Walkerisms

The obsession with cows continues. He wants to look at cows all the time. He is constantly mooing around the house...and it changes too. Currently it's a raspy "m" sound that cows make. :) He won't say "cow" but he will point to them and say their noise all day long. He points to cow, fish and duck correctly in his book. I wonder if he could point to them outside his book, if they looked different?

He seems to have adapted a new voice. He squeaks and squeals alot right now. He's also started "running" in place, scooby doo, style when he gets excited and just squealing at the top of his lungs...

I think he could live off of goldfish. Yesterday all he had for lunch was goldfish. He refused to eat anything else. He did have a healthier breakfast and a decent dinner, but for lunch it was goldfish.

We went to the Yellow River Game Ranch yesterday morning with Cliff's mom and sister. We had a good time. Walker especially liked the smaller animals that he could touch-bunnies, squirrels, etc... Too bad there were no cows there.

When he wants something that he doesn't know how to say the word for, he will bring it to you and say "dis" for "this". Sometimes it comes out more like "issss...."

Saturday he brought me the wrap around "car" that I've posted a picture of in the blog before. The thing that goes around his waist while he walks...it came out of hiding and he hadn't seen it in months, but he knew exactly what it was for. He tried his hardest to put it on himself and then brought it to me saying "dis" "dis" over and over until I finally put it on him. :)

Yesterday he also brought me his shoes and said "out-ide" I was floored. He's never said it that clearly before. He's said "out" or other shortened versions, but that was pretty close to the real thing! The thing about Walker though is he might say it once and then it will be forever before he says it again...if we even ever hear it again. He doesn't talk much at all...although just over the past 5 days or so, he's really picked up the pace on talking. He seems to be stringing out 3-4 new words a day right now.

He has a Blue's Clue chair he got for his birthday. Today he was sitting in it and we were talking while I was putting his shoe on. All of a sudden, he turned around and grabbed the attached "Blue" and said "Boo!" Didn't know he could say that either...

He definitely knows the words for anything in his daily environment...we just haven't heard him say them alot, so it still catches us off guard. He will retrieve anything we ask him to and even some things we don't...he may just hear us talking and a word he knows will come up, and he's off to get the "thing" that matches that word in his little world. It's adorable, really.

Today has been a challenge. Walker did better in the nursery this morning, but Judy was back. She wasn't there last week and he was brought to me before Sunday School was halfway over. We both ended up crying last Sunday. Since Judy was there today he made it all the way through Sunday School. She tried to leave at church time and he immediately started having a fit. She said she couldn't take it, so she stayed. It's good to have someone who loves your child that much. Fifteen minutes into service when they hadn't come for me, I looked back knowing her seat would be empty...and sure enough, it was. What a sweet, sweet soul. Anyway, he fell asleep on the way home and we transferred him to his bed where he slept until 3:00. He ate lunch when he woke up and played so sweetly all afternoon...then it was time to go back to church. I told him it was time to go to church and we had to leave. He picked up his dump truck and walked to the door. So, I let him take it, thinking it would maybe help. No such luck. Cliff was coming separate from me because he had been doing something with some guys from church and he wasn't there when we arrived. I had to leave Walker because I had Kids Time. Cliff got there and went in to rescue the workers b/c there were lots of babies tonight. Well, Walker was mad because he had to stay in the room and he cried pretty much the entire hour. Cliff said he'd go curl his finger tips in the crease of the door and just pull and pull trying to get it open. He still was crying when he came to me after church and pitched a MASSIVE fit when I took him away from his Uncle Stephen to go home. I walked out the door of the church with him kicking and screaming and reaching for his Uncle Stephen, with my tail between my legs...
He cried in the car until I started singing "I Love You Lord" which is the song I always use to get him to sleep on rough nights. He was fine after that and played in the yard while we waited on Daddy to pull in...about 2 minutes later. Then we came in and fed him dinner and he played like such a sweet boy afterwards, but before that he decided to throw his bowl on the floor. This is my fault for giving him a bowl. But, he's so interested in trying to use a spoon right now. He works very, very hard but he wants to do it the big boy way, so he wants his bowl too. I know he's got to learn and it's completely normal for them to be messy during this stage, but tonight just wasn't a good night for applesauce to go flying across my kitchen.

After dinner and play, we put him in the bath. I wasn't even finished bathing him when he climbed out of the tub. I don't think I've remembered to post about how he's learned to climb completely out by himself. I have no idea where this came from and since we are the only people who give him baths, I have to assume he created the idea on his own. He grabs my shoulder (I'm on the outside) and kicks his leg over. Before I even know what is happening the other leg is over and he's landing in my lap. Ugh...

Anyway, after bath he went back to being his incredibly sweet as sugar self. He brought me book after book after book. I'm so glad he loves to read. I love reading to him more than anything else because he actually will sit in my lap and let me love on him. At one point I told him it was time to get his socks on, get his milk and go to bed. He stood up, got another book, walked back to me and said "book!" So, we read one more and then I took him in his room.

I forgot to mentioned above, that after bath, we had a battle...all three of us, with the rain machine. I plugged it in while Cliff was drying him off. As soon as he heard it, he wriggled trying to get off the changing table. Once he was finally dressed and down he immediately ran to the plug and yanked it out. We went back and forth, back and forth and Cliff FINALLY won. He got him to actually try and put the thing back in...which he couldn't do, but he obeyed and this is progress. :) We didn't really want him to plug it in anyway, since we don't promote playing with outlets. We just wanted him to recognize who is boss...even if he doesn't always recognize it in other situations...

My sister in law (Crystal) called me neurotic. I'm not neurotic. :) We like to watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 together. I've been told on many occasions I'm alot like Kate. I think people give Kate too hard of a time. She has 8 kids, for crying out loud! I think she does pretty good to have 8 kids. Granted, I don't always agree with some of the things she says to her husband for the world to hear...but I do think that anyone who has 8 kids and balances life as well as she does, deserves a meltdown or two a day. HELLLO! (if you watch the show, you get that joke!) I'm not neurotic. Not many people could get away with a comment like that. My sister loves me though and I know she knows me alot better than most people...and maybe, just maybe sometimes she is partly right. When you are in someone's family, you really do see a different side of them than most people do. So, I'm a little neurotic. There have been worse things...

At the end of the night, when I put that little monkey to bed and he voluntarily gives me a kiss and then snuggles up with his crib friends the way he did tonight, I know that it's all worth it. Every last second of it...and I'd do it again and again and again...
But, if my friend Jenny responds to the email I sent her about Fed-Ex'ing Walker to her tonight, I just might do it. :)