Duck's progress.....

I guess it's about that time again. Time for a full Duck update.

I'll start by saying that he's all but dropped sign language completely. He only consistently signs "all done" and even then it's only when he's on the potty or in his high chair. I started working on dropping the thank you sign a few months ago. I wanted him to say it rather than sign and say it. So, I cruelly held his hands down. He finally just started saying it. Of course, he's picked up BOWING while saying thank you. (yes, thank you Oobi!) And he'll sign "more" when he wants more and we're saying no.

He started school on August 18th and started riding the bus from school to the sitter's on September 2nd. The bus ride is very smooth and SHORT. The sitter lives about 0.25 miles from the school. Basically two turns and he's there. The big "developmental" news here is that every day as they round the corner, Duck starts saying "eesa, eesa" because he knows he's going to see his friend (sitter's daughter).

He's following two-step directions fairly easily now. Only if they're directions that he's familiar ith, though. Like "get your shoes and bring to mom".

Juice is joos, water is wa-wa, but milk is cup or cuppy. The important thing there is that he's distinguishing the three AND asking for each individually.

Everything in a wrapper is a "cookie" which did cause confusion at school for a while because I send a NutriPals bar in his lunch every day just in case he refuses to eat lunch. He LOVES KitKats, though. He even knows that the mini ones come with two bars. The cool thing about that is it's helping with counting! Whatever it takes right?

He has so many words now. I wish I could think of all the new ones, but I'm sure I'd miss 2 or 10. He hasn't lost any verbal words, just signs.

Phrases and Words that I can think of on 4 hours of sleep....will explain that in a minute:
hep me (help me)
i tuc (i stuck)
pobby (potty)
poop
pee
doggie
mee-mee (the pacifier---more on that in a minute too)

First, the mee-mee issue. I had the damn thing almost gone, definitely a nap and bedtime thing only. And even then, if he was at the sitter's, he wasn't getting it at nap time. But then he had to go and NAME IT. He walks through the house saying "meeeee-meeee, air ar ou?" like a mom looking for a hiding child. Once he finds it, it's as if they're long lost pals who haven't seen each other in YEARS (when in reality it's probably been 20 minutes). I have, however, taken to throwing some away.

Last night, Duck walked into our bedroom at 1:00. I'd been in bed since about 9:30. He was WIDE awake and chatty. E took him for a while, but then he came back in when the tv shut off. I yelled at E to come back and get him. He put him back in bed....10 minutes later, E's PASSED OUT snoring and Duck's opening our bedroom door again. Somebody didn't put the door knob cover on again. So, I've been up since about 1 a.m.....fully since 3, though.

He's potty-training pretty well. Good days and bad. He will poop on the potty more readily than pee. We at least get notified he has to poop, he tells us AFTER the fact with pee. We've taken to giving mini M&Ms if he uses the potty. And I have to tell you, I like not having to clean his entire rear end from a poopy diaper.

I think the biggest proof of his language finally starting to try to become more cohesive and understandable is the other night he said a bit of jibberish, then doggie, jibberish, then mee-mee, and more jibberish. I was so proud.