Hadleyisms 3.0

 
Hey, guys. Back for a trip down Hadley lane. He's been super, super verbal lately, and truly seems to enjoy being able to finally communicate sufficiently with us. His sentences are even evolving; sometimes just a noun and a verb, but more often than not they'll include adjectives and more.

And I totally wish you could actually HEAR a lot of these phrases. When you see them written flatly on a screen, they don't show the depth of his character or the bubbly way that he speaks. Y'all are missing out, folks."Yittle bit?" This has been his big one. He's asking to do something, and thinks that asking for a little ("I rock in chair yittle bit? I eat yittle bit cookie?") that he'll be likelier to get a yes. It's actually pretty genius, and the way that he says it (along with his two little fingers showing how little he's asking for), he knows full well it's adorable. I'm just learning not to laugh and blow my "tough cop" attitude. (It's usually when he's stalling to go to bed.)

"Today?" (He actually means "now.") "We go outside TODAY?" (voice rises at end) "We eat lunch today?" "Me pet kitty today?" I mistakenly told him, "Oh, you mean 'now', right?" once, and he started using it immediately. Luckily, he slipped back into his "today" requests, which sounds far less demanding and even sweet. 

"Happy day!!!" He often starts dancing around and saying this at the most mundane of moments. Can't say much more than that. It's absolutely heart-filling.

"Circus Boy!!" Apparently I'm a human trapeze or something, because Hadley LOVES to climb up me, jump on my legs, pretend to "fly" (I hold him up), etc, all while shouting "Circus boy! I a circus boy!!" How he even knows what a circus is, I have no clue. Maybe from an old Mickey Mouse or "Peg + Cat"...? And how he knows about Mickey Dolenz's first stint into fame, I'm even more clueless. (crickets chirping)

"Daddy, you a good person." Dave wrote about this one, but it begs to be told again. This came out of the blue one day as Dave drove him to his mom's. I had talked to him the day before in the car; just a stream of consciousness type of conversation, but I chatted about how nice and good his daddy is. Apparently, it stuck.

"I brave! I a brave boy!" This came about for his flu shot (yes, we immunize and do the flu shots, although there's tons of conversation between Dave and I as to whether it's worth it). Since I know he's of the age to rationalize things better, I had a big talk with him before we went for the shot, and bravery was a big part of it. When I picked him up to go to the doctor's, he was ready and brave! This continued the next day during this conversation with his daddy...

(After Hadley coughs in the back seat.)
"You okay, buddy?"
"Me no sick, Dada! Me BRAVE!"
A moment later, puts his arm up in the air.
"Me SUPER!"
"You certainly are, buddy."Doesn't that just say it all?

Hadleyisms #2

Happy birthday to my big sis, Mary, today!!!

Anyhoo, back with some more silly moments with our 2-year-old guy. Why, hello, crappy Photoshop skills.

After watching an episode of Daniel Tiger about empathy...

Me: How do you feel today, Hadley? What are you feeling?

H: Apples. Nanas. Knees. *stares at me*

(Apples and bananas are the answer to all life's little problems these days. Not the actual foods; just the words.)

M: What do you want to be for Halloween, honey? (asking with far too much excitement)
H: Apples! Ooohh!! Apples. Or Nanas. Uh-huh.

Here comes Fruit of the Loom boy.

Daddy: (Getting him up from naps/bed 90% of the time) Good morning, Hadley!
H: Gooooood moooorrning!!!! Mama! Hi!! HIIII!!! (as if he hasn't seen us in years)
D: How did you sleep?
H: Niiiiice! Nice!!

How was your lunch? How does Beardslee's fur feel? How are you feeling? "NICE!" Adorbs.

Our favorite Hadleyism lately is "tada!" Finish going on the potty and displaying his "talents"? TADA! Eat a piece of pancake? Tada! Build a Lego tower? Tada!

Daddy gets home and the excitement literally can't be contained. Running aimlessly around the living room, H exclaims, "Dada! Big Bird!! Toes-yitties-eyephant-potty-yancakes..." runs into kitchen followed by the sound of a face-plant on the floor. Deflated but happy "Tada!" comes from the floor. We lost it.

Aside from these, he's just got SO MANY WORDS. I can't even keep track. Say something and he tries out the word. There are times I look at him and think, "You're learning English. You're understanding. You're not like a tiny baby from another country who understands two words I say!" I know it's normal, and what we expect, but man. And the kid knows every letter you show him. (Z is sometimes S, but we're working on it.) You can sing the alphabet and stop on a letter and most of the time he knows the next letter. He can count to thirteen.

Strides, folks. Strides. 

Hadleyisms

In honor of our little monkey man's second birthday this Sunday, I thought I'd share a list of his recent words and phrases that have us cracking up...or saying "awww!" while wiping away a tear. Either or. This is also completely selfish because a) I'm forgetful to the max, b) the baby book doesn't have cool parts for this stuff, and c) um, we haven't done great at keeping up on that, anyway. So, without further a doo-doo (I know, I know, it's adieu)...

One- and two-word sentences are the cool thing at the moment. He's too busy, I'm sure, for anything lengthier. ;-) You also must read the below words/phrases on the higher pitch spectrum. Not super high-pitched, but up. Friggin' adorable.

So, some of the sounds-mundane-but-makes-us-downright-giddy words have been...
 

"Hello!!!",

"Okay!" (it's the WAY he says these!),

"Honey!" (thanks, Pooh),

"Happy!!!" (my heart melts),

"Babies" (no clue why; maybe his dolly; yes, he has a couple),

"Guys! Okay, guys.",

"Bub" (tub, of course) and "wawer",

"Good" and "bad"
(soooo helpful when teaching right from wrong! He think Winston's the naughtiest kitty, apparently),

"mama dada boo!" (practically one word, said in that order, meaning family; Boo = Beardslee),

"Jappers" (Jasper),

the occasional "Wee Wee" (Winston's nickname),

and various body parts (nose, eyes, toes, etc.) and a good number of letters and numbers.

Every day there's a smattering of new awesomeness. I can't keep up.

Aaaaand the piece de resistance: When I was in the shower over the weekend, Dave and Hadley were watching old Donald Duck shorts. It showed a sign that said "Out to Lunch", and before Dave knew what hit him, Hadley said "out to lunch." In shock, Dave asked if that's what he said (he's never used the phrase before, ever) and, nonchalantly, Hadley answered "mhmm." Oh, that? It ain't no thang. Just reading off the TV screen before I turn 2. No big. Jaw. On. Floor.

So, it looks like we'll be working on sight words sooner than later!

The real reason that this stuff gets me so dang excited is the fact that, for the past, eh, year and a half to two years, the poor little guy hasn't had a say in ANYTHING. Imagine. Not being able to communicate except through screams, a few hand signs, and guttural noises. It had to have been incredibly frustrating. The more that he plays with his language and sees how we react to different words (always super excited when he displays a new one, letting him know it's okay to try them out and okay to make mistakes), the freer he seems in his personality.

For example, I've always asked yes/no questions, and for the longest time he would just say "uh-huh" and "uhn-uhn". Sure, he still does that a bit, but now it's a direct "yes!" or "nooooo" with gusto and energy in every single response. He definitely knows the importance of inflection and he's putting himself into the lines already, folks. He's a little Barrymore, he's so friggin' entertaining. I'm also trying to give him more choices so that he feels like he has a bit of a say in this little ol' thing called life. "Pancakes?" "Hmm...noooo." "Eggs?" "Um, no." "What, then?" "Burries!!!" (Berries.) Guess who had a crapload stack of fruit for breakfast.

Oh, and I said "Well, those people suck" when folks wouldn't let us cross at the supermarket yesterday. "*Mumble mumble* yuck." Same inflection and everything. Oops. I knew full well it was a copycat moment and had a very quick, very important conversation about what he should and shouldn't say -- and mentally whacked myself over the head for saying it in the first place.

I guess it's Swear Jar time, Mommy. And I'll be putting the most cabbage in. Der.

So, mamas and papas (and anyone else with an opinion) out there. Am I being crazy? Is this "First Child Syndrome"? Is it weird to want to try to remember this stuff?