words words words (and more words)

He says:

clothes, shirt, pants, knee

clap, lap

open, closed, knock

zebra

hair (and the phrase: “brush hair”)

me, Jonah (these two words together, while pointing to himself)

and tonight, while I was nursing him, and someone called, which one can hear through the wall:

He stops immediately, looks up at me. “Phone, ring.”

It rang again. He looks at me again, concerned. Aren’t I going to answer it?

More earnestly. “Phone… ringing!”

O.M.G. Seriously?

Oh, and two successful potty trips today. He now eschews his infant potty (too small). We’ve ordered the grown-up potty insert (for all of our increased comfort).

* * *

Woke up and remembered lots of other words I forgot to list:

Tub

Shower

Eating

Meat (he looooves meatloaf)

Boy (up to now he only knew girl): We were looking at one of his dad’s vintage sesame street books. There was a picture of six children, three boys and three girls. He pointed to one with relatively (it was the 70s after all) short hair and bell-bottom pants and said, “Girl!” And I thought, Am I really going to do this? I guess he needs to know.

“Boy,” I said. Pointing to the three suspects in pants. “Boy, boy, boy.” And then the ones in dresses with long hair, “Girl, girl, girl.”

He got it.

Stop, Don’t, Hurt, Soft:

What a list, right? “Soft” is for Bambino. You can’t blame me for TRYING to teach the concept. Soft, gentle. Jonah gets that the word applies to the cat, though he may be a little vague still on the execution — as he whacks the cat’s back with several thumps “Soft! Soft!”

(Hurt comes up in obvious contexts.)

He likes to stay “Don’t” and “Stop” and wave his arms and shake his head as a full-body expression of displeasure. Like at our new, very expensive music class on Wednesday. He sat in the middle of the circle and admonished the whole group. Don’t! I’m hoping that was just the overwhelm talking. New environment, lots of people he can’t control. He’s been to two sample classes and he liked it enough to make me want to sign up for the 10-week series. Cross fingers. Just now I put on the CD from the class (so I could write this) and the first song, he shook his head, “Don’t!” But by the second song, as I stopped typing to do the hand motions with him, he seemed intrigued, possibly remembering. Then the bouncy song came on that usually marks the first time we get up and move around.

Dance! He said. So we did.

More about “Phone”: Due to the nature of technology, any oblong object with buttons is a phone. So, our cell phones, the cordless phone, and every remote in the house goes up to Jonah’s ear, or rather, he holds it over his shoulder and slightly behind his head. “Hiiiiii! Jonah!”

Wall:  He looked up at the wall next to our bed yesterday morning, where we have a framed piece of my Aunt’s artwork and a set of hanging star lights that we put there after Jonah was born, as a backdrop to the co-sleeper, and never moved. He probably looks at that wall every morning, in the darkness, while he’s climbing all over me and nursing (One! he says, which means, I would like to now nurse on the other ONE, please remove it from your shirt, thank you.)

He said, “Wall, Stars.”

This morning, same ritual, same wall. He looked at the picture and said “Baby!” with a big smile. And then “Me! Baby!”

After the nursing time, Daddy comes in and turns on the light, to take Jonah for a bit so Mama can meditate. They go to the kitchen and Jonah watches while Daddy makes “Caowe!” (coffee) and “Teeeeeea, hot!” Sometimes we’ll all three loll on the bed for a bit during this transition, with Jonah usually crawling about and trying to leap off the bed. This morning, he crawled onto Daddy’s chest, laid his head down and said, “Heart.” And then he patted Daddy’s chest and said it again. “Heart.”

I know! Right?