Walking Down Memory Lane

2 1/2 years old

My little hunter! For my own memory, I wanted to jot down a few sayings from the past months. The mind so easily forgets...unfortunately. The first year of life makes every parent proud with so many developmental stages. Then the vocal stages begin and this to me says so much more about personality!!! So, forgive me as I try and recap a few of his sayings!

• Back in December his uncles taught him to say..."hey baby, I need a pow-pow". Pow-pow is a word he acquired from his Spanish friend, Armondito. To translate, it means 'spanking'!
• Yesterday, he tried to tell daddy and Uncle "Urn" (Aaron) about how mommy pulled over the car and gave him a 'big pow-pow'. He had a long story to go with it. I wish I could of heard him tell it. He always tells about his spankings to Nathan or I! At least they are making some sort of impression!
• Whenever he has hurt himself or he is telling about his spankings he'll make a little sound (as if he's trying to be tough) and then say, "hurt bad".
• "burg-cheese" (cheese burger)....I'll never forget when we told him we were going to eat a hamburger - he stuck his finger in his nose and said, 'ewwww'! I guess he thought we were going to feed him his boogers! Poor kid!
• Most kids love McDonald's but not Kaleb...every time we pass his favorite place, Sonic, he says,"burg-cheese". Last October we went on a road trip and in the early morning hours (about 4 am), Kaleb managed to see the unlit signs of Sonic! Our mission was then to find an open Sonic for his burg-cheese!!!
• "hope" (help and open)...most of the time used when he needs me to open something.
• He can count to 10 without problems but then counts by 2's (I guess eleven, thirteen, etc. are hard for him to say!)
• He loves colors right now. "Momma, rainbow song, do it." Then when I finish, "daddy, do it". When he wants a drink, he says, 'geen (green) juice." This refers to the color of cup he wants for his juice. Lately he has wanted his purple gum...however, the gum is pink! He's working on those colors!
• Night time brings on fun with daddy..."westle, daddy". Wrestling has become a favorite activity with dad.
• "Pants on, shoes on, socks on." Kaleb loves to get dressed in the morning...he is adamant about choosing his clothes and shoes. If I choose something he doesn't like he can get whiny! Most mornings he brings his clothes he has picked out to me, including his diaper!
• He loves his shoes and he makes sure everyone sees them! His new red boots have been attached to his feet since last weekend.
• He also likes to tell me what he wants for breakfast. His normal choice is 'hot cer'al' (hot cereal). Lunch choice is a 'cheese san'-winch'. He has started asking for 'meat and cheese'!
• Recently he asked for a "tor'-tia". He realized the ending was 'tia' which he calls his aunt Erin. He said 'tor-tia' a couple of times and then started saying, "tor-nana, tor-papa, tor-daddy, tor-mommy...." He went through everyone in the family with the prefix tor-! Absolutely hilarious!
• Daddy has taught him how to give back rubs...he is pretty liberal with these! He'll get in my office chair with me and say, 'back rub mommy?" Great guy in training!
• His please has gotten pretty southern sounding...he draws it out... 'paw-leaze!
• "shoot the gun...ducks, deer, elk, geese,.." He normally is looking out our back door at the deer feeder with gun in hand rattling off all the things he can see from his point of view. Daddy has been teaching him gun safety...so, we only shoot outside at critters and animals!
• Kaleb loves horses...his favorite is "Piky". "Ride Piky momma, paw-leaze". Nana and Papa's new stables are one of his favorite places to go.
• "No way not" and 'no way not, Jose" are a few funny comments when we ask him something!
• Kaleb loves to show me his accomplishments...'sow you mommy'.
• He has now gotten to the point in the car when he tells us he is 'tired'! We'll tell him to close his eyes and before long he is asleep!
• "top-it"(stop it)
• He bumped into me the other day and said, 'sorry, mama, sorry'. How sweet is that! He has been saying it more often if he realizes he has hurt you.
• I love you is..."e-you". This is my favorite. He has been saying this one forever and he hasn't grown too big to stop saying it yet!

I have loved watching him go from single words to now forming sentences...such an awesome stage. I guess there is no way to recap every thing he says because his vocabulary has gotten quite large. What really interest me is...although Kaleb doesn't speak many words in Spanish he completely responds and obeys whatever his Spanish babysitter tells him. It is fun to watch him play with his Spanish friends who only speak their language to him.

2 years old