CuteinBoots

Stephen regularly tries on our shoes and clomps around the house. So when we woke up to three inches of snow this morning I decided to put him in my boots. He couldn't lift his legs but I think he still got a kick out of it. My favorite part is the end when he hits his head and says "Doh!" He's never even seen that show. LOL

A few new words deciphered

Stephen started saying "Hvoo-Hvoo" for owl and he's been saying this funny word for a long time: Ah-poo-geee!

Finally this morning it dawned on me what he was saying as he pointed to the apple juice bottle in the refrigerator.

"Munchie want apple juice?"
"Ah-poo-gee ah-poo-geeee!"

So cute.

He also likes to "count" pictures in some of his books, like the Very Hungry Caterpillar. His version of 1-2-3 is "Teee.... Taaaa.... Teee... Taaaa," in a really soft voice.

Here he is the other day, enjoying a banana.

Reading in bed

A seat at Munchie's table

I bought Stephen a table and chair set from Aldi yesterday... 25 bucks for the set! While he was napping, I built all but one of the chairs, which has a rough chunk missing from one of the pieces. I plan to exchange the piece, if they'll let me.
Even though he was incredibly groggy after a late, long nap, Stephen knew just what to do.
Slurp.

Stephen's Guitar

Sometimes we get the feeling we're spoiling him, but we just can't help ourselves. Joe found this ukulele online for a pretty good price. Stephen wants to play with it several times a day. He can even use the pick to strum.

Tools

Stephen loves to "fix" things. He's especially fond of using his toy screw driver or a real allen wrench to tighten whatever looks like a screw. His IKEA changing table drawers keep falling apart :-( I love IKEA and really like the look of the Leksvik series, but the silly hardware they use to hold drawers together doesn't stay tight. (What are those round thingys in the corner of the drawer called?) After about a dozen open-shut motions, they loosen and the whole thing comes apart. We're getting ready to super glue the whole thing together so I don't have to deal with it anymore. Stephen saw the drawer on the bed and had to get a closer look :-)

Munchie Talk

I thought I should write a little bit about Stephen's first words... he has really good comprehension, but he's still learning to talk. Many of the words he uses sound very little like their English counterparts. So, here's a glossary:

da-DA? = Where's Dad?
mom-UH? = Mom, come get me.
da-daaaah = I love you, Dad.
ma-maaaah = I love you, Mom.
ah-KEY = keys
crock-KA = cracker (the "r" is actually silent, but if you imagine really hard....)
chi-KEY = chicken (the animal and the food), fish (the food), chickpea
chi-CHEE = choo-choo train
naa-na = banana
DAWG-eee = doggie
ONG-gong = goose or other long-necked bird
muh-muuh = cow
bwrrrrrr-bwrrr = car (he's really good at making this noise.)
bubba = Bubba, our former nextdoor neighbor's dog.
dawllllll = ball, or any other round or circular object or picture
MEE-o-MEE-o-MEE-o! = yummy (we think)
nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh! = no
laaa-la? = music, please?
luh-LUH = lion or any creature with a cat-like face, including those creatures in the previews for the movie Avatar.
muh! muh! muh! = I want
tick-AHH-ti-GAHH = tickle
bup-up-UP-UP! = airplane; helecopter (he points to the sky while he says this.)
UH-put-tee, UH-put-ee = I'm climbing; I'm waiting for you to give me a piggyback ride.

Scarlet & Gray all the way

Joe guest posts: In honor of the Buckeye's Rose Bowl win, I wanted to put this up. My OSU allegiance is well known (and well-jeered) down here in SEC country. Let em talk their mess. Buckeye nation is growing in their own backyard.