Fix It!

There are occasions as a Mommy where I have been called upon to "fix it!".

"Fix it!" was, in fact, Seth's first sentence.

It's a popular term around here. Sometimes it's because something is actually broken, but more often than not (at least so far), it applies mainly to things that aren't as they should be.

Legos that they can't get apart. A shoe that has fallen off. A letter in the bath that doesn't stick quite right.

Easy things to fix and my boys are always amazed that "Mommy fix it!".

On those occasions, I get to be a super-hero with hardly a thought.

Of course it all comes out in the wash because there are those times when I really have to work for it.

I think it goes without saying that today was one of those times. Stuck legos do not make for good copy after all.

This is Teddy:

Specifically, this is Nate's Teddy, but Seth has a nearly identical one. Both of my boys go through bouts of love coupled with complete disinterest over Teddy. 95% of the time, that fleeting love is contained to brief morning snuggles while they're still struggling to wake up. The other 5% of the time, they prefer Teddy to come with when I lift them out of bed. 

Today was a "Teddy!" day for everyone. 95% or 5%, my boys are always 100% in sync that way.

There wasn't much going on at this point since we'd only just gotten up so I was a bit surprised to hear those two little words. But there they were:

"Fix it!".

And there was Nate, clutching his Teddy with a lower lip that was looking more than a little trembly.

Being the super-hero Mommy that I am, I looked Teddy over carefully and finally said, "Teddy's OK, Nate. There's nothing to fix". 

At which point Nate dissolved into a puddle of misery on the floor. 

Oh dear.

Had I missed something? I checked again, but Teddy was perfectly in order. Again, I reassured Nate that Teddy was OK but he was not having it.

What was I not seeing?

Since I already know the answer, I will start by telling you that I was not seeing with eyes that are nearly 22 months old.

Teddy looked perfectly fine to me exactly like this: 

But it took this to "fix" him: 

As soon as Teddy was sitting as upright outside the crib as he typically does inside the crib all was right with the world again.

At which point Teddy was promptly ignored and once again, it was business as usual.

Really, it was that simple – while at the same time being complicated enough it took at least 10 minutes and more than a few Nate puddles for me to solve the problem.

Behold the toddler logics everyone!

- L.

Hum!

– Hi everyone! Remember us? 

– How about now? 

• • • • • • •

If anyone is still checking in after our mysterious absence from blogging, we're back. I took these pics of the boys heading out for their first ride in their new wagon today but you should know that there is a serious backlog of pics, videos and stories coming your way. Kind of like a "How We Spent Our Summer Vacation" sort of thing.

Except, when I say "vacation" I more or less mean the opposite of that.

The past 6 weeks or so have been mainly spent packing, moving, unpacking and getting settled in our new home while wrangling two active toddlers who have not only developed an impressive cache of death-defying stuntery but have been busy adding flavor to the English language. Flavor none of us even knew we needed.

"Hum!" is officially part of the OP lexicon now.

Oh sure, you could just say "home", or maybe even "hoooooome" a la E.T. (or Nate). But if you really want to jazz up your vocabulary and impress your friends try it Seth-style:

"HUM!".

Hum. It's where the heart is.

- L.

"I Messy!"

Nate has a way of looking like he's bathed in whatever is on offer at mealtime when all is said and done, so it's really no surprise that when he uttered his first sentence* this morning** it was to let me know, "I messy!".

I messy, everyone!

Yes, Nate. You are messy alright.

Admit it. You still want to kiss 'dis face.

OK, I admit it. And I did. : )

- L.

*First sentence is up for minor debate since we might have had a conversation a few weeks back, but I'm pretty sure he was just making random "I" and "no" sounds that only ended up sounding like a funny exchange.

**No, I don't feed the kids chocolate for breakfast. These pics are from a few days ago after supper – although they go rather nicely with this post otherwise.

Things We Know

At 17 months, we know:

Our colors:

Red, blue, green, orange, yellow and purple. And possibly white. Their favorite color to seek out seems to be blue, but their favorite color to say is "purple". They both love to say "pur-pah".

Our sounds:

All the requisite cow, horse, sheep, pig, goat, and pirate sounds. Yes, I said pirate. Everyone with a pirate ship should know how to say "yarrr!".

Enough said.

Also, courtesy of Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, we also know how to say:

Pop, pop.
Klopp, klopp.
Hoo hoo hoo.
Dibble dibble*.
Bzzz, bzzz.
Boom, boom, BOOM!

Our numbers: 

Nate and Seth have "one" and "two" down pat when stacking things. Also, they are freakishly good at stacking things. Blocks, toys, peas**... you name it. They are stacking it.

And whatever gets stacked on top of "one" and "two", be it three things or twelve things, the highlight is declaring "nine, ten!" when you are done.

Our alphabet: 

Or "abba-bet!" as the case may be. Upper-case abba-bet is no match for Nate and Seth. They are keenly interested in all things abba-bet and can tell you what every single letter is no matter how abstractly it's presented.

• • • • • • •

In case any of this sounds like a shameless brag, it's not. I'm not the mom with the flash-cards.

I enjoy reading to them. And building things with them. Sometimes we count, but more often we don't. We make noises. Often with purpose. Sometimes loudly.

We have fun basically.

And I have no idea what's going on over here lately, but I do know I'm outnumbered because I can also count to one and two.

And quite frankly, I'm a little bit scared.

- L.

*Dibble, dibble appears to be unrelated to this, although it seemed like a likely suspect at first. "Dibba Day!" (whatever it means) is no dibble dibble, in case you were wondering.

**I bet you thought I was kidding, but I'm not. They have attempted to stack peas – with some actual success. Something I learned from my 17 month old boys: with a little bit of careful squishing along the way, it's not entirely impossible.

Conversations With Nate

The vocabulary around here is pretty much off the hook, but I'm only halfway convinced Nate and I had our first conversation today because I'm in heavy denial about how fast my babies are growing up I suppose. Still, here it is (just in case this was the real deal):

Nate: I know! I know! I KNOOOOOWWWW!

Mommy: Awhhh. What you know, Nate?

*pause*

Nate: I no know.

- L.

Double Your Dibba Day, Double Your Fun!

I'm not sure this post requires an explanation beyond the title.

If you'd like to double your fun in a Dibba Day kind of way, then you'd best head on over to our YouTube™ channel post haste.

- L.

Cakey, Chee & Bumba-BEE!

We are awash in a sea of new words over here. I can't believe how much the boys' speech has taken off in the past couple of weeks. Currently, Nate and Seth are averaging one or two new words per day and for the most part are very consistent with each other.

Without further ado, all the words they can both say:

• Banana (sounds like "Nana!")

• Puppy (sounds like "Puppy!")

• Diaper (sounds like "Die-dah!")

• Cracker (sounds like "Cah-caw!")

• Toast (sounds like "Toh!". Also applies to French Toast.)

• More (sounds like "Moh!")

• Kitty-cat (sounds like "Kih-Kah!")

• Blue (sounds like "BOO!" which is not to be confused with the sound a ghost-cow sometimes makes. "BOO!" is said with much more enthusiasm while waving around something that is, in fact, blue.)

• Down (sounds like "Dow!". Goes nicely with "Up!".)

• Pear (sounds like "Pah!")

• Cookie (sounds like "Cakey!")

• Bubbles (sounds like "Buh-boo!")

• Cheese (sounds like "Chee!")

• Grapes (sounds like "Gape!")

• Shoe (sounds like "Shoe!" or "Zhu!", depending on who is saying it)

• Paper (sounds like "Paper!", "Pay-Pah!" or "Poo-Poo" depending on who is saying it and/or the whims of the person saying it at the time)

And some individual words:

Nate also says "Cuddle" which sounds like "Duh-Duh" and is often followed by a cuddle. Very sweet. He will also say "Choo-Choo" if you ask him to say "Train", which is both cute and clever (and makes his Mommy giggle just a little).

And lastly, Seth's Baby B mystery has been solved! He really is trying to say "Bumblebee" and gets very animated when he hears that word via Dr. Suess' ABC's (a la "Barber, baby, bubbles and a bumblebee"). He's been working hard on this one since it now sounds less like "Baby B!" and more like "Bumba-BEE!". The "BEE!" part is said with much enthusiasm in case that wasn't obvious. He also busted out an unmistakeable "Bagetti!" this evening when I served up spaghetti.

For now, "Apple!", "Baby!" and "Up!" continue to be everyone's very favorite words and often are the first thing I hear over the baby monitor in the morning, occasionally coupled with a well-timed "Dibba Day" (or two).

- L.

Dibba Day Part II (And Some New Words Too!)

Too busy eating for chats right now. You go watch my video instead.
And don't forget to have a Dibba Day everyone!

OK, sound effects might be more accurate, but we've added the following to our lexicon: 

Ba! (sounds like "Ba!". Said when asked what sound a sheep* makes.) 

Moo! (sounds like "Moo!" or sometimes "Boo!". Said most of the time when asked what sound a cow makes. Or a ghost cow I suppose.) 

Nay! (sounds like "Nay!". Occasionally said when asked what sound a horse makes.) 

*snorting noises* (sounds just like you imagine. Snorted with gusto in reference to the sound a pig makes. And usually for 10 minutes after.) 

Wee wee wee! (sounds like "Wee wee wee!". Sometimes echoed after playing "This Little Piggy Went To Market" in between the giggles.)

As for "Dibba Day" and what it means, that's anyone's guess – I think it's just Seth trying out the art of conversation – but if you'd like a second helping there's a new video up on our YouTube™ channel with a whole lot of "Dibba Day" and a dash of "Me Me Me!" thrown in for flavor. And Seth getting wise to his Mommy hiding behind the camera at the end. Enjoy!

- L.

*Roughly 50% of the time the cow, horse and pig also say "Ba!", especially if Nate and Seth aren't super alert. For some reason, I find this quite humorous.

And A "Dibba Day" To You, Baby B!

Nate and Seth have only mastered a handful of words, but they don't let that stop them when they feel like having a conversation. Nate's go-to for chats runs the gamut from la-la's to did-did's to nay-nay's. Seth, known mostly for being a man of few (but well-timed) words has been trying out a couple of new chat-phrases of his own lately. "Dibba dibba day!" is exceedingly popular, but the occasional, "Numma numma nay!" gets thrown into the mix here and there.

For reasons that aren't clear, one of the most recent words they are saying is "Baby". I know I've been pretty adamant about Nate and Seth still being my babies, but sadly it's not a word anyone really says anymore. They both adore their Dr. Suess' ABC's book though so my guess is it's come from the "B" page:

Big B, little b, what begins with B?  

Barber, baby, bubbles and a bumblebee! 

And maybe it's just extra enthusiasm because their new word is very exciting after all, but often Seth will tack on an extra "B!" at the end (a la "Bay-bee-bee!") which may or may not be toddler-speak for "bumblebee". Or maybe he just remembers his name from a long time ago.

All this to say, there's a new video on our YouTube™ channel featuring a lot of la-la's, dibba-day's and baby, baby B!

•   •   •   •   •

Our current list of words:

Book (sounds like "Booh!". This was Seth's first word said in context.)
Ball (sounds like "Bah!". This was Nate's first word said in context.)
Duck (sounds like "Dah!".)
Up (sounds like "Up!" but also sometimes "Ep!")
Apple (sounds like "Ah-poo!")
Baby (sounds like "Baby!" but also sometimes "Bay-beeeeeeeee!")
Teddy (sounds like "Teh-dah!")
Daddy (sounds like "Da-dah!")
Mommy (sounds like "Mum-mum!" but also sometimes "Maaaaam!")

- L.

Up!

Only two days after Seth said "Book!" for the first time, he followed it up with "Up!", and since one of this favorite things to do is to take books off the shelf and put them back up, he was saying "Book up!" the very same day.

"Up" quickly became his favorite new word. And mine too. Seth would get such a kick out of it if you said "Up!" back at him. So I did. Even when he said it out of context, I'd still parrot it back because it was so stinkin' cute. I wasn't alone in this by the way – *ahem* *cough* *you-know-who-you-are* – it really is pretty irresistible in everyone's defense.

And now, of course, the word has lost all meaning and is just said at random times when nothing in particular is "Up!". I guess what I'm trying to say is that Seth's budding vocabulary has inadvertently been set back by cuteness and so it seems appropriate to borrow a phrase from him to make it OK. Here it is:

"Sorry everyone!".

BTW, there's a new video "Up!" on our YouTube™ channel with Seth's "Up!" shenanigans, including evidence of me participating in this vocabulary destroying debacle. Nate gets in on the action toward the end too, so you'd better get on "Up!" and over there to check it out.

- L.

PS. Don't miss the bonus teething moment: flying drool at the 1:15 second mark or thereabouts. You've been warned.

La La La La La. Book.

In the past 24 hours:

Nate has mastered a new sound, "La la la la la..." and he sticks his tongue out *so* cutely when he says it. He will often practice his new trick-du-jour while he's falling asleep so I wasn't surprised in the least that he fell asleep mid-"la" tonight. I loved listening to every minute of it.

Seth said his first real word last night, other than "mom" or "mom-mom". It was "book". He also said it a few more times today. Can you guess what we do a lot of around here? : )

And they both not only figured out how to clap their hands in the past week but clapped with enthusiasm anytime I said "clapping hands" all day. They even did a pretty good job with the timing when I sang "If You're Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands".

- L.