Friday, August 17, 2012
Onrush of Words
I've noticed a few times now that when Daniel is trying to tell somebody (like his Grandparents or Mike) a story, his mind is working a lot faster than his ability with words can keep up with. The result is a rush of words: "Playing... huh-huh... Purple... huh... we made mistake!" It's like an avalanche of thought that is outpacing the words he knows.
Bathtub Terror
Daniel has developed a full-blown terror about getting his hair washed and rinsed in the bathtub. He cannot be talked into it, and when we go to rinse him (anyway), he erupts in hytsertical shrieks, screams and scream-growls. Right now, hair washing is almost impossible, and he gets completely traumatized. This is not a "butting heads" or disagreement-style trauma, but a flown blown terror.
I don't know why he has developed this phobia. I know when we were at the Apex center, swimming in the wading pool, he fell off my back and went underwater, and when I pulled him up from underwater, he was completely hysterical (then Christy took him, to calm him, and a bucket of water fell on both their heads, reigniting his terror). Another reason might be that the shampoo is hurting his eyes, but I think Christy is not using an irritating shampoo. It's pretty rough right now, no matter what the reason is.
I don't know why he has developed this phobia. I know when we were at the Apex center, swimming in the wading pool, he fell off my back and went underwater, and when I pulled him up from underwater, he was completely hysterical (then Christy took him, to calm him, and a bucket of water fell on both their heads, reigniting his terror). Another reason might be that the shampoo is hurting his eyes, but I think Christy is not using an irritating shampoo. It's pretty rough right now, no matter what the reason is.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Camping: Pretend Play
We just returned from a 3-night camping trip in State Forest State Park. I wanted to note some of Daniel's pretend play:
"Is there anything else, Mommy?" aka Making a Combo
This game started as a version of "Ding-dong. Can I come in to <fast food restaurant>?" In the game, Daniel asks me to place an order (often a "combo" meal of some kind). He leaves to make the meal, returns, and asks if there's anything else I need. If I request something he might like (cookie, ice cream, french fries), he often adds one for himself to the order. The playhouse at the KOA playground served as Daniel's restaurant. He took my order (I would sit on a nearby slide) then retreated to the playhouse. He would make the food by banging on the plastic slide from inside the house.
In the Car
When I hold Daniel or wrap my arms around him while he's standing in front of him, he sometimes tells me he wants to get out of the car. So, I'll open my arms, he steps away, and "closes" the door by folding my arms in my lap. Then, he gets back in by tugging my arms open and stepping into them. He likes me to rock/bounce/sing while we're "driving". Then, he'll get out and repeat.
Toward the end of our camping trip, Daniel learned the word 'occupied' which I used in context of a bathroom being occupied and preventing us from using it. He incorporated it into the car game by announcing that we were at Daniel's house, getting out of the car, then say "This isn't Daniel's house! This is Occupied!" Sometimes he pronounced 'occupied' like "Occupiers". Then he would get back in the car and try again to drive to Daniel's house.
Making Ice Cream
Daniel decided that the vestibule at the front of the tent was an ideal place to make ice cream. He would ask if I wanted some ice cream and walk to the corner. Then he would turn around and hand me my ice cream. If I asked what flavor it was, he would answer "chocolate and buh-nilla".
Hammering
Daniel loves tools, especially hammers. While we were putting up and taking down the tent, he loved using the big hammer to knock on the wooden edge surrounding the tent pad. He would also use a "little hammer" or "drinking straw" (tent stake) to hammer the tent, tent poles, other hammers.
"Is there anything else, Mommy?" aka Making a Combo
This game started as a version of "Ding-dong. Can I come in to <fast food restaurant>?" In the game, Daniel asks me to place an order (often a "combo" meal of some kind). He leaves to make the meal, returns, and asks if there's anything else I need. If I request something he might like (cookie, ice cream, french fries), he often adds one for himself to the order. The playhouse at the KOA playground served as Daniel's restaurant. He took my order (I would sit on a nearby slide) then retreated to the playhouse. He would make the food by banging on the plastic slide from inside the house.
In the Car
When I hold Daniel or wrap my arms around him while he's standing in front of him, he sometimes tells me he wants to get out of the car. So, I'll open my arms, he steps away, and "closes" the door by folding my arms in my lap. Then, he gets back in by tugging my arms open and stepping into them. He likes me to rock/bounce/sing while we're "driving". Then, he'll get out and repeat.
Toward the end of our camping trip, Daniel learned the word 'occupied' which I used in context of a bathroom being occupied and preventing us from using it. He incorporated it into the car game by announcing that we were at Daniel's house, getting out of the car, then say "This isn't Daniel's house! This is Occupied!" Sometimes he pronounced 'occupied' like "Occupiers". Then he would get back in the car and try again to drive to Daniel's house.
Making Ice Cream
Daniel decided that the vestibule at the front of the tent was an ideal place to make ice cream. He would ask if I wanted some ice cream and walk to the corner. Then he would turn around and hand me my ice cream. If I asked what flavor it was, he would answer "chocolate and buh-nilla".
Hammering
Daniel loves tools, especially hammers. While we were putting up and taking down the tent, he loved using the big hammer to knock on the wooden edge surrounding the tent pad. He would also use a "little hammer" or "drinking straw" (tent stake) to hammer the tent, tent poles, other hammers.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Daniel's Secret Language
Daniel has been amusing himself lately with made-up words, like he is creating his own language. If I ask him a question, he likes to answer back in gibberish, which amuses him to no end. Here's an example exchange:
"What color smilely face sticker would you like for your chart?"
"...poo-pai."
"That's not a word. What color?"
"...anrachni."
"What color?"
"...gee-so-goo."
He used to be able to tell me the color he wanted, just fine. Now it's more fun to tell me made-up words.
"What color smilely face sticker would you like for your chart?"
"...poo-pai."
"That's not a word. What color?"
"...anrachni."
"What color?"
"...gee-so-goo."
He used to be able to tell me the color he wanted, just fine. Now it's more fun to tell me made-up words.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Daniel Recollects
Daniel is now able to tell us about his recollections if we ask him. I noticed today that when Pappy Craig came over, and asked him about our Portland trip, Daniel started to tell him about the trip. The details were idiosyncratic, something that only Daniel or us would understand, but I knew he was relating events from the trip. "We go in orange car [the rental car]... go to the 'H' room [the Holiday Inn Express]..."
Monday, August 6, 2012
Daniel-isms Part 3
- Blue Dog = Mickey Mouse's loyal companion, Pluto
- Penny o'Pooh = Winnie-the-Pooh
- Cah-ra-dio dance = karate class (see "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" for context)
- Gramma Neese = Grandma Denise
- Ackria = Acura (Daniel is adept at identifying makes of cars by their logos)
- <Car Company> House = dealership, for instance "Volvo House"
- "I think it might be..." or "Looks like it's..." = phrase preceding answer to a question, even answers he's certain of
- Light swish = light switch
- Squirmy bottle = squirt bottle, he's corrected his pronunciation now but I was fond of the "squirmy bottles"
- Swish = Nike Swoosh
- Zoot-case = suitcase
- Buh-nilla = vanilla
Daniel: Boo-bah
Daddy: Boo-bah?
Daniel: NO Boo-bah!
After a brief hiatus, Daniel has started singing again. He tends to sing somewhat under his breath so it can be tricky to determine if he's talking or singing to himself. Current favorites are:
- Winnie-the-Pooh (see above for Daniel pronunciation)
- I've Been Working on the Railroad (loves the "Fee-fie-fiddly-i-o" bit)
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme ("M-I-C-K-E-Y...M-O-U-S-E")
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Potty Humor
In Portland, we saw a restaurant called Steamers that specialized in dumplings. Jarl and I chuckled about the inappropriateness of the phrase "steamer dump". Daniel quickly picked up on it and gleefully chanting "steamer dump steamer dump steamer dump" and reducing his parents to helpless giggles. At random points in the trip, Daniel revisited the "steamer dump" joke.
Daniel isn't fond of diaper changes these days especially if it means cleaning up poopy. At some point, we changed a diaper after a bout of gas and said something like "oh! no poop, just gas". Now when Daniel has gas or poops, he announces that it is "not poop, just gas". He repeats frequently even after you've acknowledged the statement. He seems to intuit that the phrase is not intended for polite company.
Daniel isn't fond of diaper changes these days especially if it means cleaning up poopy. At some point, we changed a diaper after a bout of gas and said something like "oh! no poop, just gas". Now when Daniel has gas or poops, he announces that it is "not poop, just gas". He repeats frequently even after you've acknowledged the statement. He seems to intuit that the phrase is not intended for polite company.
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