Read On...

When McKinley was just a few months old, I would read to him after his early morning feeding. There we sat. Bottle finished, lights super low and a small book being read in a soft whisper. We transitioned to soft books. You know, the kind that crinkle under his touch or have animals on each page with different textures. I remember traveling back from VA a couple of years ago and McKinley needed some major distracting outside the Kansas City limits. I handed him a crinkle book and boy did he ever "read" that book! I apologized to my husband for the major distraction it was causing, being the driver and all, and he said it wasn't an issue. Anything to keep our sweet boys attention off the last leg of the trip.

 We then moved to reading to him whenever possible. It was easy to read to him then since all he did was lay there! We would read day and night or in the car to keep occupied. Books were placed on his high chair tray and he read while we fed him. We were constantly reading in hopes that eventually he would want us to read. Books were purchased for our first Easter Basket, first Halloween bucket, during Hanukkah and placed under the tree from Santa. Books, books and more books...

Now a days, we are actually into books. It took us a while, but we got there. When he became mobile it was hard to sit with him and read. So that meant reading to McKinley while has he played or was in my general vicinity. I've been purchasing a Little Golden Book at almost every grocery store run and he has quite the collection. He has books of mine from childhood and books that were my dads. The library is vast. However, he is fixated on one collection, the Elmo lost puppy series I purchased at Target in their dollar bin! There is "The Community Center", "The Supermarket", "The Doctor's Office" and "The Post Office". We read "The Community Center" daily! He will bring us a book, hand it to us and then reach his little arms up to sit on our laps. I cherish every moment spent in my lap! 

What I think I love most is when he sits down alone and reads. He looks the pictures over and flips pages until he reaches the end. Adorable to watch and makes me hopeful this is a trend for life! I can't wait until he can read to us, but I am not about to rush this amazing stage. Read on!

 

Chatter Box

For the past several weeks, McKinley has started "talking" more and more. I haven't a clue what he's actually saying, but he knows. I listen, answer when I think its a question, nod enthusiastically and provide banter when I think it's necessary. Then there are the words we truly understand. 

"Car-car". This word is as early as getting him out of his crib in the morning. And, it's said with a Bostonian accent. I'm not sure if its a mix of our Midwestern accent and my parents Southern accent. But, it is for sure a distinct accent and only used for car-car. "Hi" is used most often and with a high pitch. Not like a shrill high pitch, but when you're excited to see someone. He tells everyone hi. And when they don't answer back, I say out loud, its only because they didn't hear you to ensure they heard me! How do you not say hi back to a 16 month old? Rude!

His big word is "momower". Translated, lawnmower. I have to admit, sometimes I think he's saying mama and then I realize he's pointing at his own lawnmower. And, he says it with vigor. Upon walking into a Home Depot several weeks ago, he literally yelled momower as soon as he saw them. The other day, he say dada's lawnmower in the yard and he literally threw his arms in the air and yelled out the door. He loves momowers!

Memow and Tica are Elmo and Chica. Everyone knows who Elmo is but you may not be as familiar with Chica. Chica is a chicken from the Spout Networks Sunny Side Up Show. Actually, Tica was one of his first words. And this isn't really a word, but he snickers every time he sees Cookie Monster. He knows other Sesame Street characters from the books we read. We just have to say "where is Grover" and he can point right to him. Memow and Tica are his favorites.

Let's see....of course there's the traditional mama and dada. There's "pow-wow" for dog, "awing" for swing and the general use of wow and uh-oh. There is also the non-traditional verbiage such as "cockal", "boppie" and "dita". We haven't a clue what any of those mean but he uses them all the time! And, he continues to grunt, whine and point for the things that he can't say. I've loved all the phases so far, but the talking is by far my favorite, except maybe the whining...