Professor Pronoun and the Case of Non-Stop Jibber Jabber

We were visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Virginia about a month ago when we had our first unprovoked pronoun pronouncement.  Grandma and I watched as Keyven worked very hard to crawl up on to one of the couches.  It took a lot of work, grunting, and groaning.  When asked if he wanted help from mommy, I got a definite “no!” Then he reached the seat all by himself and turned around to plop down with a satisfied grin on his face. I said, “You did it!” And he beamed up at me and replied, “I did it!”

You could have knocked Grandma and me over with a feather.  Although we were proud, we thought maybe it was a fluke.  But a couple of days later, as he was trying to come down the stairs, I said, “Do you want me to help you?” and Keyven said, “Yeah, help me!”

And so began the chattering. Keyven has now covered third person pronouns in addition to first and second (for those of you who fell asleep in English class, that’s he/she/it/they in addition to I/we and you/ya’ll). Every day brings something new, and each day frequently includes minutes of conversation during which Tim & I have no clue what is being said.  Some highlights include:

- This past week during a visit to the Acheson/Theel clan in Olathe, Keyven started responding to “Do you want… ?” questions by saying, “Yeah, I do!” Of course if he doesn’t want something, he’s very adept at making that known as well. 

- There was a phase, whenever Tim wasn’t in eyesight, where Keyven would ask, “Where is he?” or “Where’s Daddy?”  I would say, “I don’t know.  Where is he?” To which Keyven would reply (very decidedly), “Bathroom!”  I thought it was quite funny.  Tim is very thankful that now Keyven’s response to “where is?” questions is currently, “Hiding?”

- For quite some time, Keyven has been going to the bathroom to watch Daddy potty.  Apparently it’s quite an impressive sight, because the first few times he watched Tim hit the target, it resulted in an astonished, “Ohhh wow!”  A short while later, Keyven discovered his own boy parts during diaper changes.  A perfectly normal progression, except that he would would exclaim, “Da-da!” when he touched himself.  We got the connection, but it would be a little embarrassing to explain that at daycare.  Thankfully now, he has learned to say “penis”… and now we have to say good-bye to it when it’s time to get dressed.

The list of words & phrases goes on and on… I wish I could write them down every time he says a new one.  I swear he must know hundreds by now.  His biggest is “dishwasher” and his shortest is “w” and “x” (as in the alphabet). Paci, night-night, blanket, Elmo, truck, choo-choo (as in train), chew-chew (what I say when he needs to chew a bite), bed, up, down, apple, orange, red, blue, shoes, pants, arms, legs, nose, hair, eyes, pray, Amen!, dance, uh-oh, please, thank you, you’re welcome, bless you, flag, home…

Nothing melts my heart or can make me smile quite like the sound of his little voice, even when I can’t understand a word he’s saying.

Photos (Top to Bottom): K is also a fabulous helper when it comes to cleaning; another favorite task — carrying his own diaper bag. 

Apparently, I’m a Bad Mommy

And not just because I haven’t blogged in months… although the reason is semi-blog-related.  I don’t get many hits on my few YouTube uploads because they’re only shared here.  But someone found the infamous “Breakfast of Champions” video and thought it letting Keyven eat cat food was akin to child abuse.  In fact, they thought it so much so that they not only left one, but two inane comments, and rated my video with one star. I don’t really care about the comments, but the video rating bugs me for some reason.  I can’t change it or rate my own.  So, if you don’t mind, and you liked the video (or heck, if you didn’t, just be honest) will you please go and rate it as you see fit.  Click here to go to YouTube and rate the Breakfast of Champions video.  Thanks!

My Funny Valentine

Maybe I’m a little biased, but I’m pretty sure I have one of the most adorable kids in the world.  Even if you count the recent run of public on-the-floor screaming fits.  He is so sweet.  He loves to give kisses & hugs to everyone, even the dog.  He can’t hear a single note of music without dancing in his diaper.  And, although the “no” phase has already started at our house, it is counterbalanced by the fact that he also started mixing in “sure” with his “yes” answers. 

Valentine’s days are pretty anti-climatic around here.  And today was no exception.  Not that I’m complaining.  I’ve never been a fan of the commercialized “I’m telling you I love you because I’m supposed to” schlock.  So today was a lot of Keyven and mommy time while we gave Tim-daddy a big study-catch-up break.  During our trip to the grocery store, he grabbed my sunglasses while I put him in the car seat.  When I peeked in the mirror on our way there, I caught this grinning little cutie looking back at me from behind his movie-star shades.  I think he’s the best valentine a girl can have.

Happy Halloween!

I am a bad mommy.

I did not dress Keyven up this year.  No cutesie costume, no candy, no pics.  Sorry.  I’m boycotting all further holidays and their associated celebrations until Tim comes home.  We will have a fabulous Halloween next year, complete with costumes and tricking and treating and even marching in the Neewollah kiddie parade!  Plus it’s Nana’s birthday, so we spent the evening having dinner, presents and dessert.  And watching Victoria hand out candy to kids at her house.  I think they were supposed to be dressed up, but really they just looked like goth/emo little pre-teen punks with trash bags.

Alas, even with my anti-holiday mood, it would not be Halloween without someone’s kid in an adorable outfit.  So, I submit to you the debut of Mr. Sebastian Nathaniel G. to the Blueberry blog.  He joined us, by way of a home waterbirth with his mommy Amanda & daddy Ben, back on May 22 of this year.  I kept meaning to introduce him.  It was just one of “those” summers.  But I think you will agree that this picture was worth waiting for…

One Year Wonder

Here is the requisite reminiscing paragraph: one year ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed, physically and mentally exhausted after over a day and a half of labor and subsequent delivery chaos.  Still trying to compute the fact that I was no longer pregnant and instead, officially, a mom.  And holding this amazing, gorgeous, bald little blue-eyed bundle of joy that we decided to call Keyven.

Fast forward one year.  Oh my, what a year it has been.

I don’t know what I would have done without this sweet, adorable kid to keep me focused and sane in the midst of this year.  His smile & laugh brighten the worst of days.  His cry makes me realize that what is important in his world suddenly becomes important in mine.  I would even venture to say that he has helped me figure out what my priorities are for our family and for life in general.  Life-changing, indeed.

For a while I wasn’t sure what I would do about his birthday.  I have decidedly not done well with major holidays/events during Tim’s absence.  The thought of Tim missing the fun of Keyven’s first cake made me sad.  So I decided we’d celebrate here, just without the cake.  That’ll be done when Tim is back, probably a co-birthday of sorts on my *gulp* upcoming big 3-0.  I wanted to keep things around the actual date pretty low-key.  What we ended up with were a few days of mini-celebrations.  I think Keyven made out pretty well.

Sunday, we had Uncle Matt, Aunt Angie, and Aunt Victoria over for dinner & presents.  Nana made a yummy roast with potatoes and carrots.  Keyven insisted on feeding himself like a big boy.  He has started grabbing spoons and wanting to do it.  Until he gets really hungry and either uses his hands or lets mommy do it again.

Presents were fun.   It has taken him a couple of days to realize that the things IN the boxes are actually more fun than the paper that they were wrapped in.  I’m not one to buy fifty-million toys or something new every time I go to the store, but he was needing some new things to distract him from the fact that I baby-proofed the kitchen.  Nana & Pops got him some really good ones… a “Farmer in the Dell” See ‘n’ Say (I think everyone from my generation had one of those growing up!) and a neat music center with a keyboard and lights and a drum and a little microphone, among others.   For dessert, we had some yummy banana-split dessert, which Keyven approved of and highly recommends if you haven’t tried it.  He also got some much-needed new pajamas.  When I pulled them out, I thought surely they would be WAY too big for a while.  At bedtime we decided to try them on… and they fit!  Perfectly! They were size 18 months!

Today, on his official b-day, we woke up to an e-mail from Tim-daddy with a special recorded birthday message and song for Keyven.  It was sweet.  We also got a phone call from Tim-daddy during which “we” put Keyven down for a nap while I talked to Tim for almost two hours.  Those are the best.    After nap & lunch, we made a trip to the park with Aunt Victoria… in his forward-facing carseat!  Wow, what a difference that makes.  He really loves being able to see up to the front now.

For birthday dinner, Keyven decided he wanted to go to his favorite Mexican restaurant, El Pueblito.  He told me so himself.  All the staff there know our family and come by to say hi to him whenever we’re there.  The manager, Fabian, often carries Keyven to our table and he has a little thing where he comes over and says, “Tope, tope!” and Keyven touches foreheads with him.  I knew that they would come out and sing him happy birthday with a sombrero and bring a big bowl of fried ice cream covered in whipped cream.

What I didn’t know is that approximately two minutes before they did this, Keyven would decide it was prime time to swallow most of a cracker when I wasn’t looking and start to choke on it.  And that I would try sweeping his mouth, scraping him and making him bleed, and then beat the heck out of his back while everyone else freaked out until finally the bloody cracker piece came flying out of his mouth and he dissolved in to sobbing, terrified tears in my arms.  Enter loud, singing Mexicans with maracas and a tambourine!  Keyven had barely recovered from his meltdown when all this happened and when they put the hat on my head, I guess that was a little too much to ask.  Cue Meltdown #2, during a rousing Latin American rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”  So, if he grows up with an aversion to sombreros, I’ll know why.

He cheered right up when he saw the fried ice cream.  Grabbed a spoon, in fact, and dug right in.  It was so funny to watch.  The fried ice cream itself is shrouded in a thick layer of fresh whipped cream and topped with some sprinkles and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  We got a couple of clips of the culinary destruction on my camera for your viewing pleasure.  And, for the record, this is not standard fare for Keyven.  He came home, played like a madman for two hours with all toys, new and old, and then crashed.  Literally.  He just stopped, mid-play, and laid down flat-out on the floor.  He never does that.  So, off to bed he went, hardly knowing that he was closing the chapter on a monumental first year of life.

Happy birthday, bug.  I hope one day you are reading all about our adventures and it helps you understand why I tell you I love you so much, and why I kiss you even when you don’t want me to, and why I squeeze you extra tight when you hug me.   You are my sunshine.

Photos, Top to Bottom & Left to Right: My piece of stillness when the world is spinning too fast; The spoon is just for looks; Starting him out in construction early — next summer he’ll be helping mommy with a house; Oh boy! Presents!; Showing Aunt Victoria his favorite book, en route to the park; Suddenly, this whole spoon thing makes sense.