Month of Language

Post 'Visit with Shamu' broke a record with a whopping 10 comments! (even if one of them was my response) I have to admit, I was getting a little sad when several friend's blogs were getting tons of comment hits... but 10 comments! Whoo hoo! It's the little things in life!

I have been told that in terms of child development, months 14-16 are the months for the start of language! And boy did Liam get the memo! I am ready for the months of language. I am ready to begin to communicate with my son with words instead of grunts, points and whines! A lot of the girls in Liam's class are ahead of the curve, social little butterflies I tell you. When I go in several will wave and say Hi. They pretty much always say bye bye when I leave, emphatically and on cue. Liam responds on his own terms. He absolutely knows hello and bye bye... but he will stare at you like you are a crazy person if he is not in the mood. I can see the little wheels turning in the back of those scowling eyes... "Nope! You say bye bye if you want to so bad." I am afraid to say that the scowl is all mine. In fact, I got called out again in a meeting: "Everything okay Kathryn?" Yes... my scowl is permanent when I am thinking. sorry about that! Embarrassing!

The only on cue Bye Bye I get is when I pick Liam up from daycare. He has a great time and never complains, but when I pick him up at the end of the day... I don't even get him half-way in my arms before "By By By By" kicks in!


 So back to little man's vocabulary. We are starting to branch out from all the B's and D's. Slowly but surely maybe I will get a more pronounced Mamma out of the kid! We are really into animal sounds. All for one that is... can you guess which one? Most of these he practices on my Iphone Peek-A-Boo Barn app. Seriously, a 14 month old can work an Iphone!

• Booo = Mooo (cow)
• Baa = Baaaa (sheep)
• Ooh Ahh Ahh = ooh ooh ooh Ahh Ahh Ahh (Monkey)
• Duh si = Quack? (duck) haha!
• Rahhh = Grrrr (Lion)
• Ba Ba Ba = Bach Bach Bach (Chicken)
• EEh EEh EEh = Squeak (mouse)
• EEh Ahh EEh Ahh = Hee Haw (Donkey)
• Clap* Tuh = Because all dogs are Tucker!

Other words we know

• Hah Dah = Hotdog (no, not the food. The Mickey Mouse Club Hotdog song and dance! If he even thinks he is about to hear it, he will stop what he is doing and climb to the TV)
• By By = Bye Bye
• Aa pple = Apple
• Caar = Car
• Brrrrr = Vroom (the sound the car makes)
• Beh Bah = Baby (also what who he refers to in the mirror)
• DiDi = GiGi
• Da Da or Da Diii if excited = Daddy
• Ma Ma Ma = only when tired or upset Mamma
• Tuh = Tuck our dog
• Ou Sii = Outside
• Gah Gah Gah = Go Go Go
• Di Pa = Diaper
• Baa Boo = Love You

And the final word? My dad, our Pappa, is an incredible grandfather. I think he actually enjoys playing with all of Liam's gadgets and toys as much as Liam does. He juggles, and laughs, and chases, and plays airplane all for the love of a little boy. Liam's eyes light up and he wants to be wherever he is and do whatever he does when we visit. And I totally know why - He is so much fun! It is funny because I, too, followed those footsteps. I can remember dad spreading his work out on the dining room table while mom made dinner and we played. I wanted to "work too!" So my dad would stop what he was doing and draw little pictures of objects like lamps, furniture, cars, etc. with little blanks underneath to help me with spelling. I would take my "work" and fill in each of the blanks to be graded! Later I discovered that after I got better at spelling, dad would run out of simple things to draw - bring on the mommy artist. As I got older we always did "work" together. We would do math games and word games, etc. All of those projects I am keeping in my back pocket for Liam, but on the very last day of our San Antonio trip, after a morning at the zoo... we walked into the living room to gather up all of our belongings to head home and in walks dad. Liam perks up, begins walking towards him and very loudly and clearly let out a big "Pappa!" Absolutely melted my heart!

Liam also loves for you to sing while he does the hand motions, which I have yet to capture on camera, but I will! He does:

• Pinching of the fingers - "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and puts them up for Up Above the World so High
• Taps his head - Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes (made me feel better that Brooks does the same... the boys were so adorable!)
• Motions arms back and Forth - "Wheels on the Bus"
• Claps Hands - "If Your Happy and You Know It"

I did manage to capture the "Go, Go, Go" game for you with a little camera distraction from daddy! Bill and I used to say this to Tucker for him to run through the hall... Monkey See, Monkey Do! (You might want to scroll to the bottom of the page to mute the music!)

Before Liam was born, I learned a very helpful hint from Kacey about not "child-proofing" everything in your home because let's face it... you cannot keep them caged in your home forever. Their thought was that their daughter could touch anything that she wanted... but only with one finger! Brilliant, right? Well, maybe not so much when Ashley's little girl tried to touch the candle at my baby shower with one finger, but in MOST cases the theory works! My mom, also brilliant, was taught not to touch anything at all. My grandmother began to notice teeth marks in everything from furniture to the English ivy. No touching! Just biting! I wish that I could take credit for Liam's one finger approach to life, but the kid does it on his very own and has since he was very little. He is a grand button pusher! The poor thing even got a blister on his one finger after our zoo trip!

When we went to our first ER visit after running into an open refrigerator door and vomiting, our weight was around 24.5 pounds. Such a big boy, with a clear CT scan I might add! Liam is wearing 18 month clothing, but since walking, he can sometimes still wear a few 12 month shirts. The boy can eat and even the helpers in daycare tell me "I wish all our babies ate like Liam. Fast, efficient and clean plate." I swear he can eat more than me. An entire mini pizza or full size corndog doesn't phase him a bit! One problem... still no veggies! He likes carrots, sometimes. And if you feed him mushy baby food greens, he is all over it. Otherwise, he is a master at sucking marinara sauce from peas and cheese from broccoli. I find clean little peas all on the plate! A few nights ago he began stuffing broccoli under his leg when I turned my head. I did it a couple of times to ensure that he truly was hiding these... I mean, where did he learn this?

We have both top molars in for a teeth count of 10! The bottom ones are coming in. I HATE MOLARS! Makes Liam and I both crazy people!

Liam loves life. He is so full of joy and such a happy baby! Honestly I am nervous my paybacks have yet to come, so I am enjoying every minute of this sweet boy! If you are having a bad day, all he has to do is flash those dimples! I am excited to start to get a glimpse of what is going on in that little head through words... stay tuned!

Ba Boo!