The Language Barrier

In the past couple of months Xander has gone from one syllable words to many syllable statements. He's gone from saying "Bah" when he wants something to "Please." "Yeah" has developed into a usually enthusiastic "Yes!" At 3 in the afternoon we run to the window to see the "School bus!" He asks for "Dad" or "Grandma" or "Uncle Lee" and I have to tell him where those people are.

He has also had a big step with his imagination. The other day he was balancing a baseball on a circle and he says "Cupcake!" then leans over it, makes slurping noises and then looks back up at me to say "Very good." I asked him to share and he obliged. While I didn't classify it as very good, the low calories made up for the lack of taste.

Of course the other end of the spectrum is when he's drinking juice and pauses to say "Beer." Then proceeds to drink the juice and say "Beer very good."

Or the couple of times I've asked him about going to lunch or checking his diaper and he says "No. Busy. Spinning." And he then proceeds to spin around until he falls.

The real down side is that the new words have given him opinions. He likes to be given a choice about what to wear and will usually decide by what color the shirts are that I am holding up. Most dinners involve me eating and Xander saying "No" and pushing his plate away. If the food is really offensive he will tell me to "Put away."

And the big bad of two year olds everywhere is that Josie isn't allowed to play with his toys. If she rolls over and is even near something he was playing with he will run over and tell her "No touch." This is going hand in hand with things like me sitting down and Xander running over and telling me the seat was "Mine first!" That one is usually followed by a hissy fit if it doesn't quickly become his again.

But there is a lot of fun too. He loves to spell words, especially the title of whichever bedtime book he chooses. Currently the favorites are Harold and the Purple Crayon, Jumbo Elephant Train, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the current copy of Animal Baby. We'll be driving down the street and I'll hear letters or numbers being spouted from the back seat only to realize he is spelling the name of the store we're pulling into or the sign we are stopped next to. It's amazing how much he is soaking up and putting back out there right now.