Playing catch-up

Since I have not been keeping up with this blog, here are a handful of highlights from the past month or so.

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Sawyer’s really been talking a lot more. He was a little late catching the verbal train, but he’s working hard on catching up. It never ceases to amaze us when he comes out with some new word that he knows. And he’s really been stringing more words together into small sentences and observations.

Until recently, most of his words came after he was asked a question. But one night, it only took two words to melt my heart and tickle my funny bone.

Ray had brought Sawyer to my office so we could go downtown for a Halloween festival. He was dressed up in his fleece bat costume, and I walked down to the parking lot to meet them. I carried Sawyer up the stairs and put him down in the long hallway outside my office. We were walking along and he reached up and held my hand. (Something he never wants to do when asked … like in a parking lot.) I was a little surprised, but I thought maybe he felt unsure of where he was.

Ray was a few steps ahead of us when Sawyer called out, “Daddy. Hand.” He held up his other hand so that all three of us were walking together. It was so cute. I wish I had it on camera.

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We had Sawyer’s first parent-teacher conference back in October at preschool. It went well, and the teacher said lots of nice things about him and how well he was adjusting to the class. She had an evaluation form that she’d filled out that showed some of the characteristics and benchmarks Sawyer was hitting regularly.

The funny part was her written comment. “We think Sawyer knows his numbers. He reads off the carpool numbers when we walk down the hall.”

She told us that he commonly points out the numbers like she didn’t believe that he really knew them.

But it’s true. He knows his numbers up to like 15. He says them all the time.

We’ll be rolling through the grocery store or pull up beside a gas station and he reads out all the numbers.

Occasionally, out of nowhere, he’ll say, “8,9, 10. Go,” and then he’ll take off running. I have no clue where he picked that up.

I can’t possibly do his pronunciation of them justice; it’s too cute … so I’ll just say that lucky number “fefen” is my new favorite number.

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In addition to his numbers, Sawyer also knows the alphabet. I would love to take credit, but I think he picked most of it up from Sesame Street. I have encouraged it, and I figure my quizzing, prodding and praise have cemented his love of reciting the letters.

We pass by McDonald’s and “M” comes from the back seat. We have a gas station here called Kangaroo and the sign has a giant “K.” He says that every time we see it.

He can even read them backwards (like the sign at Wendy’s that he read to me one day … E. A. T. … We were inside but the letters faced outside) … and upside down (like on the Target shopping cart handle … which says Thank You).

One of the funniest times came when we were in line at CVS. I had stopped to pick up some medicine for him and he was running wild through the store. He refuses to ride in a shopping cart, so I thought I would pick up a couple items and just let him walk, but of course, he wouldn’t stand near me.

I gave him some freedom as long as he wasn’t destroying anything, running into anyone or getting too far away from me.

I was so thankful that the huge rack of batteries by the register kept his attention.

He stood by it reading every tag … “C. D. A.A.A.”

By the time he’d gone through every type of battery, I had checked out and was ready to go.

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He's been on a huge train kick for a couple months, so I'm busy planning his birthday party around "too-too tains." He's spent hours playing with my brother's old train tracks at Grandmother's house. 

But his newest obsession is one I could not have predicted. I was in a kids consignment store a month or so ago and found two Christmas DVDs for just a couple bucks. I felt sure he'd love "Elmo Saves Christmas" with as much as Elmo (formerly Melmo) is adored and revered at our house. 

The other video was "Frosty the Snowman," the version that I watched as a kid (and come to find out a newer, not very good version called "Frosty Returns.") I pulled it out last week when Sawyer and I were both sick and I couldn't stand another Elmo video.

He is now OBSESSED with Frosty the Snowman. Everywhere we go, he sees "Foffy Mo-man."

At Walgreens today, they had a huge display of snowmen. He walked in and his eyes lit up: "Foffy Mo-man. Foffy Mo-man. Foffymomanfoffymomanfoffymoman." He pointed to and called every one by name, though it probably wasn't a name anyone other than I would've understood.

Pops was trying to teach him to say Fros-TEE, and he can do it if he thinks about it. So I had to capture "Foffy" on video before he learns the right way.