Is it June Already?

*** So I wrote this entry on Feb. 25th. Guess that means I need to chronicle/highlight something recent. Still . . . too long to trash, so here it is. Here's hoping Reed and someone in his future world finds these useful or interesting. Hmph.

Do I really have time to chronicle each letter of the alphabet, and each attending word that Reed dreams up? Not really. Since I had that epiphany, his vocabulary has exponentially grown in such a way that recording hundreds of words is impossible as a) I'm too disorganized to make notes about each of them and b) can't remember many of them because I'm too disorganized to write them down. But. Today, I did! (Write down some things.) In the spirit of recording (mostly for Reed, and my three blog readers, I suppose) the "best of", I think I'll let myself off the hook and occasionally post about words and phrases when the spirit moves me. I had grandiose plans for a pregnancy journal, too, and that went right out the window. I don't think I wrote a single thing, not even a vignette, while I was pregnant. I realize now I didn't need to as I can just do it here:

Pregnancy is long and uncomfortable. It pretty much sucks except for all the good parts -- like kicking (and even that's not always so hot.) Hard to look hip, and certainly hard to wear shoes ( I wore flip flops every single day, rain or shine, winter or summer.) Delivery's a real treat, too, and I hope to do this again sometime without the attending three day delivery nightmare and without needing an infection-section. Regardless, the end result is amazing. Hope I someday have enough spare cash for a tummy tuck. The end.

And now, to my proudly compiled list. Let's see . . . Reed and I have quite the conversations as I put him to bed every night (or five to six out of every seven). We call this our "special time" (gag. I know.) I used to try to get him to just go to sleep, but I realized that was a) not going to happen on this planet and b) that I was missing out on his glorious musings about his day. This week, the frogs showed up during s. time as we went outside at twilight to listen to the frogs.

"Mama! Frogs talkin'! Frogs TALKIN'!"

"What do they talk about, Reed?"

"Ribbit. Ribbit. Frogs go night-night."

And so. Now we open the window every night so he can go to sleep listening to the frogs and reminding me that they do, indeed, talk, and that they, too, are going to bed.

Having now watched "Milo and Otis" a few thousand times, he quotes some of the dialogue and is big on narration -- "Milo goin' DOWN the river!" "Otis bark!" etc. Currently, we're studying the sea turtle that gives a stranded Otis a ride. I'm sure we'll do it again tomorrow. And probably the next day. Does he watch anything else? Not really. A bit of Sesame Street here and there. I don't really want him to watch much TV, but for the love of all that is holy . . . TV makes the BEST babysitter. I'm not afraid to say it. If I really need to, say, make the "e-baba" without the accompanying tizzy fit, he's Milo and Otis bound. Besides, he's now acquainted with baby animals in their natural environments. So.

Reedisms of the week/month: "Watch out!" (usually bellowed when he runs into you, not the other way around.) "Turka-burger" (stock answer whenever he's asked what he ate for lunch or dinner). "Read books" (stock answer whenever he's asked what he did during the day). "Roll with it!" Adopted while Mama and Dada listened to Steve Winwood on the way to Henry's today. Now, if I could just get him to tack on the "baby", all would be well in the world.

Shapes: Want to know the names of obscure shapes you don't really remember because you haven't taken geometry in 20 years? Ask Reed. "Trapezoid", "oval", "rectangle", and "octagon" are current faves.

Letters: He's been interested for some time but is now deeply so. Current favorites? Q. Z. B. C. F. D. H. Ws rule.

Numbers: he mastered a few concepts awhile ago, as in five comes after four and the first three are, well, 1,2, and 3, but he's more into counting actual objects than reciting memorized lists. Imagine that. In our house? There's one baby, two towels (in Reed's world, and on the hook in his room), and three dogs (those would be in a book). And five fingers on his "right" hand. Hasn't figured out how many are on the "left" yet, but he does love to show us which is which. As it turns out, he's right-handed though I assumed, early on, that he'd be a lefty. No such luck.

Trucks and Assorted Other Vehicles: If a 17-month-old can have have an obsession, this would be it! Having discovered this early on, we caved and bought a number of truck and "things that go" books (indeed, B&N has a section titled "things that go", and it's clear we need only ever purchase books from this particular corner of the store. That is, when we buy brand-new books, as they seem like a waste of money, often times. These? Worth every penny. Reed, this section's especially for you. Do you want to know now (whenever that will be) what you knew then (now)?
Dump truck. Excavator. Front-end loader. Mini-loader. Mobile crane. Backhoe. Freight truck. Tanker. Logging truck. Tractor-trailer. Snowplow. Street sweeper. Grader, scraper, roller, forklift. Airport fire truck, uh, regular fire truck, "small" fire truck, and pumper truck. Monster truck, racing truck, pick-up truck, van, mail truck, amublance, car transporter, ATV, bulldozer . . . I can't remember any more. But YOU can. The video in the previous post shows you reading one of those books to us, pointing many of these out. Hearing you rattle off this names is both precious and astonishing, and I'll have you know that we go through these books (ALL of us) countless times per day. Guess it's paid off. But can you come up with a new obsession soon? Say, 19th century British literature?

And, finally. Assorted words of wisdom, courtesy of Reed:

"Weirdo!" "Goofball!" "Psycho!" "Dingbat!" (I'd be the one responsible for psycho, my mom for dingbat. Oh well). "Call grandpa!" "Hold on!" "Momma's here!" (this is new, a lovely, bellowing screech offered when I get home from work. I love it.) Finally, something normal on the phone as in, "Hi, Dalyn", offered up yesterday. As Reed would say, "There you go!" And there you do. Hope you've enjoyed the tour de Reed's broad and rather unique worldview.