MamaBlogga

We’ve been working for months on getting Hayden to say “please” and “thank you.” (”Please” was just a sign until a couple weeks ago, when he started saying “p’eece”!) He’s picked up the words and signs pretty well, but almost always has to be prompted to say “Please”—and by ‘prompted,’ I don’t mean asking “What do you say?” I mean telling him, “Say please.”

The few times he does spontaneously use please have usually been when I’ve said no to something he wants (or he thinks I’m saying no). Then it seems like he thinks “please” (which is done in perfect desperation) is a guarantee that he’ll get what he wants.

“Thank you” has (thankfully) met a bit more success. He’s come to understand that when someone gives him something, he should say “thank you” (or, for him “dootoo”). He also likes to thank me when he gives me something, but I’ll take it.

This morning, however, I discovered that he has one courtesy that I don’t remember teaching him. I may have told him this once or twice, but from what I recall, this is something he must have learned from example:

I sneezed. He said “b’eh doo.” For those of you not fluent in pretoddler (or Hayden), that’s “Bless you.” And this wasn’t just once; it was at least three times today.

I certainly feel blessed!

Hayden is reaching new firsts all the time. His vocabulary, or at least the syllables that he repeats, is growing all the time. Among the more useful words: “Ditty” (kitty), “deetee” (TV), and “boopoos” (poopoo).

He’s also getting better with his motor skills. He’s fitting shaped blocks into the right holes, helping put on his clothes (or even putting them on himself) and all kinds of fun things. Here he is wearing my hat. My shoes are another favorite of his.

But my favorite milestone of Hayden’s this month came when we were looking at an alphabet book. On the endpapers, they have the full alphabet printed. I was pointing to the ‘H,’ telling Hayden that “H is for Hayden.”

He looked at me and said, “Hay-dee.”

But now I’m wondering—is he trying to tell me that he prefers his nickname?

Quick—a toddlerspeak quiz. What is the translation for these Haydenisms?

1. Baido
2. Teee
3. Aaahhh
4. Nanee
5. Sss
6. Nai nai
7. Nai
8. Nanoo, nanool or nanle
9. Toottie (’oo’ as in book)

They always say that a child’s vocabulary starts to grow exponentially very suddenly. I was a little skeptical for Hayden, mostly because he hasn’t been terribly interested in talking!

Then again, I’m not sure that my perception of the situation is at least partially due to my own inability to recognize his “words” for a long time. Perhaps it’s not just that he’s finally making an effort to use his words. Maybe it’s just that I’m learning to listen better.

Answers:

1. Bye (possibly baido:bye::hello (haido):hi, or possibly bye-bye)
2. Cheese
3. Yes (yeahhh)
4. Candy
5. Shoes (or peeing)
6. Night night—which he has started saying spontaneously, and even started trying to wrap me in blankets for night night!
7. Light
8. Candle (he likes fire!)
9. Cookie

How did you do on our quiz?

It’s been almost two weeks since he said it, but Hayden’s first official “word” (which, I do have to admit, is a bit arbitrary) happened to be one of the ones he was already very good at signing: “More.”

Yes, he said “Daddy” in July (though he refuses to now), and “Mommy” and “Nana” (which quickly became “Nanny”) in August, but aside from “Mommy,” this is really the first word that he’s said that he repeats consistently.

And, within a week, he had a new reason for repeating it: his first television show.

It was an accident, really. I figured I’d switch on a kids’ show. Blue’s Clues was on, according to the television schedule, followed by a show I’d only heard about. Everyone I knew who’d seen this show complained and whined about it being bizarre and scary and annoying.

And when I turned on the TV, it was on. Hayden sat down on the floor and couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

And then we were hooked.

So in the last week, Hayden has added two new words to his vocabulary: “ha da” or “da da” (hot dog) and “Bah” or “Bah Bah” for our new favorite past time,

Yo Gabba Gabba!

I’ve even gotten Ryan in on the act. He says that the fact that one of the creators of Yo Gabba Gabba is an Aquabat has no bearing on his liking of the show (he’s a fan) (of both, I think). I’ve also been corrupting my currently-childless sister Jaime and sister-in-law Jess.

Possibly the worst part? The other day after Hayden had been in bed for a while, and I realized I hadn’t heard any Yo Gabba Gabba for several hours.

And I missed it.

Thank heavens for YouTube! Of course, that does mean that the computer is now Hayden’s personal Yo Gabba Gabba viewer. He walks up to whoever is on the computer and begins signing and begging, “Moooore!”

Oop, and here he comes now…

Hayden loves to dance. Now presenting Hayden’s first music video!

Note that he does, in fact, say, “Kitty” (or “Ditty”) as he’s getting up. And then he makes monkey sounds. What can I say? He’s a talented kid!

Hayden has picked up a new trick this week: signing. He learned two signs on Sunday that he’s been using off and on this week. He’s not totally consistent, so I don’t have any video or pictures, but here’s what he’s learned:

• All gone. Nana Diana was feeding him Easter candy for breakfast (I can’t really say anything, since that’s been my breakfast for two weeks now). She told him he couldn’t have any more until his mouth was empty—until it was all gone. He picked up the standard “all gone” sign (very similar to ASL’s “finished” sign)
• More. That night I was eating candy and gave Hayden a little bit. I got him to sign more to ask for some more.

Of course, his technique isn’t perfect, but I’m just excited that he’s learning one language

I promise he doesn’t eat as much candy as this makes it sound like he does… really….