Animals Sounds

Tyler is definitely getting the hang of the animal sounds and which sounds go with which animal. He cracks me up when he does his pig snorts and grunts. We were looking through one of his animal books that is really more of a "touch and feel" book than a reading book because it has no words, and as we went through each animal he was able to make almost all their sounds. Then we read one of his favorite books "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and once again he was making the sounds of all the animals. I am impressed because it is not just a dog and a cat, but horses and sheep, etc. He did get stuck on the fish but that is probably because mommy has a hard time coming up with a fish sound.

He just learns so much so quickly and it is fun to see and experience...

Newest Words

Tyler's newest words this weekend were "wait" and "mine." We all went for a walk on Friday night - daddy, mommy, Tyler, and Monty. It was really nice just to get out and enjoy the pleasant night. Sometimes I feel we just are so busy that we don't take the time to just relax and wind down at night, so it was great. We had almost finished our walk and Steve was a little ahead with Monty. All of the sudden Tyler says "Way (wait)" and put out his hand. He said it several times so that daddy could hear him. So daddy stopped and waited with Monty for the two of us =) and then we all walked next to each other again. He did it again later on this weekend when we were at the Greek festival and Mimi and Abue were a little ahead of us. He put out his hand and told them to "way." Aparently, they were going to fast...so cute.

I think Tyler has been saying "mine" recently and I did not realize he was saying it until this weekend. He actually says "me" but he holds things close to him while saying "me," so I am pretty sure he is saying "mine." Today we went back and forth and I would take some things near him and say "mine" and then he would take it from me and say "me." We played this game for a while laughing at the same time. I only hope that he does not start his not sharing with other kids thing. I know it happens but hopefully I can teach him sharing earlier enough that wanting to keep toys to himself is minimized. We shall see...

Oh No!

For the past week, Tyler's favorite saying has been "Oh no!" He even adds his special touch of putting his hands on his cheeks or on top of his head. It is adorable. I have not got it on camera yet, but I hopefully I will soon. It cracks us up. It really could be any situation and he will say oh no. For example:

We have the monitor on all the time when he is in bed so in the morning when he wakes up, we hear "oh no!"
He is looking around outside and see the trees move, so he says "oh no"
He is playing in the other room with his toys, we hear "oh no!'
He is watching kids playing, so he says "oh no!"
He is just standing there. so he says "oh no!"

There are many other times, but these are just some of the times he has said it. Not only does he say "oh no!", but sometimes he will say it over and over. This morning, I think I heard him say it like 10 times in a row. I have no idea where he got it from because I don't remember saying oh no that often...who knows...

Talk, Talk, Talk

Tyler is definitely into the talking. Whether you can understand him or not is a different story. It is fun though to have a converstion with him and have absolutely no idea what he is saying. It is really cute when he is on the phone and will just talk like we do with the gestures and all. There are quite a few words he has picked up and he even has some complete sentences that he says alot. Here are words/sentences that he is saying lately:

Bird (most of the time without the "d" though - hehe)
Monty (he calls for him all the time but he leave out the "M" - so he walks around calling "Onty")
Car (sometimes)
Dada
Mama (but it sounds more like MeMe)
Bye (and he says it with a southern accent sound - very cute)
Where is it?
There it is!
I don't see it.
I don't know.
No (that is a popular one)
Uh-oh
Shoe
Outside (also pronounced ow-sigh)
Baby

I am sure there are a few more...I just can't think of any others now =)

Update...I thought of some more words:
Juice
Down
Dog
All Gone (he has said these for a while)
He can also count to three as long as we start with one. I tried to go backwards as well but he still only says "two....threeeeeeeee....."

I found out he could count about two months ago. We were in the closet putting things away and I started playing with him. Steve was there was as well and I said "one" and Tyler chimed in with "two...treeee." I looked at Steve to make sure I heard it right. It is awesome to hear things like that because it is like "wow," all of the sudden you realize they can do something that they had not done before. We have been continuing to practice but he is still stuck on just two and three for now...

Favorite Phrase...Uh oh....

Tyler's favorite phrase right now is UH OOOOOH...It is so adorable. Not only does he do it when it is actually an "uh oh" but he says it at random times too. It makes me smile...

Opening Doors

Tyler is now opening doors. He is tall enough (his arms can reach) and has seen it enough times to know what he needs to do. Fortunately, he cannot open the heavier doors yet which is the most important because those are typically the doors that lead to outside, but the lighter ones, especially with handles, are easier. We were at my parent house this weekend and we had to keep the doors locked because not only are their doors to outside lighter doors, but they have handles (not a good combo). This means he will be exploring more, keeping us on our toes...

Stomp

I keep telling myself I am going to update the past few months with pictures but yet I have not done it. I don't update with just writing about what is going on because I have not done the pictures yet. But I keep getting behind, so I am just going to write and then when I get to the pictures, I get to the pictures. So Tyler's new thing is stomping. I have no idea where he picked that up from. Steve and I do not stomp when we do not get our way even though we would like to sometimes =) and I am sure that Steve's parents do not do that when they watch him =), so the only place we can think of is when he goes to the daycare once a week? Who knows...He does it both at times when he is not pleased and when he is just playing. It is just a stomp with one foot, not a full out stomping of both feet thank goodness. I have to turn around sometimes because it is pretty funny at times, but most of the time I am able to keep composed and let him know that is not ok. I probably will not think it is too funny when he does it in public. It is amazing the things he picks up, and he picks them up fast. He can see someone do something one time and he will imitate. We have to watch what we do...

What! No crying?

I can say for about 2 1/2 months, Tyler has gone through some major (at least what I consider major) separation anxiety. Whether it be Sunday school or daycare once a week, whenever I left him, he would scream his head off. I felt miserable everytime it happened, but I have done what the books recommend and always give him love, tell him I will see him later, and quickly walk away. Not only that, but he wants me to pick him up CONSTANTLY. I love that he wants to be with me all the time because I should enjoy it while I can, but it means that very little can get done. Holding an almost 27 pound kid while doing laundry, washing dishes, shopping, cleaning the house, etc. is not the easiest task. I am trying really hard to not pick him up all the time so as to not teach him bad habits, but it is very difficult at times when I know the whining will stop if I do. I still try though...

Back to the dropping him off though, I think we are finally having a break-through. A couple of weeks ago when I dropped him off at daycare, he did not cry when I left. I thought ok...maybe it is just a fluke and he is having a really good start to the day. Then, last week when I dropped him off, he did not cry again. I was in complete shock and I still am. I did not even think it was possible. I am hoping that he realizes now that he can have fun with other kids for a while and that mommy is not going to leave him there, but will be back to pick him up.

We will see if it continues...but I am sure it will not be the last time he goes through a phase like this. I will say, I like being wanted that much though...

I Know What I Want

Tyler has two favortite things things he likes to eat right now...oyster crackers and Barnum's animal crackers which taste more like cookies to me. I have to admit, they are REALLY good. When Tyler see either of those two items, he sticks out his hand and does the grabbing motion. It is one of those things that you know he is not feeling well if he won't even eat those...that's how much he like them. Anyway, the other day we were just hanging out and I was sitting on the couch. I had taken out the animal crackers earlier for a snack and had set them on the counter. Tyler was playing and then he came up and reached out his hand, so I gave him my hand and he held on to my finger. He was tugging, so I got up and let him take me where he wanted to go. He led me from the living room throught the breakfast room and into the kitchen. When we got into the kitchen, he let go and walked over to the counter where the animal crackers were (making sure I was following him) and reached up and started making his "uh...uh" sounds. I got the bag and as soon as I did, his face lit up. I was like "man, he really knew what he wanted and he was going to make it clear by showing me." Amazing...