Nathan just turned two, and with him turning two the expectations of speech have started mounting. Now Nathan has been communicating with words for quite some time. We decided to teach him at least a few ASL signs so that we could communicate with him without him just crying. All Done, Help, Please, are his go to signs that have served him quite well.
Nathan also has been talking for quite a while. He started with Mama and Dada, and quickly picked up shoes and Bible. All Done is also one of his favorite phrases, but if you have spent anytime around Nathan you know that Uh Oh, is his favorite phrase. He uses it for just about anything, whether it happens on purpose or is an accident Nathan likes to say Uh Oh, quite loudly. Following closely behind is something that we've interpreted to be "What's that?". Over and over again, Nathan will point to things and say the words, which means over and over again, we are repeating the names of things and encouraging him to repeat.
Nathan does a lot of babbling, especially when he is playing by himself. Some of his words are very clear, but many have to be interpreted from toddler speak. For example, Nathan says, "wawa," and means water or milk or anything else you have to drink. "Dizta" is his way of saying Pizza and boy does he get excited when it is pizza night, or even just when he sees the pizza cutter. (one night as he was falling asleep he was saying, "Dizta, Dizta," over and over again.) He has picked up "Bubbles" which comes out not quite clear, but once he asks over and over again for you to blow bubbles you get the picture.
Recently, Nathan has started progressing a bit further in his speech. He knows at least one, what I would call a phrase. I make him say, "All done Dada," if he wants me to stop tickling him, which usually is very soon after I start tickling him. However, the real startling thing about Nathan's speech development is when he just out of the blue says a word perfectly clear just like you and I would say it.
Right now there are really two words recently that have caught me by surprise that Nathan just out of the blue has said clear as day, just like any adult would say. The first is, "Bye." And Nathan says just that, "Bye." Very flatly, matter of factly. No, "bye, bye," or some other cute mannerism, just one plain "bye." And he won't repeat himself. He'll say it once and he feels that once is enough. After all, why would he need to say it more than once?
The second, and this is probably not surprising to anyone with kids is, "No." Now Nathan has shook his head no for quite some time, but he just recently began every once in a while saying "no." The first clear "no," was when we were attending a end of the school year party for Erin's school. The host lives on a farm and has a construction business, so there are tractors and excavators and backhoes and all sorts of fun equipment around. I took Nathan over to look at all the tractors, (another word that Nathan says but must be translated from "dactor" to english.) We were walking over and I asked Nathan if he wanted to sit in the tractor. Nathan, emphatically shook his head no. I as any pressing parent would told him it would be fun tried to put him in a seat anyway. He was not pleased and wanted to get down. So after looking at some cows and circling back around as any pressing parent who wants to force their kids into fun photo ops does, I started asking him about sitting on the tractors again. He again of course shook his head forcefully, while I asked him to be brave. Then I made one last request, "Nathan do you want to sit on the tractor?" Nathan simply replied, "No." and shook his head. That was that. It caught me so off guard that I figured he meant business, and really didn't want to sit in the tractors.
But of course I didn't give up, and after climbing into one of the tractors myself and siting with him, Nathan finally decided that riding in a tractor wasn't so bad after all. There are a few pictures below of him in a few of them. Since he has been hooked on his, "Diggers and Dumpers" book and like to match the different tractors to those on his new PJ's he got from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday.
Nathan seems to add new words each and every week, and Erin and I are constantly amazed by how much he is learning. It is such a joy to watch him learn and progress. Of course at the same time we constantly remind ourselves that once he starts talking. .. . he will never stop.
Nathan also has been talking for quite a while. He started with Mama and Dada, and quickly picked up shoes and Bible. All Done is also one of his favorite phrases, but if you have spent anytime around Nathan you know that Uh Oh, is his favorite phrase. He uses it for just about anything, whether it happens on purpose or is an accident Nathan likes to say Uh Oh, quite loudly. Following closely behind is something that we've interpreted to be "What's that?". Over and over again, Nathan will point to things and say the words, which means over and over again, we are repeating the names of things and encouraging him to repeat.
Nathan does a lot of babbling, especially when he is playing by himself. Some of his words are very clear, but many have to be interpreted from toddler speak. For example, Nathan says, "wawa," and means water or milk or anything else you have to drink. "Dizta" is his way of saying Pizza and boy does he get excited when it is pizza night, or even just when he sees the pizza cutter. (one night as he was falling asleep he was saying, "Dizta, Dizta," over and over again.) He has picked up "Bubbles" which comes out not quite clear, but once he asks over and over again for you to blow bubbles you get the picture.
Recently, Nathan has started progressing a bit further in his speech. He knows at least one, what I would call a phrase. I make him say, "All done Dada," if he wants me to stop tickling him, which usually is very soon after I start tickling him. However, the real startling thing about Nathan's speech development is when he just out of the blue says a word perfectly clear just like you and I would say it.
Right now there are really two words recently that have caught me by surprise that Nathan just out of the blue has said clear as day, just like any adult would say. The first is, "Bye." And Nathan says just that, "Bye." Very flatly, matter of factly. No, "bye, bye," or some other cute mannerism, just one plain "bye." And he won't repeat himself. He'll say it once and he feels that once is enough. After all, why would he need to say it more than once?
The second, and this is probably not surprising to anyone with kids is, "No." Now Nathan has shook his head no for quite some time, but he just recently began every once in a while saying "no." The first clear "no," was when we were attending a end of the school year party for Erin's school. The host lives on a farm and has a construction business, so there are tractors and excavators and backhoes and all sorts of fun equipment around. I took Nathan over to look at all the tractors, (another word that Nathan says but must be translated from "dactor" to english.) We were walking over and I asked Nathan if he wanted to sit in the tractor. Nathan, emphatically shook his head no. I as any pressing parent would told him it would be fun tried to put him in a seat anyway. He was not pleased and wanted to get down. So after looking at some cows and circling back around as any pressing parent who wants to force their kids into fun photo ops does, I started asking him about sitting on the tractors again. He again of course shook his head forcefully, while I asked him to be brave. Then I made one last request, "Nathan do you want to sit on the tractor?" Nathan simply replied, "No." and shook his head. That was that. It caught me so off guard that I figured he meant business, and really didn't want to sit in the tractors.
But of course I didn't give up, and after climbing into one of the tractors myself and siting with him, Nathan finally decided that riding in a tractor wasn't so bad after all. There are a few pictures below of him in a few of them. Since he has been hooked on his, "Diggers and Dumpers" book and like to match the different tractors to those on his new PJ's he got from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday.
Nathan seems to add new words each and every week, and Erin and I are constantly amazed by how much he is learning. It is such a joy to watch him learn and progress. Of course at the same time we constantly remind ourselves that once he starts talking. .. . he will never stop.
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| This is after I had sat in cab with him for a while to calm his fears. |
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| It didn't take long before he was having fun! |
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| Nathan tried to climb off this one by himself shortly after I had taken the picture. |
You forgot to mention "more" which has progressed from exclusively sign language to a clearly pronounced word. It's entertaining when Nathan starts chanting "more" over and over again as if at a sporting event, while waiting for a second bowl of Kix!
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