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Kids/Parenting

Crazy talk

Hayden’s at the age where he learns new words every day. Here are some of the latest additions to his vocabulary:

With my parents and most of my sisters around all last week, I got called by my first name a lot more than normal—enough that Hayden started calling me “Dordee,” and especially “Mom—Mom—Dordee.” (Don’t worry, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing; today when I asked him what my name was, he said it was “Haydie.”)


Yesterday I went in to get him up from his nap and he was jumping in his crib. He looked at me and said “kay see” several times, then shook his head wildly.

Hayden and his upside down trick, 26 months

It took me a minute to figure out that he was saying “crazy.” Which is usually one of the first things I say to him when he wakes up in one of these (wonderful, entertaining) manic moods.


This morning, we were in the grocery store and I sad, “Oh man!” Hayden repeated his version, something between “Oh men!” and “Oh min!” And then he added something that—I swear—sounded like “Bite me.” No idea where that one came from.


Today we were sitting in my room and he started gathering up loose clothes and papers from around the room, stuffing them into an empty box. As he did so, he would burst out with “Eee op! Eee op!” Luckily, I know the words to that song: “Clean up.”


I worky!Hayden’s newest favorite hobby is a bit alarming to me. He hops up in front of any available computer, starts playing with the mouse and keyboard and proclaims “I worky!” He is very devoted to his profession (whatever that is; probably something as nebulous as mine).

I promise, I really don’t work that much while he’s awake. I’ve been a bit worse lately about working while he’s awake, with him so obsessed with Blue’s Clues and all, but this? This is dedication.

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Kids/Parenting

The guide to Haydenese

Y’know, I always looked a bit askance at the parents who could hear their child say something that didn’t apparently have any consonants and interpret that into a paragraph’s worth of meaning. Until Sunday night.

We had a big family get together this weekend for Easter dinner. Hayden was his usual, babbly self—but oddly enough, I found myself translating from “Haydenese” for his aunts and uncles. I sounded like one of “those” parents: “He said, ‘Sorry,'” and “He means, ‘Brown milk.’ You know, chocolate milk.”

Haydenese.  Veiled meanings abound.
Hayden. Veiled child. Veiled meanings.

Strange; doesn’t everyone spend 12 hours a day listening to my son talk?

Many of his words are recognizable, but since the rest of my family is coming to visit this weekend, I figured a guide to Haydenese would be useful, so I’m not the 24/7 on-call interpreter again.


Sour? Did you take a shower?/May I play in the shower?/May I please join you in the shower?
Dape Squeegee from my shower (possibly from ‘scrape’)
Maaaeeewww! Mail! Or newspaper.
Sah-ee Sorry
Hritch or hrits Fridge
Row (rhymes with “wow”) Brown, meaning brown milk/chocolate milk/chocolate syrup
Dates or days Thanks
Be Blanket (crucial to playing Night Night).
P A letter of the alphabet (any letter)
Eetee Itchy
Weedee Reading
Two Any number greater than one, another, both, two blankets
Yipe Wipe
Reet Reach
Cee May mean ceiling, especially if he’s just handed you a ball
Pan Fan (again, especially if he’s just handed you a ball)
Ba’ pa’ Back pack or Mickey Mouse
Morny Marty
A’morny! Good morning!
I habit? May I please have it?
Boose Blue’s Clues
Yuboo I love you.
Derediz There it is
Yuhwekuh or Ahwekuh You’re welcome (a new addition to his vocab!)

Anything I’ve missed?

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Kids/Parenting Fulfillment

Kids have the darndest timing

In last 6 weeks or so, Hayden has really started picking up two word phrases. “B’eh du (Bless you)” was the just first (well, after “Doo too (thank you)”). He’s since picked up sentences as advanced as “No wanna” (especially popular at bedtime), “You ohay?” and “Deriddis (There it is).”

But of course, my favorite of Hayden’s new sentences is “Wuh doo” or “Wub doo”—”Love you.” He’s gotten so used to saying it that when he walks off from me during the day, he will wave and say “Buh bye; wuh doo!”

Usually, however, Hayden saves his “wuh doos” to respond to Ryan and me when we first tell him that we love him. But today was different.

I was having a frustrating time with the computer—freezing programs, forgotten logins and just plain wrong security questions. For some reason, Hayden chose that time to insist that I “um on (come on).” When I asked what he wanted me to do, he threw a fit.

I lost my patience and lectured him that I was busy with something that was important and very frustrating. While he was initially very upset, he calmed himself down quickly. But there’s not much more pitiful than a two-year-old stoically wiping tears from his eyes with a huge pouty lip. Even as I was telling him that I was working on something important, I knew that the things I was doing on the computer weren’t really ‘important’; Hayden was.

I picked him up and apologized for yelling at him. I just rocked him for a few moments and he rested his head on my shoulder and patted my back.

Then Hayden sat up and looked at me. “Wuh doo,” he said, still just the slightest bit pitiful.

I love you, too, sweet boy.

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Kids/Parenting

All by myself

This morning I gave Hayden his breakfast at his new picnic table. He looked at the plate of cereal, then clasped his hands and closed his eyes.

“What are you doing, Hayden?” I thought he might be asking for some cheese, since his sign for cheese is similar to that.

He looked at me and made a show of closing his eyes again.

“Do you want to say a prayer?” I guessed. We always pray over dinner, but sadly I’m a lot less consistent with other meals, so this would be Hayden’s idea entirely.

Hayden nodded.

“Do you want me to say it?”

Hayden shook his head.

“Do you want any help saying it?”

Hayden shook his head and folded his arms. He launched headlong into about three seconds of gibberish, concluded with his trademark “Amin” and started in on his cereal.

Apparently someone’s doing something right around here. Must be his daddy.

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Kids/Parenting

The Haydicon

My sister asked for a list of Hayden’s words today. I feel like this is woefully lacking and I’m sure I’ve missed some of his best words, but here are the first forty or so words that I could think of.

waddy (water)
pih (pig, piggy bank)
buboo/bubble
dooce (juice)
Mommy
Daddy
dee tee (TV)
diddy/mao (kitty)
mar/mardy/marny (Marty)
nanee (candy)
muah (more)
nanoo/nanle (candle)
nai (light)
nainai (night night)
toy
boy
toey (toe)
Nana
Bapa/Papa
ba’ pa’ (backpack and Mickey Mouse—see the second pic in this post to see why these are the same word)
Howdowee?
du tu (thank you)
beh du (bless you)
p’eece (please)
wu du (love you; he’s only said this twice)
yeah
no
hi
byebye
doe (Joe on Blue’s Clues)
bu hu (Blue’s Clues)
khar (car with a very guttural ‘c’)
no (snow)
baby
Haydie
ow (ouch or don’t touch my toes)
up
down
ope (open)
hewp (help)

And a few words that he repeats well:
purple
aitch (H)
wet (white or red)
orange/orntch

Words I remembered later:
beddy (belly)
own (on)
my
nana (banana)
mea/mean/meat (meat)
apple
po (plug, pull, push)
knee
hat
sooss (shoes)
eye (eye, glasses, sunglasses)
mou (mouth)
nos (nose)
hair
ear
pishy/pissy (fish, goldfish cracker)
pear (prayer, pear)
amen/minnie (amen)
Deetah (Jesus)
hot
annie (Auntie)
coat (coat, cold)
uh oh

Categories
Kids/Parenting

Sometimes it really is just by example

We’ve been working for months on getting Hayden to say “please” and “thank you.” (“Please” was just a sign until a couple weeks ago, when he started saying “p’eece”!) He’s picked up the words and signs pretty well, but almost always has to be prompted to say “Please”—and by ‘prompted,’ I don’t mean asking “What do you say?” I mean telling him, “Say please.”

The few times he does spontaneously use please have usually been when I’ve said no to something he wants (or he thinks I’m saying no). Then it seems like he thinks “please” (which is done in perfect desperation) is a guarantee that he’ll get what he wants.

“Thank you” has (thankfully) met a bit more success. He’s come to understand that when someone gives him something, he should say “thank you” (or, for him “dootoo”). He also likes to thank me when he gives me something, but I’ll take it.

This morning, however, I discovered that he has one courtesy that I don’t remember teaching him. I may have told him this once or twice, but from what I recall, this is something he must have learned from example:

I sneezed. He said “b’eh doo.” For those of you not fluent in pretoddler (or Hayden), that’s “Bless you.” And this wasn’t just once; it was at least three times today.

I certainly feel blessed! 😉