whoa" [Row, Row, Row (Your Boat)],"tock" (asking us to make her toy talk), see

Other Words and Phrases:
Hi, hello, bye
Happy, sad
Up, down
Hot, cold
"Peas" (please), "dank doo" (thank you)
Yes, no
Amen
walk
"s*it" (directing Bella to sit) (and yes, I did get a good shock then chuckle out of that one)
two
"pah-ee" (potty -- I wish being able to say it made potty training happen automatically!)
yellow (learned this week when she wanted another M&M)
baby (important to learn right now!)
"sah" (star)
"lat" (light) "Whoa" and "Wow" (learned while admiring Christmas lights)
"Where's... (da cow, Bella, etc.)?"
"Es dat... (Elmo, Dada, etc.)?"

Over two months ago, when Katie was just starting her vocabulary drive, she learned "beach" and "happy" in the same weekend -- a great pair of words, I might say! Here she is practicing her new words in the car on the way to the ocean:

Our 4th Tiny Talk Tuesday

Now 17 months old, Katie is talking more and more every week. Here's what she said this week:

"Beh-bee" = "Belly Button" (first said on Oct. 30) (thanks to my friend Katie for giving us the Belly Button Book -- you're right, Katie, it's been a big hit! Toddler Katie loves pointing at her belly button and exclaiming "Wuzzat???!!")

"Where's Mommy?" and "Where's Daddy?" (first said on Nov. 1 to Lindsey). My future sis-in-law Lindsey was watching Katie while I helped run the neighborhood block party, and Katie's way of thanking her was to share a few phrases that she'd never said before! Thanks again (and happy birthday), Lindsey!

"Grover" (first said on Nov. 3 to Grammy)

"Ah ee ah ee" -- This is Katie's version of reading. Whenever she sees letters anywhere, whether on my Wheaton College t-shirt or the words on our dishwasher, she tries to sound out the letters. Of course, she can't tell one letter from the other, but it's still cute. :-)

And a new fun activity today: Katie has been giving me "eskimo kisses" (aka rubbing her nose against mine). She discovered this trick totally on her own and thus thinks it's hysterical.

Happy Election Day!

Our 3rd Tiny Talk Tuesday

Katie is 17 months old this week and learning how to talk. Here are her new words this week:

"Mama" and "Dada" are quickly being replaced by "Mommy" and "Daddy" (starting 10/24, as first witnessed by my mom). My heart melts every time she says "Mommy." :-)

"Jay-Ja-Je Jee" is a favorite phrase. It's easily translated "Sesame Street".

Along the same lines, "Mamo" is now heard regularly -- that's "Elmo".

And when she sees Grover, the response is either "Gucci" or "Cookie" (her name for "Cookie Monster", who's also fuzzy and blue)

One of Katie's favorite foods is "cocker" -- a Ritz cracker.

And she can also say "bubble". Bathtime is so much more fun with bubble bath, even though Katie won't stop trying to eat the bubbles, so she doesn't get the privilege very often.

And this isn't a new word, but just an FYI: Katie's new favorite book is Goodnight Moon. It's so fun to see her enjoying the same things I did as a kid!