That Guy, No one

Jonathan (2 years, 4 months)

As I've mentioned before, the boys both have a hard time with the "L" sound so when we were in California Jonathan called his cousin Nolan, "Nowan" (which sounded just like "no one".) It was pretty funny because he'd say things like, "I want no one to sweep here." or, "Is no one going swimming wif us?" It always took me a second to realize what he was saying.

Also, whenever he forgets someone's name (whether male or female) he refers to them as "dat guy." While in California we stayed a night with Mike and Beth Gillis. If you've ever seen Beth you'd know that she is quite feminine and very pretty. It was hilarious because Jonathan was asking about her and said, "Mommy, where's dat udder guy?"

Pronoun Problems

Aden (4 years, 5 months)

Aden is still figuring out the whole pronoun thing...

"Where are them?"

"Them are coming over today!"

"Her is going to get it!"

"Is her going to sit in her carseat?"

The cute thing/bummer is that Jonathan initially said these correctly but after listening to his brother say them incorrectly all the time he now says them incorrectly as well!

R's and L's

Aden (4 years, 4 months)

Aden uses the "w" sound for nearly all "r" and "l" sounds. This quote is from him commenting on the view he saw from the motor-home window on our camping trip to Union Valley Reservoir in Northern California.

"Mommy, I see da wake, a wog, a wock, and da bafwoom."

Yeah, the "th" sound is a tough one too!

Push Ups and Band Aids

Aden (4 years, 3 months) and Jonathan (2 years, 9 months)

Yesterday afternoon Daniel and the boys were playing around and Daniel asked Aden if he could do a push up. When he stared blankly at Daniel, Daniel said, "Do you know what a push up is?" Aden promptly replied, "Yes, it's ice cweam that is on a stwaw and then you push it up to eat it." (Ha! Thank you to his grandparents for that one!) Anyway, Daniel proceeded to attempt to teach Aden how to do a push up...it was quite comical! Aden couldn't figure out how to bend his arms to lower himself down. We kept saying, "Bend your elbows Aden. No, your ELBOWS. Aden, where are your elbows honey? Bend them!" All the while Jonathan is sitting on the couch just watching the scene and all of a sudden in his deep, little voice Jonathan says, "Elbows are for Band-Aids." I'm not sure if you've ever noticed but I rarely end Jonathan's quotes with exclamation points because his comments are always stated so matter of factly. He is the funniest kid! And OF COURSE, what else would elbows be for?! Jonathan LOVES Band-Aids and stickers and asks for one (or two or three or four) everyday. If I give him a sticker in the morning he will wear it on his hand ALL day and even go to bed with it. And yes, a missing sticker (one that falls off without him realizing it) has more than once been the cause of a major meltdown and I have been known to scour the yard/house/car/stroller/etc. in search of THE missing sticker even though I have a box of a bajillion brand new stickers in the house. And for the record, a sticker doesn't last more than 2 minutes with Aden. It ends up ripped in half, crumpled up into a ball, stuck to the floor or a piece of furniture, or gifted to Jonathan. Two such sweet but different boys we have!

"Spicy" Green Ball

Mystery solved. As you recall from a couple of posts ago Jonathan was referring to his green ball as the "spicy green" ball and we couldn't figure out why. We get it now. "Spicy", "Spikey"...it's all the same, right?!

Proper Grammar

Aden (4 years, 2 months) and Jonathan (2 years, 8 months)

Trying to teach your children proper grammar can be quite a task. We have been working with Aden on the proper way to ask for something and the poor child gets so confused. He usually ends up saying, "May you please get me some juice?" (a combo between "May I have..." and "Will you please...")

And we are working with Jonathan on independence and resourcefulness. He has made significant progress in this department but still needs assistance in the clothing department...getting dressed and undressed is very difficult for this boy! Anyway, we'll say, "OK Boozie, put on your shorts." and he'll wander around with his shorts in hand saying, "I can't how to." (Clearly a combination of "I can't!" and "I don't know how to!"

One day (a bittersweet one, no doubt) these babes will master English grammar...

Adjectives

Jonathan (2 years, 8 months)

Jonathan has learned a few commonly paired adjectives and now applies them generally...much to our amusement. For example, "big and heavy" go together as do "juicy and orange" and "spicy and green".

Some of our favorite quotes:

1) "I got an owie on my big, heavy toe." (Instead of just a big toe, it is a big, heavy toe!...I guess from all the talk of construction trucks moving big, heavy boulders and steel beams)

2) "Aden has a juicy orange bwanket." (He must have heard us describing the fruit on the kitchen counter!)

3) "I'm going to pway wif da spicy green ball!" (Yeah, not sure where this came from?)

You get the idea...

What a goose!