This boy is full-on running now. For a while he wobbled along, falling over, tripping on his own feet, and clumsily holding his hands up for balance, but he's way past that now. He runs in circles. He runs around the house (squealing with delight, usually). He runs away when he knows I want him to come to me for any reason. He runs up the aisle at church (especially when mommy or daddy are up at the pulpit speaking). He runs excitedly outside because he loves to be out there. He runs to Meema and Papa to give them hugs. He only walks around while he's casually playing. But when he has a place to go, he's running to get there.
We've also taught him to pray. Before meals, he usually folds his hands and says, "See." He's almost always quiet until we say 'Amen.' He's also getting the hang of family prayer, prayers at church, as well as prayers at any other time. Now, when I say "Graham, we're having a prayer," he will often stop what he's doing, sit down (on the floor usually), fold his hands while saying "see," and wait patiently for at least a few seconds. I usually have to hold him on my lap during family prayer to keep him from running all over the place. He's getting the hang of if though!
Graham still loves to babble and chatter. He always shares his thoughts over dinner conversations, on car rides, and anytime throughout the day when anyone is discussing anything. He likes to participate. He also knows how to say several words (and most start with the letter 'b'):
- "Bubble." He loves bubbles--whether it's floating in the air or floating in his bathwater, this boy loves bubbles! And he loves to say the word too.
- "Bung." (Means 'button.') He's obsessed with buttons. Anytime anyone has buttons on their shirt, he says, "Bung!" and wants to touch them. Buttons on other things are awesome too--on the TV remote, on car doors, on appliances, etc. If it has a button to push, he wants to push it.
- "Pa-ba." (Means 'Papa.') He loves his Grandpa Rick. He's excited when Papa comes home, sad when he leaves, wants to sit on his lap (or in his seat) all the time, usually gives him the first hug after family prayer, and anytime I can't find Graham it's usually because he's sitting with his Papa at his computer listening to music.
- "Buh!" (Means 'bug.') He usually says this over and over until someone comes and looks at the bug he's found. Spiders also fall in the bug category, and he loves any creepy, crawly critter. Bigger bugs scare him a little bit though. He's terrified of cicadas, big banana spiders, and big cow-killer ants. He prefers to keep his distance when any insect that is bigger than the tip of his finger is involved.
- "Byes!" It's how he says 'good-bye.' Sometimes he says "Bye-dee!" And he always accompanies this with a wave good-bye.
- "Hi." He says this usually when he wakes up from a nap. I've heard him say 'hi' over and over until I go in to get him out of his crib (when he wakes up in a good mood). It's lasted up to 10 minutes.
- "Boo." (Means 'book.') We read at least one book before naptimes and bedtime. He's been really into a dinosaur book lately, but he also loves any book with animals in it.
- "Nana." (Means 'banana.') This was actually his very first word. He mostly just gets excited when he sees a banana. It doesn't mean he wants to eat one (which I've misunderstood a lot, leaving me a lot of peeled and uneaten bananas over the weeks), it just means he knows what it is.
He's also learning to repeat words. He usually only gets one syllable or the sound of the first letter. Sometimes he's stubborn and doesn't want to try, in which case he shakes his head no. HE still doesn't like to say 'mommy' or 'daddy.' In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually called me 'mommy.' 'Daddy' gets said a lot more often, although, it doesn't really seem to happen much either.
We started teaching him sign language before he turned 1, and it was made a world of difference in helping him to communicate with us. He only knows a handful of words, but they're words that allow him to tell us what he needs and wants in many situations.
- Please. (Rubs a hand on his chest.) He learned this fast. As soon as he realized that by saying this he often gets what he asks for, there was no problems doing this one. Sometimes, when he really really wants something, he'll get both hands going from the top of his chest down to his belly as fast and furiously as he can. It's adorable and hilarious and makes it difficult to say no to him.
- Thank you. This one is supposed to be done by placing your fingers flat against your chin and then dropping your hand to about chest level with your palm facing up, but Graham has his own version of it. He places his hand at his ear and waves it outward. He's very polite and always follows his 'please' with a 'thank you.' When he really means it, he'll use both hands and waves them at different rhythms.
- More. (Touches the tips of his fingers together.) When he likes a food, he inhales it and immediately asks for more. We've learned to put the least yummy food on his plate first, and gradually work up to the most delicious food, otherwise he only eats whatever tastes the best.
- Milk. (Makes a squeezing movement with his hand.) He uses this mainly to mean 'a drink' when he's thirsty. It doesn't quite exclusively mean only 'milk' to him.
- Finished. (Holds his hands up and turns his palms from facing up to down a few times.) We call this 'done-done,' and he actually says it while doing the sign. He uses this most often when he's finished eating, but it's expanding into activities as well. In September we took an 8-hour road trip to Cedar Point in Ohio for a conference I attended, and after about 6 hours of driving he was bored and tired of being in the car. He whined and complained, and at one point he started saying, "Done-done! Done-done!" while signing. It was adorable and I love how he's learning to express himself using words he knows!
- Monkey- A high pitched "ah-ah."
- Dog- He pants.
- Cat- A high pitched "meee.."
- Squirrel- He clicks his tongue.
- Baby chicks- A high pitched "pee-bee-bee."
- Horse- He makes a descending "Eeeee..." sound.
- Alligator/dinosaur/bear/lion- He roars.
- Bird- He actually only does the sign for 'birdie' (taps his thumb and index finger together).
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| Telling us about the birdie he saw flying up above him in the sky. |
Graham has learned a lot of body parts. He knows his hair, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth, teeth, hands, feet, and toes. And he's obsessed with other people's body parts too. He'll randomly walk up and touch your nose for no reason at all. We've shown him how to do "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," and he giggles through the whole thing, but I'm not sure how much he's actually learning from it.
He's a total ham too. He loves to make people laugh, and when he does something that he thinks made everyone smile or laugh, he'll do it again and again in the hopes that he'll keep us laughing. He even tries to be funny to cheer others up when they're sad.
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| He loves his sunglasses and thinks he looks so cool with them on. |
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| This is what I got when I asked him to smile for the camera. |
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| He's got the cutest little toosh I've ever seen! And yes, we let our little nature boy run around naked occasionally. |
Graham is learning to apologize. He understands the concept, and whenever he does something that might have hurt, he doesn't hesitate to offer a hug when asked to do so. He throws tantrums sometimes. When he does, he gets put in his crib and left alone for about 10 minutes to cry and cool off. When I (or Bob) pick him up afterward, he's sweet and snuggly, and wraps his arms around my neck and hugs me for a few minutes. Then he's ready to be off and playing as his usual happy self. Sometimes he'll intentionally be disobedient, and a swift swat on his behind with a raised voice is enough to help him realize he did something wrong. It's never enough to hurt him, but just to shock him and help him realize that we're not happy with his actions. He often cries and reaches out to give us an apologetic hug afterward, to which I always pick him up, hold him close, remind him that I love him, and then we sit down and discuss why his actions were wrong.
He likes to 'help' us with whatever we're doing. Whether it's cooking, cleaning, sewing, or working on anything, he loves to be right next to us watching, learning, and trying to pitch in. And I love to let him help in ways he can! After changing his diaper, he loves to be the one to throw it in the garbage. He especially loves to be in the kitchen to watch us use various appliances, mainly the mixer. He'll push a chair up to the counter, climb up, and babble away while watching me cook. He loves to watch us vacuum. And he loves to sit on my lap at the computer and watch funny animal videos on YouTube. My keyboard is wireless, so I'll turn it off and let him push the buttons on it (since, as I shared earlier, he loves buttons).
Overall, Graham is just a delightful son. Heavenly Father knew who we needed in our family, because Graham fits our needs so well right now. He's generally well behaved, he loves to help and be involved, and he loves to learn and play. He's very social, and loves to have other kids around. His laugh is infectious. And his personality is silly and sweet. We are so very blessed to have him in our family and look forward to watching and teaching him as he grows.
