Words.

So I wrote a post exactly three months to the day (HERE) about how Henry wasn’t speaking much and was SO angry and how the frustration for everyone in the house was at a breaking point.   And like all children do, the minute I say something publicly he then does the opposite of what I say to make me a liar.  :-)  

Of course he did!  

Meaning, he started talking more right after I wrote that post.  Specifically, about a month after that post while we were on vacation his attitude changed and he started communicating more.  He still didn’t have a huge vocabulary, but he added a few new words and it seemed to make all the difference in how he communicated with us and his overall attitude. 

Then this past month, his vocabulary has been off the hook!!  Seriously, almost every other day he is learning a new word or saying a new sound!!  He has actually been trying to say and learn new words.  He is learning different sounds, watching how we speak and trying to imitate the way we speak and how we say it.

AWESOME! (I am sure he will learn this word next)

For instance, he learned to say truck and that triggered stuck, cook, book, work, & yuck.

Right now he seems to be learning words similar to jump, stop, help…..Basically words that make sounds similar to all or parts of those words.

His list has grown.  They say by two they should know 75-200** words and phrases.  Henry is still nowhere near that and on the low end, but honestly I really don’t care.  He is getting it at his own pace and the most important thing is he IS getting it! At this point, we are not even close to worried about his words.

He also has been doing lots of word association.  For example, he may not be able to say phone but he will point to ours when you show him a flashcard of the phone and then hold his hand up to his ear and say something, like he is trying to say it or talking on the phone.  BRAVO!!  He does this with everything, even if I show him a giraffe he will point to his room because his giraffe is up there or go find his giraffe. 

He is trying to count but cant say one, two, basically makes the sounds that emulate the one and two rhythm of counting.  Same with the alphabet.  He can say some letters a, e, o…but follows the rhythmic sound of saying the alphabet.

I think the thing that really caught us off guard was a month ago I hear him "singing" and saying what sounds like "baa baa" and "twinkle".  I started singing baa baa black sheep and twinkle twinkle little star and he just beamed with a smile like...you got it mom, you understood me!!  I asked his teacher if they were learning that at school and she said yes but since he only goes one day a week he has only heard those songs twice!  And he was already singing it home. Come on, that is fantastic!!

So basically, Henry is just talking up a storm right now and really trying to say more.  I mean nearly every other day Terry & I are asking each other “so, did you know/hear him say XXXX?”  It is really cool to get to hear and watch!

Way to go little buddy!!  We are SO proud of you!!

...

This list below is mainly for my reference and I am sure I am missing a few, but these are most of the words he knows.  I would say half of these have all been learned in the last 4-6 weeks!!!

Mommy, Daddy, Jeremy (Jeremy is so random because he has only met this person twice and he just started saying his name!!)

Work

Dads at work, moms at work

Train – choo choo

Truck or trucky

Drink or drinky

Cat

Dog

Home

I did it

I do it

I get it

I didn’t do it/get it

Jump

Cook

Mommy cook :-)

Help

Dad no help ;-)

Out

NO!!!!

Stop it (probably the cutest and most annoying thing he says!!)

All Gone

All Done

Baby

Book

Baby

Car

Hello/Hi

Night Mom

Hat

Love

Yes

Go

Yuck

Chomp

Roar

Ok

Down

Here/There

Shhhhhhh

Baa Baa
Stuck

Trying and almost has: shoe, thank you, milk, bye, eye, bed, eat

Unfortunately/fortunately he still signs please and more.

**Update: I read some other sights and I guess they should say 50-75 and understand 75-200 by two.  That sounds more reasonable for a two year old!

Well What Other Words Have I Been Saying Wrong?!

So last night we were watching TV when a lady said the word “wheelbarrow”.

I instantly start laughing and say “Wheelbarrow, what the heck is that?! Doesn’t she mean wheelbarrel?!” To which know it all Terry says “No Jenn, she said it right. It is wheelbarrow. It is a common mistake, like when people pronounce it FebUary and not FebRUary.”

Um, what the heck, when did that happen?! I am almost 30 years old I had absolutely NO IDEA that it was wheelbarrow. I mean wheelbarrow doesn’t even make sense and sound right…wheelbarrel sounds so much better.

I seriously feel like such a dufus, however I am 100% certain there are many more words I am not saying correctly.  *sigh*


And for the record:


A wheelbarrow is a carrier, usually having only one wheel, consisting of a tray bolted to two handles and two legs. While known mostly as a device for carrying small loads for the household gardener, a wheelbarrow is often also used in construction and industry for carrying larger loads.


The birthplace of the modern wheelbarrow was China, possibly as early as 100 B.C. One early version consisted of a large single wheel at or near the front of a platform. The load would be placed behind the wheel, and the operator would lift the heavy end and push the load. Sometimes a small basket would be used to carry the load, and was similar to rickshaws.


Unlike Chinese wheelbarrows, European wheelbarrows were designed to carry small loads over short distances. It is difficult to trace the progression of the wheelbarrow from China to Europe. Possibly, Arab traders brought it to the Middle East and Europeans learned of it during the Crusades. Ancient Greeks might have used the wheelbarrow for construction, while the Romans might have adapted it for agriculture. After Rome fell, the wheelbarrow could have remained in use in Byzantium until the Crusaders learned of it during their journeys. However, it is most likely that it was an independent invention of the late middle ages, created by putting a wheel on the two-person handbarrow already in use for carrying such items as stones or sheaves of corn.