Translation

Scott turns 18 months a week from tomorrow. One and a half! Say what?!?!! Sadly Brian and I will be traveling in Europe without our baby boy on his 18 month birthday (sniff sniff). Not that I had a big plans for the day but still it is sad to miss the milestone. I have finally overcome the anxiety of the trip (mostly), it will be a long time away from Scott but I know he will have fun and probably hardly miss us. Actually this week my parents have already started staying at our house to help transition Scott and he could not possibly care less if I'm around or not, he only wants Grammie or Grandpy to feed him, read to him, play neighs neighs, put him to bed....etc!
So with his 18 month birthday right around the corner I started realizing I haven't documented what he's up to lately.
The biggest change of late is his ever expanding vocabulary! It takes a bit of translating to know what he is saying (hence the title of my post) I'm pretty good at it but there are still a few that must frustrate him to no end because he is clearly telling me exactly what he wants but I have no earthly clue what it is.
He's of course mastered the basics:
Mommy/Mom - also the feminine of all people, my mom gets called this, sister, Andy etc.
Daddy/Dad - also the masculine of all people
"Moe" = No, not to be confused with "Muh" which is more
"Day"= Yes/Ok
Hi
Bye

Then there are the more complicated words that need translation:
"Druk"= Truck
"Dru"= Draw
"Girr" = Giraffe
*these three must taken in context, I've spelled them differently because to me they sound different but to you, they will sound the exact same. Obviously if he is holding on a truck, giraffe or crayon you know which he is talking about immediately. If we are in the car he will usually yell "druk" and he is probably pointing out a truck driving next to us (this goes on for the entire car ride many days! whatever keeps him happy!!!!!) If he grabs your hand in the house and pulls you somewhere saying "dru" he usually wants you to come draw at his easle with him. You get the idea - check the surroundings and you'll be distinguishing them in no time.
"pu" = pull....he really likes to pull you around the house by the hand the whole time telling you that he is pulling you
"bob" = this one took me a while but it means BAA, as in Baa Baa black sheep. He can also pronounce it BAA if you ask him what a sheep says but if he asking you to sing the baa baa black sheep song then it's BOB!!!
"baw" = ball, not to be confused with bob, context clues people
"beahhh" = bear
"Arrow" = yellow, he will usually respond with this first when you ask him what color something is, he knows the difference, I think he just likes saying it
"Gree" = green
"buu" = blue, not to be confused with bob, baa, baw
"Nack" = Snack, this is a personal favorite because it is so funny when he says it, and he says it a lot, the boy loves to eat
"Peas" = Please, usually he signs it but every once in a while he uses his words....YAY!!!!
"Neigh Neigh" = horse
"Roar" = lion, tiger, bear, dinosaur - again, context clues
"Oooo Oooo" = monkey, are you seeing a trend? at this point all animals are identified by sounds only, elephant is especially funny because he tips his head back and goes "whoooo" but forgets to do the trunk motion with his arm
"Baby" = he knows that small animals are the baby version of whatever animal we are looking at: "baby neigh neigh" "baby roar" etc., he also says baby to the babies we see in the grocery store or the park, sometimes they are the same age he is but he still calls them baby
"Go" = usually he wants to do "on your mark, get set, GO!" when he says it. He says "go" then races himself across the house, backyard, park etc. also a great way to get him across a parking lot or park - race to destination, works everytime
"Duck" = Duck
"Whaa" = Walk, usually means put me down so I can walk
"Ruuu" = Rock, usually said when sitting in the rocking chair for stories and cuddling but we are not rocking yet (bossy much?)
"Chayr" = chair, usually wants to sit in the big chair at the table by himself
"Cheese" = Cheese, the boy is in love, I will expand later

People:
"Chay" = Charlie
"Woey"/"WoWo" = Zoey/ZoZo one of Scott's very best friends he usually calls her Woey but sometimes her mom calls her ZoZo (and I have also adopted the habit) so he'll pick up on it and call her WoWo - hilarious
"Jay" = Parker J. Parker is far too complicated at this point and since most everyone calls him Parker J. anyways Scott picked up on the Jay part. So cute!
"Melmo" = Elmo
"Tatie" = Auntie (Hilary) he usually just calls her mommy but sometimes with encouragement he'll say tatie
"Abbeeeee" = Abby, his good friend we go horseback riding (amongst other things) with

He also finally got tooth #6, we are slow on the teething front which does not hold Scott back from eating whatever he wants. He is still a bit picky. Lately he doesn't like foods with skins (blueberries, grapes, plums), he goes back and forth on liking chicken and certain veggies. He loves eggs and all carbs (ALL, I have not met one that he doesn't like), melon, bananas, yogurt, applesauce and fish. I made the mistake of giving him a small bite of real cheese (from a cow) - like he'd died and gone to heaven. Mommy's fault. After just a small amount he tends to get mucousy and I know it will only go downhill from there. So no more cheese sorry buddy, he does like goat cheese and digests it much better with no mucous so for now goat cheese on gluten free toast is a staple, and the only thing he gets when he asks for cheese.

Potty training: No, we haven't started. We haven't really even started talking about starting. However I'm noticing some signs that make me think it will be on the horizon sooner than later. First he beyond cannot stand being in a dirty diaper. He used to be able to play for hours (not that actually let him go hours in a dirty diaper) in a dirty diaper, pee, poop, no worries, he only got diaper changes because I checked regularly or I smelled it. Well lately it makes him bonkers, he whines and pulls on his diaper. He is also able to tell him that he has pooped. We are not quite to the "tell me when you need to go" stage yet but if I ask him he says yes or no and is not lying. The other thing, which is funny and gross all rolled into one and I debate writing it because Scott will absolutely die of embarrasment in the future when he finds out I shared this but its too funny and its another sign that he is getting ready for p-training, Scott does something I call the "Poop Scoot". He only does it when he has a dirty diaper, he sits on the ground and scoots forward and back, just like a dog who has an itchy butt. Hilarious but so so gross. Especially gross if you don't catch it in time it spreads it every where! SICK! Hopefully you didn't sit down to read this with a great snack because you've definitely lost your appetite now! So I think when we return from our travels we will talk about the potty and get it out so Scott can sit on it etc. Just go from there. No rush. No pressure. Just expose him to it.

Swimming: The kid is fearless in the water. He jumps off the steps, off the side wherever. He can hold his breath a long time and is getting much better at kicking. He can turn around and try to go back the way he came. He sometimes will use his arms (not super coordinated but still trying) and he is really good about keeping his booty up (instead of trying to be in the upright position and sort of walking in the pool). The summer has been really fun seeing how much he has progressed in the pool!

I simply cannot believe Scott is almost 18 months!!!