Ethan, Animals, and the Sounds They Make
First of all, I want to apologize to all of you for not posting for so long. (Well, technically, there's no one reading this yet but it's the thought that counts. Right?) But I have a pretty good excuse...Ethan turned one yesterday. Yea! Interestingly (it's actually more on the bizarre side, but "interesting" sounds a lot better and he is my son after all), "Yea!" was Ethan's first word. Yep, not Mommy or Daddy or even Nana. It was Yea! Granted, it's probably not all that strange because my wife had spent the prior month saying "Yea Ethan!" while raising her hands over her head every time he did something well or new. For a while, all we got was "A, E!" but he eventually managed "Yea!" I still would have preferred Daddy. Since then, he's mastered three more words:
1) Cat - not all that surprising. We have two of them, and every time he sees one of them his eyes light up and he gets all excited and you'd swear he'd never seen one before. This happens at least five times a day. Naturally, as soon as he sees one, he goes barrelling after it at top Ethan-speed. At least some of this is the cats' fault. One of them insists on playing with him. Every time he goes after her, she runs about seven or eight feet away, stops, and looks back to make sure he's still following her. When he gets close, she does the same thing again. She does this around corners, through the legs of the dining room chairs, etc. So it's pretty hard to blame Ethan when she gets careless and lets him get close enough to grab her fur and tug. Hard. The other cat is just so mind-numbingly stupid that she has allowed Ethan to corner her both in an open room and in a room with tall sofas to jump on or hide behind. Once again, it's kinda hard to blame the inevitable fur pulling entirely on Ethan. Luckily, neither cat has ever come close to snapping, hitting or even growling at him even when he has them cornered and is tugging on their fur with all of his strength.
2) Book - I was thrilled about this one. He absolutely loves books, and he's gotten good enough to turn the pages on his own and even manages to turn the pages until he reaches the pictures he likes (I know its intentional because he typically has only one or two favorite pages in any one book and those are almost always the ones he turns to). He's sat and "read" a book to himself for upwards of ten minutes. Sometimes, he makes sounds to himself as he turns the pages. After all, Daddy always makes sounds when he reads books to him. It's just adorable.
3) Click - Yes, I said "click." Whenever I strap him into his highchair or his carseat, I say "Click!" whenever I snap two pieces together. I learned a long time ago that if I make different noises for different things I do, he'll sit still longer while I'm doing them. Sure enough, he's begun saying "Click" when I strap him into things.
Assorted animal sounds - His favorite book is probably his book with pictures of animals. When I read it to him, I make the appropriate sound. Currently, in the world according to Ethan, the lion makes a sound that I can't spell but is basically a deep-throated "Roar" sound, but without the R's. The cow says "Ooooo," and the monkey says "Eeee, eeee, eeee, eeee!" and is accompanied by a quick up-and-down bobbing motion.
But Mommy or Daddy? Forget it. I swear he's doing it on purpose.
I feel compelled to add one more thing. My brother-in-law went to the University of Alabama and is a big fan of the Crimson Tide, their football team. This is back when they were good (i.e., when "Bear" Bryant was there). To cheer the team on, one yells "Roll Tide!" Of course my brother-in-law felt compelled to keep saying this to his son and, sure enough, my nephew's first words were "Roll Tide."
So remember, whatever your child's first words are....it could always be worse.
Postscript (Tuesday, June 27, 2006): Well, Ethan came up with yet another word today. Apparently, we can now add "Duck" to his small, but growing, vocabulary. I'm still not sure I understand his obsession with animals, but he's certainly allowed to pick whatever words he likes to learn (although I do hope he doesn't come out with "Damn it!" any time soon). I may wish it had been "Mama" or "Dada," but it's still progress. Permalink
1) Cat - not all that surprising. We have two of them, and every time he sees one of them his eyes light up and he gets all excited and you'd swear he'd never seen one before. This happens at least five times a day. Naturally, as soon as he sees one, he goes barrelling after it at top Ethan-speed. At least some of this is the cats' fault. One of them insists on playing with him. Every time he goes after her, she runs about seven or eight feet away, stops, and looks back to make sure he's still following her. When he gets close, she does the same thing again. She does this around corners, through the legs of the dining room chairs, etc. So it's pretty hard to blame Ethan when she gets careless and lets him get close enough to grab her fur and tug. Hard. The other cat is just so mind-numbingly stupid that she has allowed Ethan to corner her both in an open room and in a room with tall sofas to jump on or hide behind. Once again, it's kinda hard to blame the inevitable fur pulling entirely on Ethan. Luckily, neither cat has ever come close to snapping, hitting or even growling at him even when he has them cornered and is tugging on their fur with all of his strength.
2) Book - I was thrilled about this one. He absolutely loves books, and he's gotten good enough to turn the pages on his own and even manages to turn the pages until he reaches the pictures he likes (I know its intentional because he typically has only one or two favorite pages in any one book and those are almost always the ones he turns to). He's sat and "read" a book to himself for upwards of ten minutes. Sometimes, he makes sounds to himself as he turns the pages. After all, Daddy always makes sounds when he reads books to him. It's just adorable.
3) Click - Yes, I said "click." Whenever I strap him into his highchair or his carseat, I say "Click!" whenever I snap two pieces together. I learned a long time ago that if I make different noises for different things I do, he'll sit still longer while I'm doing them. Sure enough, he's begun saying "Click" when I strap him into things.
Assorted animal sounds - His favorite book is probably his book with pictures of animals. When I read it to him, I make the appropriate sound. Currently, in the world according to Ethan, the lion makes a sound that I can't spell but is basically a deep-throated "Roar" sound, but without the R's. The cow says "Ooooo," and the monkey says "Eeee, eeee, eeee, eeee!" and is accompanied by a quick up-and-down bobbing motion.
But Mommy or Daddy? Forget it. I swear he's doing it on purpose.
I feel compelled to add one more thing. My brother-in-law went to the University of Alabama and is a big fan of the Crimson Tide, their football team. This is back when they were good (i.e., when "Bear" Bryant was there). To cheer the team on, one yells "Roll Tide!" Of course my brother-in-law felt compelled to keep saying this to his son and, sure enough, my nephew's first words were "Roll Tide."
So remember, whatever your child's first words are....it could always be worse.
Postscript (Tuesday, June 27, 2006): Well, Ethan came up with yet another word today. Apparently, we can now add "Duck" to his small, but growing, vocabulary. I'm still not sure I understand his obsession with animals, but he's certainly allowed to pick whatever words he likes to learn (although I do hope he doesn't come out with "Damn it!" any time soon). I may wish it had been "Mama" or "Dada," but it's still progress. Permalink
posted by Rob | 8:51 PM
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