Elijah is "saying" two more "words," although I am not sure if either of them qualify as words. One of them is "uh-oh." He is more and more accurate about the timing when "uh-oh" is appropriate, like when he falls, for example.
Another "word" is "ah-dah," meaning "all done." He usually says it when he is done with a book (as if saying "I am done with this book, let's do another one"), done playing with a puzzle (as if saying "I don't want to play with this one any more, take it away"), or done being on the changing table. He is usually done being on the changing table well before we are done changing his diaper, so he is lying there, signing "all done" and repeatedly saying "ah-dah," as if telling us to hurry up!
You may have noticed that neither of these words are Russian. I can understand that "hi" is easier than any Russian greeting, but "all done" in Russian is actually just one syllable: "vsyo"! It may be that the consonantal cluster "vs" may be challenging for him, plus we haven't heard him make either "v" or "s" sounds yet. Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait a while longer. :)
He also says "sentences" of random sounds, but the amazing thing (at least to us), is that the intonation and the number of syllables usually correspond to something we would have said to him at the time. For example, he usually plays peek-a-boo with his towel after a bath. He covers his face with it, and we say "Where's Elijah?" One day he covered his face and said something that sounded so much like "Where's Elijah" except that that actual sounds were wrong, but the intonation was exactly right! Once again, these "sentences" follow English inflection, perhaps because English sounds so much more "melodic" than Russian, or at least the expressive baby version of it that Daddy uses does. (Mommy doesn't do baby talk in Russian, so maybe it's not as exciting for him to imitate. Who knows.)
P.S. The next day after this posted was originally composed, Elijah stopped saying "all done" to books and puzzles. Instead, he is now saying it as soon as we try to put on his sandals to go outside. He doesn't really mind the sandals, but he doesn't have the patience to wait till they are on. It's so funny, as soon as we put him on our lap, he immediately says his "ah-dah".
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
the mind of a child
Ever wonder what's going on in little kids' minds? I do once in a while. Thanks to Elijah's signing, every so often I get a little peek into his thoughts when I don't expect it.
Elijah has learned a ton of signs by now. One of his favorites is "ball," perhaps because he likes balls. He has quite a few at home and likes to carry two or three in his arms at the same time, and then dump them on the floor. Whenever we are passing a large crate of balls at Target or a child playing with a ball in the street, Elijah never fails to sign "ball" with great excitement.
One day we were at a grocery store and I parked the cart with Elijah in it while picking out some veggies. As I looked up to make sure he was still there and OK, I saw him making a sign. At first it threw me off. It looked like he was signing "ball," but we were in the produce section, so there could be no balls. And the I realized that I put the cart next to a large crate of watermelons, and he decided they were balls! It's a good thing he couldn't reach any of them to see if they'd bounce! Another time we came home from a grocery store with a cantaloupe, which Elijah quickly accepted into his ball collection and treated it as such. He took it up on the couch and then threw it down on the floor. The cantaloupe was still edible after Elijah was done with it.
Another one of Elijah's favorites is a sign for "dog." It's supposed to be a pat on the thigh, as if calling a dog, but Elijah's version of it beating his chest with an open palm. Dogs have always been a love of his. A couple of days ago we saw a pretty dog at a park. Its owner was very friendly and let us come close, and Elijah even got a lick in the face, which he didn't mind a bit. As the dog's owner sat on a bench enjoying the weather, Elijah stood right by, repeatedly signed "dog," shook and squealed with excitement for quite a while. A day or so later we went to the same park. Elijah saw the bench where to dog was, went there, and signed "dog." I am pretty sure he was remembering his furry friend of a few days ago. I told him that the doggy was probably at home and expected him to move on. But he did not. We spent about a half our at the park that morning, and every couple of minutes (no matter whether he was on a slide or on a swing) he'd look at me with sad eyes and sign "dog." I never expected him to remember that dog in the first place, let alone be upset that it wasn't there and keep thinking about it the whole time.
Elijah has learned a ton of signs by now. One of his favorites is "ball," perhaps because he likes balls. He has quite a few at home and likes to carry two or three in his arms at the same time, and then dump them on the floor. Whenever we are passing a large crate of balls at Target or a child playing with a ball in the street, Elijah never fails to sign "ball" with great excitement.
One day we were at a grocery store and I parked the cart with Elijah in it while picking out some veggies. As I looked up to make sure he was still there and OK, I saw him making a sign. At first it threw me off. It looked like he was signing "ball," but we were in the produce section, so there could be no balls. And the I realized that I put the cart next to a large crate of watermelons, and he decided they were balls! It's a good thing he couldn't reach any of them to see if they'd bounce! Another time we came home from a grocery store with a cantaloupe, which Elijah quickly accepted into his ball collection and treated it as such. He took it up on the couch and then threw it down on the floor. The cantaloupe was still edible after Elijah was done with it.
Another one of Elijah's favorites is a sign for "dog." It's supposed to be a pat on the thigh, as if calling a dog, but Elijah's version of it beating his chest with an open palm. Dogs have always been a love of his. A couple of days ago we saw a pretty dog at a park. Its owner was very friendly and let us come close, and Elijah even got a lick in the face, which he didn't mind a bit. As the dog's owner sat on a bench enjoying the weather, Elijah stood right by, repeatedly signed "dog," shook and squealed with excitement for quite a while. A day or so later we went to the same park. Elijah saw the bench where to dog was, went there, and signed "dog." I am pretty sure he was remembering his furry friend of a few days ago. I told him that the doggy was probably at home and expected him to move on. But he did not. We spent about a half our at the park that morning, and every couple of minutes (no matter whether he was on a slide or on a swing) he'd look at me with sad eyes and sign "dog." I never expected him to remember that dog in the first place, let alone be upset that it wasn't there and keep thinking about it the whole time.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
already?
Elijah is only 18 months old, but we are seeing something we think are signs of the "terrible twos." Two weeks ago we had a child who, when we said "Let's go eat," ran to his high chair signing "eat," and when we said "It's time to go to sleep," ran to his bedroom signing "sleep." Not any more.
Each time we take a trip, some big changes seem to occur after we get home. We were wondering what the next leap was going to be after getting home from Michigan over a week ago. What we found is that his first an immediate reaction to everything and anything is now shaking his head, meaning "no". He doesn't yet say "no", nor does he know a sign for "no" (although one exists), but he doesn't need either to make it clear what he means. And he does mean it. Trying to put him into his high chair or get him to lie still on the changing table turns into a wrestling match at times.
I hope that all this can be explained by his cold he caught as soon as we got home, but I fear it's more than just a cold...
Each time we take a trip, some big changes seem to occur after we get home. We were wondering what the next leap was going to be after getting home from Michigan over a week ago. What we found is that his first an immediate reaction to everything and anything is now shaking his head, meaning "no". He doesn't yet say "no", nor does he know a sign for "no" (although one exists), but he doesn't need either to make it clear what he means. And he does mean it. Trying to put him into his high chair or get him to lie still on the changing table turns into a wrestling match at times.
I hope that all this can be explained by his cold he caught as soon as we got home, but I fear it's more than just a cold...
18 months check up
Height: 33 inches
Weight: 27 lbs 10 oz (after a week of being sick and hardly eating anything)
Head circumference: 48.5 cm
75th percentile
teenage geese
While in Michigan for aunt Chelsea's graduation, we stopped by a small park to see and feed some geese. Needless to say, Elijah had a ball. He didn't get to actually feed the geese, as they were taking bread right out of our hands, and we didn't think it was a good idea for Elijah to hold the bread. But he still got pretty close to them.
puzzle man
Elijah's new hobby is putting together puzzles. They are pretty simple for now, but he's gotten really good at them. Gone are the days when he struggled to fit the pieces in. I haven't timed him, but I bet he can do the whole thing in under 30 seconds. He can sit around for a long time putting these things together (he has a couple), then dumping them out on the floor and starting over. Puzzles became our toy of choice when we need to occupy him with a quiet activity for a while. Although he no longer needs help, he does like to have an impressed audience once in a while. Pictured above is Doris playing that role about a week ago in Michigan. :)
go aunt Chelsea
Aunt Chelsea graduated from high school on June 3rd, and her Chicago branch of the family came to join the celebration. Elijah got to sleep with his parents (to his delight and our frustration, as he takes up at least as much space as each of his parents, but, unlike his parents, he squirms, wakes up and cries if he feels too constrained in his movements).We wish aunt Chelsea all the best in her college career!
chasing birds
maggie and a white cat
We spent Memorial day at Jim (Ryan's internship supervisor) and Charlene's house. Their dog, Maggie, made Elijah giggle his head off when he was about 8 months old. He has stopped laughing every time she'd go by a while back, but is now interested in being chased by Maggie. But Maggie isn't really interested in playing catch.While visiting, Elijah made friends with a cat that hung out around Jim's back yard. At some point the cat let Elijah pretty close up (under Charlene's close supervison), and Elijah offered it his milk (in a sippy cup)! The cat didn't have a chance to partake of the treat, as Charlene put an end to this sharing pretty quickly. Maggie, on the other hand, didn't wait to be offered the milk. She found the sippy cup on the grass and licked it all over without an invitation.
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