Riley always knows what is going on!

A few weeks ago, Michael and I were having a conversation and it was the first time that we realized how much Riley understands. Riley was getting cranky because it was late in the day and almost dinnertime, and as Michael carried around our little "crankapotumus", I suggested that he just give in and give him the paci. (even though we are trying to get him used to only having it at nap time and dinnertime) As soon as the words came out of my mouth the whining stopped. Michael said something to the effect of no, it isn't bedtime or nap time, and the whining resumed. I said just give in and the whining stopped- but Michael did not react quick enough and he got upset. However as soon as he turned to head into the nursery and get the paci Riley calmed down. It all happened so fast and it took about 30 seconds for it to register- then we looked at each other shocked and realized how we were going to have to REALLY watch what we are saying in front of this muchkin.

Other things that have surprised us, would be his ever expanding vocabulary, here are the list of words he says below:
duck
cat
dog
dolphin
stop- (there is a stop sign on his "little people" parking deck)
no- (on occassion)

Then, on the way home from daycare I ask him "Can you say...?" Below is the list of names that we go through, and his responses:
Mama? "mamamama ma"
Daddy? "Daaa Di" or the occasional "Da da"
Gie Gie? sometimes sounds like "G G" and sometimes like "gaa gaa" and sometimes is met with silence
Etta? He seems to be a little unsure of the e sound, so often I get silence, but occasionally I get "eh ahl"
Big Mike? When he responds to this it sounds like, "bahm"
Grandcoy? The response here is always silence. He is obviously overwhelmed by this name.

The good thing about the names is that no matter what he can always pick everyone out of a picture. We have a grouping of pictures in our living room and he can pick out his grand parents, Aunt Izzy, and his great Aunt Mimi. I say where is...? and he points and grins. The first people he was able to recognize (outside of Michael) were my Mom, my sister and Michael's Dad. And Michael and I have deduced that this is because they look so much like Micheal and me.

I will also quiz him on things like "bye bye" and "no". They say "no" is often the first word that toddlers say and say most often. However when I quiz Riley on these words I get a silent response- instead he waives his hand for "bye bye" and he shakes his head for "No". And believe me the child knows how to shake his head no.

Last week, Riley was playing with one of Michael's old toys, an airport, and Big Mike said, "Riley, bring me the helicopter?" So Riley ran over and grabbed the helicopter and took it back to Big Mike. Who knew he knew what a helicopter was!! I credit Thomas the Train for this, because one of the characters is Harold the helicopter, who is kind of a snob. Mom's of boys, look out, you too will soon be able to recognize all the names and their characters too! There is Percy and Toby and Gordon- he's grumpy, and James...the list goes on! Here is Harold for your viewing pleasure- can't have a post without a picture!



If you are actually reading this, don't worry I am almost done. I do not just quiz Riley on words he can say, but also on where certain things are, for instance, "Riley, where is your nose?...or eyes?". He will respond to these two questions by either pointing to my eyes/nose, or his eyes/nose. This weekend I found out both of his grandmothers have been asking him "where is your hair?" and he pats the top of his 65th percentile head.

The other quiz we love to play is "where is...?"- the blank is filled in by whatever is on the pages in the book. Riley is still obsessed with books and he turns from page to page pointing at things and saying, "that?" (which sound more like "at") We respond by telling him what he is pointing too, whether it be the crab, dolphin, duck, bunny or pig. It is usually an animal. Then we will turn it around and say "what is that?", while pointing at the animal. Some things stick and some things don't. And don't get me wrong he does not always say these things. One day last week every animal he saw in the book was a duck!