Gillen Azar 10 months: HE TALKS!

This boy can TALK!

Jeremy and I were laughing this week because we got a 30-month "update email" from babycenter.com (a site that give you milestones every month) and it said, "Your 30 month old should be able to name a few body parts and may be putting words together like "Car, go" or "Kitty furry" --- I actually had to double check to make sure it wasn't the 18 month email!

Owen never stops talking. Never. Ever. Right now he loves to talk about his pony ride and he tells everyone, "I'm going to be a big brother REALLY REALLY SOON!!"

Sometimes he says odd off the wall stuff. Like we were driving in the car one afternoon and he says to me, "Mama, are you touching my penis right now?" I almost crashed the car but managed to reply, "Nope, I'm driving the car." To which he replies, "Oh. Okay." 

He sings everything - row, row row your boat, wheels on the bus, B-I-N-G-O, ABC he even saw some kids playing Ring Around the Rosie ONCE at a La Leche Meeting this month and now he spins around in the living room singing it!

It's very funny because we are beginning to notice him picking up words and phrases that we did not teach him. For example, Jeremy took him to the park one evening and there is a little balance beam there. Just before Owen stepped on he said to Jeremy, "This is kind of tricky." Which we concluded he learned from his babysitter Maria ;)  Then one day he said, "I have to make a schedule!" which Jeremy accused me of teaching him and then we realized on of the episodes of Curious George on his ipod is about George making a schedule :) (see, not my fault!)

Today he was crying (with tears!) out of nowhere. We had this conversation.

Me: Owen, what are you doing?
O: Crying.
Me: Why?
O: For no reason.
Me: Then don't you think you should stop?
O: Okay.
::end crying::

Owen has been trying out new adjectives like "sticky" "crunchy" and "tastey" -- the crunchy one has had very little context until a conversation we had with him last night.

Daddy: Owen, what things are crunchy?
O: Pretzels!
Daddy: Yes! Pretzels are crunchy!
O: Pretzels and CHIPS!
Daddy: Yes! Both of those things are crunchy. What else is crunchy?
O: BUMBLEBEES!
(Jeremy and I were laughing hysterically!) 
Daddy: Yes, I'd imagine if you ate one it would be kind of crunchy. Anything else?
O: Vegatables. Vegetables are crunchy Daddy.
Daddy: Yes Owen all of those things are very crunchy.

Marissa sent him a "wallet" with one dollar inside a while back. He keeps it in his toy room. Today he brought me the wallet and asked me to help him open it. He took out the money (which we told him is VERY special paper that we never rip) and said this, "Can I save this special money for a Pony ride?" It was one of the cutest things I've ever heard, I almost cried.

And last but not least we've entered into the NON STOP QUESTION PHASE.
He points to things (even things he knows) over and over again and says, "What's THIS?"
And all day he says, "What are you doing, Mama?" 

So much going on in that little brain of his - we're trying to be patient, understanding and write down as much of this stuff as possible!

A small boy with lots of thoughts

This boy is the light of my life. Every day that I am home with him he does something to amaze me. He is speaking in full sentences now and cracks us up with his requests and constant negotiations.

Owen is very descriptive and most of his descriptions involve being immensely positive about one thing or another. "I really, really like this!"  "It's SO SO good!" and my personal favorite, "It's not good, IT'S DELICIOUS!"

I think he gets this little bit of (exaggeration?) enthusiasm from his Mama ;)

Today a Katy Perry song came on the radio in the car (because let's be real there is only so much kid music one Mama can listen to) and Owen says, "Oh Mama I like this song! Makes me so, so happy!"  While his taste in music is a parenting FAIL on my part, I almost died from the cuteness.

I've been trying to do some extra special things with him, treasuring our time before Baby Brother comes. Today after I took him to the pool for toddler swim he said he was hungry. I knew we could go home for lunch and have sandwiches but I decided to take him to McDonald's instead. He loves to sit next to me in the booth like a big boy and eat his meal. At the counter after I ordered Owen looked at the lady and said, "Owen will have a hot dog."  I laugh just typing this because the cuteness NEVER STOPS.

Whenever we tell him, "No." about something as in "No you cannot have another ice cream sandwich" he looks at us and says, "Well, maybe." In his mind, everything is a maybe ;)

There are a few things that make my heart break a little.

He used to call banana's "mee-mas" and recently he started saying "banana" plain as day.

He has started saying, "I don't like it" at the dinner table, which he has never said before.

He also says, "I don't want to." --- and every time he says it I have to hold back my frown-y face

He also says, "Owen can't do it." which I am trying to reinforce with only positive feedback and encouragement. He gets easily frustrated and it makes me so sad when he says this.

He still calls tomatoes "baby-TUR-TALLS" which I absolutely LOVE.

His growing up only brings more joy, never less. Endless streaming thoughts, nothing withheld. And MORE love and sweetness than one Mama can take on a daily basis.

Owen says....

Owen says A MILLION things. I can't even keep up with how verbal he is but sometimes his verbal skills (coupled with him being every bit a TWO YEAR OLD) can get to me.

His two favorite answers to ANYTHING right now are, "NO!" and "Don't WANT to!"

Hmmm.. it wasn't up for discussion.

His memory also amazes me. He just started to be able to recall what we did that day  (accurately for the most part) and each night before he goes to sleep he asks what tomorrow will bring. In the morning he repeats whatever I told him the night before and asks if we are still doing ___________.

(Note: I learned my lesson last week to be careful about this because Jeremy had no OR cases scheduled so we planned to meet him for lunch - HOWEVER a last minute case was added and Jeremy couldn't make it and it broke my heart hearing Owen say, "See Daddy at Qdoba for yunch!" ALL.DAY.LONG.)

The other day I was in his room fluffing the pillow I made and he says to me,

"Mama took sewing class and make a pi-yow. Mamas always come back."

Um, yes. Yes I did. (when I leave him with someone if I have to go away we say, "Mamas always, always come back for their babies." So he likes to repeat that ;))

We are getting ready to go to the beach so we've been reading books about the beach and talking about it with Owen. We went to the beach back in October, but that was a long time ago. Yesterday Owen says,

"LONG car ride. See Nana, Papa at the beach. Wear simming suit and hat."

Yes we are going to see Nana and Papa at the beach in a few weeks and you can wear your new swim suit and sun hat.

"Owen pee-pee hallway. Pee-pee from my penis."

I honestly was stunned. Because in OCTOBER when we went to the beach we were packing up all of our stuff in the morning and Owen wanted to use the potty. We let him and then he was running around naked and Owen pee'd in the hallway. We all stepped in it. SOMEHOW he remembered that.

I also wanted him to be able to tell people where he lives so I told him he lives in Pittsburgh. He then repeated to me, "Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill."  Like, um to be more specific, MOM I live in Sq. hill. I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

We've also been working on emotions and pointing out when people are sad or happy.  Owen's interpretations are hilarious! And apparently he has no idea how to make a sad face (this is totally untrue, he does it every time he doesn't get his way!)

Saying his name

"L, M, N, OWEN, P"

Owen says....

In addition to all of the other things that Owen says, here are a few of the things he's been saying recently. He's been making up a language of his own as of late, and often times I'm the only one who understands him. He's slurring some familiar words together, almost lazily. For example, he likes to talk about the long car ride he took with his Daddy (our vacation). He used to say, "Car ride, Daddy" but now he says, "car-raddy"

"pee-pa" = pizza

"Sit-peas" = sit please

"too-ti" = turkey bacon

"Zee-buh" = Zebra

"oggie" = doggie

"tee-tat" = kitty cat

"shy" = slide

"hee-cocks" = hiccups

"pipple" = nipple

"gee-beeps" = green beans

"pop-oh-tee" = pepperoni or hippopotamus or belly button

 "ah-duh-mama" = all done, Mama (says this A LOT)

"no-no, hot" = blowdryer/curling iron/stove

"fwah-fwahs" = raisins

"rah-rah" = french fries

"shishies" = fishies (goldfish crackers)

"poo-poo, yucky-ucky" = he pooped in his pants and wants it changed

"bee-gop" = fist bump

"ga-seeep" = go to sleep

"power, bum!" = he would like some powder on his bum

"Ow-yeee, kee-sit" = I have an ouchy and I want you to kiss it - LIKE IMMEDIATELY.

"keen, hel-fy" = when we brush his teeth we are making them clean and healthy

"toots!" = farts (no one can get away with farting around this boy, just ask Gogi :))

"car ride"

"oh, boy!"

"wow-weee"

He pays really close attention when we are getting dressed and knows, "wallet" "bra" and "belt"
We have this conversation every morning when I get dressed:
O: Baaa  Me: yes, this is my bra O: pipple, ow-yee, teeth Me: Yes my nipple is owie when you put your teeth on it. O: Belt  Me: yes, this is my belt.

His favorite books right now are "ga-moo" (Goodnight, Moon) and "pookie shoes" (Let's Dance, Little Pookie)

(on the changing table) O: Kitty! Me: yes, what does your kitty say? O: Ooo-wah (Owen) Me: Wow, what else does she say? O: Bee-gop (fist-bump) Me: Does she say, Meow? O: No.

Twenty Months

Since the day you were laid on my chest, fresh from the womb, I can be brought to tears in a moment with you. The first time you latched on my breast to nurse all on your own, I sobbed with joy. The first time you popped off to smile up at me a milky, "thank you, Mama" smile, there were tears. The first time your Daddy and I heard your baby giggle, we both cried sappy parent cries.

And again this month, my love, this month made my heart swell almost as big as the moment you were born. After reading stories with your Daddy, I came in to put you to bed.

Daddy: "Owen, what do want to tell Mama?"

You: "I love you, Mama."

You don't know what this means yet, but just hearing you say it reinforces for me how motherhood has been my greatest and proudest endevour, and will be for my lifetime.

These tearful moments, all of my 20-months worth of moments with you, have been a cherished blessing.

xoxox

"Happeee Babyyyy!"

He likes to wear this pink oven mitt around the house after nap time

Owen is quite the talker, he talks from the time he wakes up from the time he goes to sleep. Out of no where last week he started saying, "Happy! Happpee Babyyyy!"  I don't think he knows what it means (because he said it one time when he was crying, LOL!) but it melts my heart. I'm pretty sure he got it from me, because ever since he was a tiny cub I ask him, "Are you happy baby?" But I don't say it quite as often as I used to, so I guess he wanted to tell me that he is ;)

18 months has been both a blessing and a challenge. Owen is on the move, exerting his independence, talking up a storm and is very, very attached to me. We ended up cutting our trip to Maryland short because Owen FRRRREAKED out in the hotel room. We tried to put him down for a nap that afternoon, but he refused to sleep in the travel crib (same one we've always used on trips). So I let him sleep on me while he nursed for about 45 minutes and then off we went with our day.

That night we did our usual bedtime routine with him, but as soon as we laid him down at 9pm he started into COMPLETE HYSTERICS. We tried picking him up, rocking him, singing to him, letting him sleep with us - nothing worked. Around 1:30 we figured "forget it" and we took off his sleep sack and let him walk around. He continue to SCREAM, running around like a honey badger opening drawers, throwing shoes, pacing in circles, climbing over furniture. Totally inconsolable. Jeremy and I were pretty frazzled and worried about getting kicked out of the sold-out hotel, but I have to admit, his delirious actions were actually quite comical and we ended up laughing hysterically - since we were tired ourselves. Around 3:30 I finally nursed him to sleep and passed out in the bed.

I guess traveling is going to be a little challenging for my Owen (and his very tired parents) for a while!

If anyone has any suggestions for traveling with a fearful toddler - I'd love to hear them!

He also likes to wear this plastic ring (trash) from the diaper genie 

...and sometimes... he wears them BOTH :)

"WOO WOO TA! "

"woo woo ta!"

 "woo woo ta!"

This boy sure loves living across the street from a "woo woo ta!"

Owen Counts to TEN!

Owen loves numbers and loves to talk about numbers but the other day I heard him saying, "blah, blah EIGHT" and so I started counting to ten with him and with the exception of five, and nine - he does pretty well!

"Shhhhhoes and COCKS!"

(please note the curl above his ear that is OUT.OF.CONTROL these days)

Owen says something new every day and I have to pay VERY close attention to know what he is talking about. He likes to review our day, and what's to come. He loves the firetruck that lives across the street and he finds new words to say in familiar books that we read. Jeremy and I were just talking the other day about how we are officially "those people" whose toddler mumbles a bunch of gibberish and someone looks at us with a blank stare and we reply, "Oh, he was telling you about how he went to the pool today and wore his swim shoes and learned to kick and blow bubbles."

here are a few new additions now that our boy is the big 17 months!

"bamp" (lamp)
"sssss" (snake)
"shhhoes an cocks" (shoes and socks)
"choo choo" (train)
"This" (pointing to everything...)
"pool"
"star"
"cock" (sleep sack, apparently "sack" and "sock" sound the same)
"woo woo ta" (fire truck, it says "woo! woo!")
"ooh ooh ee eee" (monkey)
"kick" (is learning to "kick, kick, kick your feet" in the pool)

What does the ducky say, Owen?

Owen and I spend a lot of time singing songs and rhymes. Right now Five Little Ducks is O's favorite song, although Itsy, Bitsy Spider is a close second.

I found this adorable knit puppet set on Etsy and we have had a great time playing with it and singing our song.

{Wee Knit}

Even after breakfast when I don't have the puppets on but we make do ;)

Untitled from Tam on Vimeo.

Bauw, Bauw, Bauw Baby

Owen started talking last week. He says, "Ah, Zuece" and "Bauw, Bauw, Bauw" -  I'm pretty sure this translates to "I love you" and "I want to eat"  Its not quite the ga-ga-goo-goo we expected but it's a start.

But for my first trick... I will shove an entire Maraca in my mouth.

And for my next trick I will demonstrate my talking skills while being deliriously tired right before bedtime.