Vocabulary
While Canon's vocabulary is not quite where we thought it would be by now, he's had a 10- to 15-word vocabulary for a couple of months now. His favorites are:
"Ma Ma?" and "Da Da?", used interchangeably to describe Barry, myself, or any other object he might want but can't quite get his hands on.
Shoes and Juice, both pronounced "joozs?" We just offer one after the other until we figure out which one he's intending.
Ball, pronounced pretty much like it should. He uses it to describe any round object, including the oranges in the produce section of WalMart.
Hot, pronounced "Ha?" which he says everytime he sits down to a meal. Apparently, my microwaving skills are not too stellar.
Light, pronounced "La?" once used everytime we passed a switch, but now much less frequently.
Bubble and Bye Bull, both pronounced "ba bul?" He usually speaks it specifically to Bull when we are leaving, but occasionally he'll say it in the bathtub as well. Which reminds me . . .
Bath, pronounced somewhere between "bah?" (as in "bah, bah blacksheep have you any wool?") and the actual word "bath." He'll get it right one of these days.
Bye, Bye is a new one and is pretty much pronounced correctly but not always used when it should be. Canon uses it more often to let us know that he's ready to go rather than to actually bid farewell to our hosts. This has made for some embarrassing situations, but it's also been quite convenient when we, too, are ready to leave. "Well, I guess if Canon's ready we should probably head out."
You may have noticed that all of Canon's words end with a question mark. This was intentional and not a typographical error. I realized not long ago that Canon's words usually come out as questions, and even more annoying than that . . . I always answer him. "Joozs?" "Yes, that's your juice." "Joozs?" "Yes, I see your juice." "Joozs?" "I get it Canon. Your juice is right there." "Joozs?" "Yes, I see it. It's your juice. How exciting!" It takes a surprisingly long time for me to realize that he's not really questioning the existence of the juice, just relishing in the fact that he can finally say something he's been wanting to say for months.
Identifying Body Parts
We've got all of the facial features nailed down: eyes, nose, ears, tongue, teeth, and hair. There are a few other body parts that we're well-practiced in: fingers, knees, foot, belly, and (on occasion) elbows. Our favorite thing to do is to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and have him point to all of these parts in turn. I've gotten him from the peak of a hysterical fit in the grocery store to the happiest, most charming child in the entire store just by singing this song. I'm beginning to think I've overused it, however. I can't be sure, but I think I caught him rolling his eyes the last time I started the opening chorus, as if to say, "Not this again, Mom! Can't you think of anything more original?" Sadly, the answer is "No."
This is a video I took today. It shows him performing for us.
Food
While Canon should be eating the same things that we do, I've really found my weakness as a parent in the meals that I prepare. We typically have a rotation of grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, pb&j sandwiches, and chicken nuggets with a side of bananas, strawberries, grapes, peaches, cheese, or green beans (though the green beans aren't as eagerly accepted as they once were). Of course, when we go out to dinner we try to introduce some interesting things to him. He typically tends to stick with any bread-and-cheese combination. He loves french fries and smoothies - I see a future in making a "Super Size Me, 2" documentary.
Activities
Canon has moved from walking to running, and it's pretty hilarious to watch. He leans forward on his toes, then lets the weight of his head carry him forward. His knees don't bend too deeply, which means that he still falls . . . a lot. He's also gotten into picking up his bigger toys. You know, like the ones he's supposed to ride on. Our neighbors have a battery-powered miniature four-wheeler that he tried to lift today. Last night he picked up Bull's oversized pillow-bed and ended up falling and hitting his head against the metal frame of our bed. What can you do? I'm hoping the rules of adaptation will work double-time for Canon and allow his skull to quickly turn to steel before too much brain damage is endured.
He and Barry play fairly roughly, but nothing worse than what you would expect a dad and son to do. They wrestle on the bed, and Canon will "push" Barry off. Last night I learned that Barry had taught Canon how to head-butt him. Now the head-butting is a little more than I'm comfortable with but everything else seemed perfectly fine. Until Canon's teacher told me that he has been "pushing and tackling" the other girls in his class. Today, he scratched a girl on the cheek (yes, with all four major philanges) and pushed and hit another.
Ok, I have to put this picture in now just to show that Canon can be kind and respectful to girls. This is Ava. Her mother and I took the kids to Mellow Mushroom (ok, we took ourselves to Mellow Mushroom) and Ava fell asleep on the way back home. It was so precious to see Canon trying to pet her.
Canon is also climbing on lots of things. He likes to climb up in the den chair or on the bench in our bedroom and watch cartoons. He really is just a little man.
I think this might be all you need . . . or want to know about Canon these days. I could write all day, but that just wouldn't be fair to his future girlfriends who, I'm sure will eventually read this. If Barry would let me, I would at this point attach of picture of Canon in the buff!
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