Smile o' the day

Sometimes when I am upstairs and Rob needs me for some reason, he'll stand at the bottom of the stairs and yell up, "Hey Babe!" The scene tonight? Rob goes upstairs for something and Owen runs to the bottom of the stairs, looks up and says...

"Babe! Babe!"

Um, yeah. He's a talker.

It has been described as everything from "verbally gifted" (by the pediatrician) to "my, he's chatty" (by a fellow mom in Music Class). In any case, Owen is definitely a talker. Wonder where he gets that from? We have tried to keep track of his vocabulary so that we can record it for posterity, but that is easier said than done. He is adding new words all the time and after awhile, you just get used to it. It's as if he's known that new word all along. Please don't think I'm trying to tout my kid as some child savant...he's just really verbal.

In an effort to capture the moment, we spent the last few days trying to record all the words we KNOW he uses. We included only those that he has used on a regular basis and has used appropriately and in the correct context. The list tops 100 words. You can see it here. I've tried to include his pronunciation as well, but you can't quite get the full effect without hearing the words for yourself.

In addition to all those spoken words, he also knows and uses just over 50 signs. He often uses the sign in conjunction with the spoken word or sometimes just the sign or word separately. I truly believe that signing has facilitated his language development and can't say enough good things about what signing has contributed to our family! Thank you, Dr. Tuccelli, for introducing me to ASL in the first place, for describing its usefulness for hearing children, and for teaching with such enthusiasm. AND, a huge thank you to the Signing Time videos...I've said it before and I'll say it again. Go. Buy. These. Now!

Even though we are accustomed to his verbal marathon, he still catches us by surprise with the things he puts together. Several nights ago just before bathtime, Owen went in Rob's closet and sat down in front of a picture frame (sure, we store our photos and artwork in the closets! Don't you? Is it supposed to be on the walls??). We heard him talking and went in to find him identifying the different things in the photos. These were photos we had never discussed before...never described to him. He went through them a couple of times with Daddy before I thought to catch it on video. Here he is just before his patience ran out with us...


The list of words posted above doesn't even begin to touch on all the songs for which he knows the lyrics and fills in the blanks, all the instructions/requests he can respond to with ease and all the "miscellaneous" things like animal sounds and such. I tried to run through a few this morning at breakfast after he had already been imitating the squirrel sounds he learned from Grandpa Moore. Talking over breakfast...


He has also started combining words and phrases. For instance, in order to tell someone about the fireplace, he must always include 3 things: "Fwa-fwa. Hot, hot, hot. No, no." Translated, this means, "That's a fire. It's hot. We don't touch." My current favorites are "ho joo" and "wuh woo" (hold you and I love you). Oh, and I love that Owen now identifies his baby photos as "you." Surely the result of being told a million times "that's you."

Now, we just need to work on those rhyming words, as they do occasionally throw him for a loop. For instance, he will often sign "COAT" when playing with his "GOAT" magnet. And after a few days of me asking if he wanted a "BITE" of my sandwich, he will now make his request by signing "BIKE." As long as he can get those sorted out in the next few years, I think our boy is gonna do just fine.

Amy, where go?

My dear friend, Amy, came from Denver last weekend to visit our new home and meet Owen for the first time. He was taken with her immediately! He wanted Amy to hold him, read to him, play peek-a-boo with him and mostly build "toe-toes" (towers) with him.














Sadly, I failed to get much of the interaction on camera...especially the part where Amy taught him to fling his arms in the air--touchdown style--and quickly pull both fists into his chest with a loud, "YESSSSS!". This, of course, was demonstrated many times over during the close win of her beloved Steelers.



















The day after she returned home, Owen started asking for her. The first time he went to build a "toe-toe", he built it, knocked it down, said the obligatory "oh no!" (complete with dramatic head smack), and then said very quietly, "Amy?" He then got louder and more insistent..."Amy? Amy?" He started looking around and finally went to the bottom of the stairs, looking up. "Amy? Air go? Air go?" I tried to get it on video but only caught the tail end of a 3 or 4 minute recitation of "Amy? Where go?"


Later that day, any time he'd say "Amy?" it was followed with a quick "Bye bye". She was clearly a favorite in Owen's book. Very, very smart boy. We love Amy. Can't wait to see you again soon, my friend.

One little monkey jumping on the bed

Sometimes jumping is WAY more fun than napping.

Owen brings home the gold

Last Thursday marked the end of the semester for Owen's Little Gym class. As I've written before, Owen loves this place and has done really well throughout his first semester. Here he is playing the bells with Mommy during circle time.
















Time to put the bells away (and flirt with Miss Tracy)...















On the beam...































Attempting an escape from the parachute...













When it came time for the medal ceremony, Owen was the first one to climb the steps to receive his award. When Miss Tracy put the medal around his neck, you could actually see his chest expand a bit and he stood there soaking in the applause. He was so very proud of himself.


























The whole thing was one of "those" moments and it kinda just snuck up on me. I realized how quickly my little baby is becoming a little boy and was reminded to hold onto each moment...they are far too brief.

My cousin Nick

Cousin to cousin
we'll always be,
special friends
from the same family tree.
-Author unkown

This past weekend, we enjoyed our first visit with the West Coast Stones (Rob's brother, Chris, and his wife, Pam) in almost 5 years. Man, time flies! But this time around, we had two new wee ones to add to the mix. Cousins united for the first time. It was wonderful to see.

Nick, who is just 6 months younger than Owen, is a doll. The photos we get regularly are nice, of course, but the real-life kiddo is even better!














The boys played well together for the most part (as much as two little guys their age can play together) although Owen did seem to get his first taste of the green goddess, Envy. Any time Nick had been playing with Mommy for too long, Owen had to intervene!




















Other than the occasional mommy hogging, the visit was great. Hugs were even handed out!














And veggie puffs were shared (well okay, by "shared" I mean that my child ate all of Nick's puffs...but, you get my drift. Sorry Nick!).














Mama Dot enjoying her grandboys














Reading with Aunt Pam














Enjoying the musical stylings of Uncle Chris (Chris was the only one that Owen would allow to play the accordion)
















And here, the boys prepare to chicken fight! Well, not really...but you will hear a lot of ridiculous chatter from the parental units.

We had such a great time and can't wait to get together again. We look forward to taking lots more photos and videos together over the years. Maybe next time in sunny CA??

That Santa is a pretty cool guy

Owen has been reveling in the post Christmas mayhem. So many toys, so little time. One of his "big" gifts from Santa was a climbing toy/slide. He went nuts on Christmas morning when he saw it sitting in the family room. Man, has that thing been getting a work out!















He's also figured out how to make it double as a swing! See below or click here



What else has the kiddo been up to since Christmas?


Chatting incessantly (seriously, LOTS of talking and new words)



















Running errands on his new wheels














Building TALL towers


















Hanging out with new friends














Cuttin' a rug (with his new lawnmower, of course)



















And generally, just relaxing at home


















Our holidays were quite nice, despite some bug that we passed around. Daddy is back at work this week and we sure do miss having him at home. But, we are looking forward to a great 2006. Happy New Year, everybody.