http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KpU2C18aAc
Almost. :>>
Category Archives: Learning
Owen trying to take his shirt off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDrpNUM4GYI
We were outside on the porch waiting for Tom to come home, when Owen decided he wanted to take his shirt off. Sometimes we do this when he plays in the sprinkler, but we weren’t doing that and he didn’t want to do that…so I have no idea why he wanted it off. So, I wasn’t going to take it off—but I told him that if HE could take it off, then it could come off. So he tried. And tried. Then asked for help. Then got more interested in watching himself (as usual) than trying to get the shirt off. Then got distracted by the spiderweb…
Alphabet, numbers, and Dora
Owen has been loving the baby toys we’ve been unpacking…and has been super enthralled with this one. After a little while playing with it, he can now sing his alphabet! And we’re constantly amazed at how his mind works—towards the end he flips the language switch to Spanish and says “Dora!” ❗
#awesomeparenting
Tom’s phone just dinged with a message and Owen took it to him. No training involved whatsoever.
I just tested Owen.
I just tested Owen: “Please bring me the nail clippers from mama’s dresser.”
After two minutes, he brought me one slipper. :DD At least it rhymed?
Mama, I’m floating!
We have tried repeatedly to let Owen float in our arms, but he’s not a big fan (he ESPECIALLY HATES being put on his back, even when we have a secure hold on him). So I was a bit surprised when on his own, as he was holding on to the side of the pool (which we usually discourage, since it’s not meant for that), he let his legs float up behind him. And he was loving it! And of course he was splashing and hanging over so far the water was spilling out!
Owen being Owen in the pool:
And more Owen being Owen, this time going through phrases from three different books (see if you can hear lines from Hit the Ball Duck
Wilmington Children’s Museum
We had been wanting to take Owen to the children’s museum, so Tom took today off and we headed over early. Once we actually found it (the address in Yelp was wrong, plus it’s in a quiet residential neighborhood with bad signage) it was pretty good.
Owen got to plant some basil with daddy:
He liked the circus mirrors:
And this mirror—“Look at all the Owens!”
Playing grocery store (he likes the buttons):
Here he got to be on TV with daddy via a green screen:
We had fun, but it’s not somewhere we’ll be rushing back to.
Frosting–and eating–the cupcakes!
Owen’s first time frosting cupcakes…wasn’t terribly messy. 🙂
Making cupcakes!
Owen had found our formula mixer (which is out since Tom uses it to mix his coffee) and then grabbed one of Tom’s coffee pods from the drawer and was putting the two together saying “Making cupcakes!” I’m not exactly sure where he got the idea of cupcakes, though somewhat recently I know he was watching something on Food Network with Tom about snacks… So I got the idea to actually make cupcakes.
I got it all set up and the hardest part was getting Owen to kneel on the chair at the counter—he wanted to sit (too low) or stand (too high and wobbly on our bar-height chairs) but we eventually got it worked out. First he helped me dump the measuring cup of water, oil, and eggs into the bowl (though I had to keep a hand on it so it didn’t all end up on the floor). The whole time (from now until the end) he just kept saying “Making cupcakes. Making cupcakes! Making cupcakes!”
Then he used the mixer, which he actually did pretty well with:
Then it was off to fill the cups. He helped me put all the liners in the pan, and then after I did the first tray of 12, he got to do this tray:
Still working on it:
The mess wasn’t too bad (none got on him, the chair, or the floor) so that was a bonus! And he had a blast!
Owen just made his first sandwich!
Owen just made his first PB&J sandwich—with a little help—but he did pretty good for a three year old!
Twinkle, twinkle!
Gram was teaching him Twinkle Twinkle when she was here. Sometimes he does better than others, but of course I don’t catch those…but he’s still cute when he only gets part of it!
He knows all the tools!
He knows all the pieces, though whether he’ll answer you on command is another story. Thanks, Gramma Marsha—he LOVES them (especially the screwdriver, which he uses to fix his cars)!!
You’re welcome!
Owen just correctly used “You’re welcome” for the first time! He is using his toy hammer to bang on certain spots on the kitchen floor so I said “Thank you for fixing the floor!” and he responded with “You’re welcome!” like he’s been doing it his whole life. 🙂
First full sentence!
Owen just said his first honest-to-goodness full-on sentence with no prompting from me!
He always says things like “milk please” or “piggies please” (Olivia)—and I always tell him he needs to say “Mama, can I watch piggies, please?” etc. He tries but mangles everything together, so over the past few days I’ve started slowing it down and having him repeat every word after me, which he does just fine (then mangles it when he tries it all at once). I also tell him he needs to ask/say please on his own without me prompting him each time.
So we were just downstairs after breakfast and he kept saying “mama upstairs, mama upstairs” and I was ignoring him, waiting for him to either ask please or offer his version of a full sentence…when he stopped, looked very thoughtful, then slowly and clearly said “Mama…can…I…watch…piggies?”
Yay!! 🙂
Counting
Cooking with Grandpa
Well, maybe not so much cooking as watching him separate eggs. Once Owen actually started “helping” (i.e. got his fingers into it), only one ended up down the front of the dishwasher and on the floor. :>>
Maggie Helper
Owen now knows how to let Maggie out of her crate. “C’mon, Maggie, downstairs!”
He’s making connections!
Tonight we were headed to a friend’s house for dinner and Owen already had three cars in his hands and wanted to take two other toys and you could tell he was a bit confused as to just how he was going to make it work. So I told him to put everything in his basket—assuming I’d come back in a few minutes and have to actually do it myself. So imagine my surprise when I saw him standing at the front door…holding his basket…with all his cars and toys in it! I asked Tom if he had helped him and he said no. So Owen understood what I said and actually made it happen! YAY OWEN!
Then as soon as we pulled up at our friend’s house, he says “[Vir]ginia’s house!”
Also, over the past few days when he says he wants to go outside (or if we’re getting ready to go for a car ride) he will start saying shoes and coat and head off to find them. He even managed to get his Crocs on by himself!
Octagons aplenty!
So Tom was changing Owen’s diaper in his play room, when Owen gets excited and says OCTAGON! Tom looked around wondering what on earth Owen was seeing (from laying down on the changing table) that looked like an octagon…?? He called me in and we’re both looking, as Owen keeps saying “Octagon! Octagon!”
He was referring to the tray ceiling. 88|
Then when we were eating breakfast, he looked up and again said “Octagon!” Yep, the tray ceiling in the dining room.
Later that day he noticed the one in our bedroom, too (even though it isn’t as noticaable because it’s not painted and it’s oblong).
What a smart whippersnapper.
Smartypants.
Backstory: 1) Owen generally wants us to start a new show before the first one is even done. He knows when it’s ending and says “More rocket!” or whatever show it is that he wants. 2) Tom gets up with Owen on the weekends so I can sleep in (which really just means wake up around my normal time, but leisurely, without having to get Owen, change the diaper, etc.).
So this morning I was up (7:30) just laying there waking up, when I hear our bedroom door open and I figure it’s Tom. Nope, I hear “More rocket! More rocket!”
I was still a bit groggy so tried to get Owen to climb in our bed to watch. “NOOOOOO!!! More rocket!” And he was very adamant. He came over and took my finger and pulled me out of bed and dragged me down the hall—all while I was wondering where Tom was that he wasn’t able to stop Owen.
Yeah, he was downstairs getting Owen his snack. And had only been gone a minute or to. But Owen was smart enough to figure where I was and knew I could get him what he wanted so he wouldn’t have to wait for Tom to get back.
Stinker.
More words, volume 19.
Bagel
Bump
Conductor => Thank you, Chuggington!
Cupcake
Daisy => Thank you, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
Do you see ___?
Donald => Thank you, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
Earth
Fetch
Goofy
Goose
Grasshopper
Leo => Thank you, Little Einsteins!
Maggie faster.
Mama hiccup.
Mama inside.
Mama tired.
Mama try.
Mickey => Thank you, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
More fetch.
Owen fetch.
Owen try.
Pocoyo is in bed. Where did Pocoyo go? => Most comprehensive sentences yet!
Present
Quincy => Thank you, Little Einsteins!
Rhinoceros
Thomas
Tiger
Trumpet
Volcano => Pronounced as cano.
Wake up cano!
Yogurt
Learning the fist bump!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otFdgzxs804
Tom decided to take his birthday dinner to teach Owen the fist bump. And Owen loved it. 🙂
And smiling with dad:
More words…and short sentences!
I think he’s still technically behind in speech, but he’s continually progressing so we’re not worried. Here are the latest words…which brings us to about 328 total (and of course, I’m sure I’m still missing some)!
Ambulance
Black
Blocks
Brown
Bull
Burp
Car ride
Castle
Chocolate
Crash
Excuse me
Fart
Faster
Fence
Flashlight
French fry
Friends
Mack => Thanks, Cars!
Maggie move
Other one
Over there
Party
Sausage
Sneeze
Squid
White
More words…and short sentences!
Ballerina
Broccoli
Crab
Delicious
Dirty
Doctor
Flying
Funny
Hammer
I cannot believe it!
I love puzzles!
I’m painting
Ladder
Lobster
No thank you
Octopus
Picture
Race car
Silly
Sleeping
Strawberry
Sun come up
Thirsty
Thunder
Umbrella
Watermelon
Where are you
Whistle
Yucky
Counting!
He just started counting on his own, so I asked him to count again. You might have to turn the volume up towards the end, but he does count from one to ten!
Random bits
I wish Owen would want to stay outside and play longer. I wish he would understand that this current weather is the best we’re going to have for probably the next three years…that it will soon be too hot to want to stay outside very long. But he usually only wants to stay outside for like 10 minutes at a time, at random times throughout the day.
He has figured out how to unlock the screen door, so he’s taken to just going outside whenever he wants (leaving the screen door open, of course). I’m trying to teach him that he has to ask to go outside, and of course that doesn’t go over very well—he collapses into his go-to whining position (crouches/squats on the floor covering his eyes with his fists and whines gently). I would call it a tantrum but it’s not that bad.
He listens and understands basic commands pretty well—which is fun—like “Bring me your juice” or “Turn your car off” and yesterday he even understood me when I told him his B was up in his room…because he went and got it! Of course, being a toddler, he doesn’t ALWAYS listen…but for the most part he does. He’s also still really good when it comes to picking up toys and putting them away.
His words are still coming along, though honestly I’m probably not keeping track as well as I should. He also seems to be repeating things more, even if he doesn’t understand. Since the last update, we have about 15 more words:
Annie => Little Einsteins character
Awesome
Beanstalk => From a Little Einsteins episode
Blimp
Cage => From a Little Einsteins episode
Cute
Cymbals => From a Little Einsteins episode
Helicopter => Pronounced as hector
Hiding
June => Little Einsteins character
Lion
Mouse
Note => From a Little Einsteins episode, as in music note
Orange
Saturn => From a Little Einsteins episode
We have taught him “please” (which comes out as peas and it’s so cute) but he thinks that’s all he has to say when he wants something. So he’ll be saying “peas! peas! peas!” but we have no idea what he wants. I keep asking him what he wants, and all I get is peas. I keep telling him that I need to know what he wants, or that he needs to say “outside please” but it’s just not getting through. If we ask him if he wants to go outside (or wants a snack or wants to watch rocket or whatever), he giggles. So, we’ve learned that giggling = yes. 🙂
SATURN!
You gotta love the Little Einsteins for teaching Owen about Saturn! I was reading a magazine while he was running around playing with his water table…and I kept hearing something that sounded like “Saturn” and I couldn’t figure out why he was saying it…until I saw what he was holding (as you will see in the videos). What a smart kid!
And then later that afternoon, he wanted to go inside after playing…and was getting a little whiny (but still dang cute):
And more whining…
Park/Home/Snack
After his nap, Owen kept saying “Park park park” (though it sounds more like pawk or puck) so I took that to mean he wanted to go to the park. He didn’t want his snack. So we went, and he had a great time running around for about 20 minutes, then he came over to me and said “home…snack”—the first time he’s ever really asked for something like that (aside from the park earlier). I know it’s not much, but it’s a start…and I love it.
More words – part 13
Crescendo => From shenndo (Little Einsteins)
Flute
Hiccup
Knight
Nap
Noise
Peach
Peas
Pepper
Pillow
Rice
Sign
Sleep
Slipper
Spaghetti
Submarine => sa-ween
Tasha From => Backyardigans
Tickle
Tracks
Tyrone => From Backyardigans
Zip
The latest new words!
Change
Pie
Acorn
Push
Giraffe => Actually just raff right now.
Waterfall
Look
Castle => He called a church a castle as we were driving by. 🙂
Horse
Ernie
Working
Unicorn => Actually just corn right now.
Spooky
Ham
Table
Soap
Button
Clock
Space
Pet
And he tries REALLY hard to say Sphinx (thanks to a Little Einsteins episode).
So, we’re right around 200 words, if you count the letters of the alphabet. :up: