Bird is the word. . .

I recently got into a discussion with a fellow blogger about toddler words. It got me thinking about the whole words thing. Many people have asked what Skippy Jr's first word was. My answer is normally "define word." Most resources I've seen exclude "mama" and "dada" as words so there goes the obvious. And even at almost 19 months I don't know that I'd consider anything my son says to be real words.

I did read once that a "word" is a sound he makes (or I guess a sign) that you can tell what he means. However, if we aren't around, someone new is watching him, they won't know what he means so where does it become words?

To that end, here are a few things my son says that I don't count as words.

• He signs "eat" and "more," his first signs, but he has yet to say either word. He uses them to communicate but doesn't say them. His new signs (help, please, bed) are accompanied by sounds, not clear sounds, but I guess I can count them.
• When he sees a monkey he scratches his armpits and goes "ooh ooh ee ee." We know that is how he says monkey, but I wouldn't count that as a word. Nor would I count when he put his hand on his nose, tilts his head back, and squeals to say "elephant."
• He has started calling his diaper "budgie." We have no idea why. He used to say "die-pah" and then switched to "budgie." No point.
• He loves the Eric Hutchenson song "Rock and Roll." It's on the radio a lot and my wife has the CD in her car. He asks to hear it often. He'll point to the radio and say "rock." But the radio is not a rock and if you show him a rock he doesn't know what it is. I don't really count that.
• Of course I already mentioned "mama" and "dada." Also "paw-paw" and "maw-maw." All words I don't count.

Maybe I'm being to hard on him. He's able to communicate his wants and needs to me and my wife, which is all that really matters right? Does it matter which was first or how many he has? He is learning fast, fast enough for me anyway.

Parents sucks. . .

Even before our son was born offers for baby and kid related items began to flood our mailbox. Though we ignore most of them some actually caught our attention. One was an unbeatable price to subscribe to Parents, a magazine written for, presumably, parents.

An issue or two in, I quickly learned that it should be more realistically titled Mothers. Make-up tips and fashion articles are normally targeted more towards the female half of the parenting equation. OK fine so they skew more female, I'm sure it helps them with advertisers. I get that. I don't mind skipping over the tips about dealing with your period while chasing a toddler around.

The I read a little side bar with a seemingly innocent statement about Kangaroo Care. The sidebar recommended that mothers place their child naked on their chest to promote sleep, growth, and bonding.

Kangaroo care is a great thing. . . that can be done by anyone who has skin. I learned about it before our son was born and about the benefits not only for preterm babies, but babies in general. I spent the first month or so making sure my son got just as much skin-to-ckin contact with me and with his mother. It helped me bond with him and made me less jealous of the time she spent touching him instead of me.

In fact I would say that ordinary kangaroo care is better done by the dad to give mom a break between feedings (if you're nursing).

Anyway, this and a couple other places where the magazine has started using the word "mom" or "mother" instead of parents are actively pushing the dads out of the picture. Plus it's sexist to assume that the mom is the primary parent. Sexist for women and men. Parents sucks. I almost wish we hadn't gotten 3 years for that insanely low rate.

It's a repeat. . .

My wife has pointed out that apparently last year at this time my son actually discovered his penis. He didn't see it but he grabbed it. I'm begging to repeat myself.

Happy Mother's Day. . .

Happy mother's day, from your stinky boys.

I do, I do. . .

Skippy Jr's two new favorite word. . . I do. Whether wanting to spoon feed himself yogurt, blow his own bubbles or change the channel to something he wants, EVERYTHING is done while saying "I do."

But just saying "I do once" isn't enough. He has to chant it over and over until you let him do it and even then he still mutters it while he does whatever it is he wanted to do.

Brushing his teeth is a big part of "I do," though he doesn't do it well. So is pushing the garage door button, filling his cup with water, getting snacks and cookies from the bag, opening the string cheese, breaking off pieces of the string cheese. It wouldn't be so bad, but most of the things he can't actually do.

I suppose this is just the first bit of independence. One more sign that we're in trouble.

Skippy Jr. Junior. . .

I couldn't be more proud. Last night, in the tub, my son discovered his penis. He's grabbed it before but only for a second. Last night, he grabbed it, looked down at it, and examined it with great curiosity. He's now started his life long friendship with his John Thomas.

My wife was horrified.

Who's a good boy?. . .

I find myself talking to my son like a dog sometimes. I'm sure that's normal. He's learned to ask to "wok" when he wants us to put him down. And most days the two of us take a little walk up and down our street. I find myself wanting to teach him to heel. . . I suppose holding his hand will have to do for now. I refuse to get a leash for my kid.

The praise "good boy" has been uttered by my wife more than once.

Of course he reacts like a dog sometimes too. When I ask him if he'd like to go for a walk he yells "wok" (like a bark) and gets excited. When I ask him if he wants a cookie (treat) he runs to the cabinet where we keep the cookies. He runs to the window when he hears a truck coming down the street. He even listens for other dogs and often barks back.

I suppose on the bright side he's stopped most of his chewing on everything and I've never seen him rub his butt across the carpet.