I suppose that I should be playing more and more children's songs for Jamey, but most of his favorites are songs on the radio. After discussing music with Jamey yesterday, he and I put together a play list and why he chose those songs. Just like any other famous person:
1. "Bad Romance" from Lady Gaga: Jamey refers to it as Gaga, and bounces to the beat. There is no other reason, other than it has a great beat!
2. "Baby are you down" from Jay Sean: This song greatly features one of Jamey's favorite words-- down.
3. "Three" from Britney Spears: I don't like this choice, personally, but Jamey loves the part where they sing numbers.
4. "Blah blah Blah" from Kesha: Another one that I don't like, but Jamey loves saying "blah blah blah" and I love it when he says this, so.... okay.
5. "Amboss" from our German dance group: This dance usually leads Jamey to ride on Glenn's shoulders, so he likes it.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Oxford Edition of the Jamey Lexicon
Wow, I am guilty of not updating in quite a while. Inspired by the requests of a number of people to keep writing on my blog, I have decided that I need to keep a record here for myself, of Jamey's funny moments and growth.
As many may know, Jamey's first word (beyond Mama and Dada) was "dog", although we don't have one. That was in July and in the past six months, his vocabulary has ballooned out of control. He is now our little parrot, repeating the last word of a sentence, whether it be "butt", "dying", or "why". I realize, however, that the majority of what Jamey says is a mystery to anyone beyond Glenn and I. At times, it is the difference of a stressed syllable to show what he is saying. A little bit like Chinese.
Also contributing to the confusion is Jamey's occasional mix of German and English. Thus, I have created a dictionary of common Jamey words that may be mistaken.
-"angle"= triangle
-"dadot"= square; Jamey uses part of the German word "quadrat" for square
-"arnch"= orange
-"Gaga"= Jamey is requesting to hear Lady Gaga
-"adown"= up or down, based on the context
-"eye"= drei, the number three in German
-"un" = one
-"Monsher"= Monster, more specifically the name Jamey has Glenn's Ipod Touch
-"daw"= draw, Jamey wants to color
-"Monca" or "Monga" = Monica, which he seems to say every time I get on the phone, like I am always calling Monica
-"hummer"= hammer; usually this means he wants to hear the hammer song from our dance group
-"Bubby"= Jamey wants to play with his toy Bugsby
-"oh"= show
-"Namey"= Jamey; this is what he calls himself
-"mink"= pink
-"ite"= white
These are only a few of the many words that he says. Some are simple sounds, like when he makes a horse noise, meaning he wants to hear the song used with the horsey dance in our dance group.
He also has a one-word name for almost every book he has, and he loves them all. From "Bar" which is any book featuring a bear to "Em", which for some reason is the book "What Does Baby Do" to "Bubar" which is "Are you by Mother", he knows what book he wants without even seeing the cover.
The latest revelation is his ability to recognize letters. Through various toys which have age limits 3-5 (and many of which he got from Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Jim), Jamey has been encountering his letters left and right. I am guessing this is how, he can now identify at least 23 letters of the alphabet and name them. Every day he points more and more at letters on tshirts and signs, and every day I am still shocked by it.
As many may know, Jamey's first word (beyond Mama and Dada) was "dog", although we don't have one. That was in July and in the past six months, his vocabulary has ballooned out of control. He is now our little parrot, repeating the last word of a sentence, whether it be "butt", "dying", or "why". I realize, however, that the majority of what Jamey says is a mystery to anyone beyond Glenn and I. At times, it is the difference of a stressed syllable to show what he is saying. A little bit like Chinese.
Also contributing to the confusion is Jamey's occasional mix of German and English. Thus, I have created a dictionary of common Jamey words that may be mistaken.
-"angle"= triangle
-"dadot"= square; Jamey uses part of the German word "quadrat" for square
-"arnch"= orange
-"Gaga"= Jamey is requesting to hear Lady Gaga
-"adown"= up or down, based on the context
-"eye"= drei, the number three in German
-"un" = one
-"Monsher"= Monster, more specifically the name Jamey has Glenn's Ipod Touch
-"daw"= draw, Jamey wants to color
-"Monca" or "Monga" = Monica, which he seems to say every time I get on the phone, like I am always calling Monica
-"hummer"= hammer; usually this means he wants to hear the hammer song from our dance group
-"Bubby"= Jamey wants to play with his toy Bugsby
-"oh"= show
-"Namey"= Jamey; this is what he calls himself
-"mink"= pink
-"ite"= white
These are only a few of the many words that he says. Some are simple sounds, like when he makes a horse noise, meaning he wants to hear the song used with the horsey dance in our dance group.
He also has a one-word name for almost every book he has, and he loves them all. From "Bar" which is any book featuring a bear to "Em", which for some reason is the book "What Does Baby Do" to "Bubar" which is "Are you by Mother", he knows what book he wants without even seeing the cover.
The latest revelation is his ability to recognize letters. Through various toys which have age limits 3-5 (and many of which he got from Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Jim), Jamey has been encountering his letters left and right. I am guessing this is how, he can now identify at least 23 letters of the alphabet and name them. Every day he points more and more at letters on tshirts and signs, and every day I am still shocked by it.
Monday, January 25, 2010
These are a few of my favorite things....
I must apologize that it has been far too long that since I have posted here. I must admit, it is so simple to post on Facebook-- anything from videos to status updates. But really, neither of those things does the justice that a post really does. It can't describe the hilarious stories that Jamey brings.
Thus, two months after my last post, I wanted to fill you in on a few of my favorite "Jamey things..."
-Jamey kisses: Every night, after I rock Jamey in his chair for a few minutes, I stand up to lay him in his bed. Although he is usually half asleep on my shoulder, he picks his head up, puckers up, and kisses me lightly on the lips. Then he lies his head back down on my shoulder and goes back to sleep. I think this must be my most favorite of all favorite things because I don't ask for it. It is a completely Jamey-prompted moment.
-Jamey reading books: Okay, so Jamey can't READ books, but you wouldn't know it from watching him. He will pick up a book and sit with it in his hands. His eyes will go back and forth, as though he is taking in the words. He will flip the pages. Everything anyone else might do.
He will often also hand a book to me to read, but he doesn't want me to read it TO him. He wants me to read while he reads. That is, until he is done with his book, and then he steals mine and gives me his.
The coolest part about Jamey's reading is when he knows the book so well that he can say phrases of it. The other day, he picked up "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" from Eric Carle and just started saying, "Brown bear, brown bear, brown bear, brown bear..." over and over.
-Jamey's Denglisch- As Jamey learns both German and English, a few things get caught in the middle. This is very normal, and I must say, also very cute. When you ask him what a rooster says, he will tell you-- "Kikiriki", which is what they say in German. When you start to play Peekaboo, you may notice he says "Guck guck" instead. For him, this is right. Here is a little Denglisch demonstration.
-Jamey and Friends- Jamey is really starting to get to know people now and lights up when he gets to see his friends. Last week, as Glenn and Jamey started to walk to the park, Jamey suddenly derailed and wanted to go to Jaeda's house, the little girl who lives two doors down. She is only 5 months older than Jamey and they get along great. At practice the other night, I was in a back room with Jamey and spied Monica in the main room. I said to Jamey, "I think Christopher is here!" He immediately swivelled his head around, searching the room. I asked him, "Do you want to go see Christopher?" and he gave a loud "YEAH!" And off he ran. Once he had spotted Monica and Christopher, his run turned into as much of a sprint as Jamey can do.
-Jamey and Ipod Touch- Glenn loaded a few apps on his Ipod Touch that Jamey would be able to use-- kids' games that let him touch the screen without fear of ruining an app. He has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. Here you can see he knows pretty well what to do. It makes him seem even older when he sits on the couch with the Ipod in his two hands.
Sure, Jamey is starting to show off his temper and starting to fuss more, but it is still the funny things that hold my attention the longest. We have had 2 time outs, which seemed to have worked some. He is also getting into anything and everything, trying to put the littlest things in the most inconvenient places-- namely, behind the couch. We still have to rescue his James train from back there, as he wanted to see if it could drive up and down the wall. Oops.
Thus, two months after my last post, I wanted to fill you in on a few of my favorite "Jamey things..."
-Jamey kisses: Every night, after I rock Jamey in his chair for a few minutes, I stand up to lay him in his bed. Although he is usually half asleep on my shoulder, he picks his head up, puckers up, and kisses me lightly on the lips. Then he lies his head back down on my shoulder and goes back to sleep. I think this must be my most favorite of all favorite things because I don't ask for it. It is a completely Jamey-prompted moment.
-Jamey reading books: Okay, so Jamey can't READ books, but you wouldn't know it from watching him. He will pick up a book and sit with it in his hands. His eyes will go back and forth, as though he is taking in the words. He will flip the pages. Everything anyone else might do.
He will often also hand a book to me to read, but he doesn't want me to read it TO him. He wants me to read while he reads. That is, until he is done with his book, and then he steals mine and gives me his.
The coolest part about Jamey's reading is when he knows the book so well that he can say phrases of it. The other day, he picked up "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" from Eric Carle and just started saying, "Brown bear, brown bear, brown bear, brown bear..." over and over.
-Jamey's Denglisch- As Jamey learns both German and English, a few things get caught in the middle. This is very normal, and I must say, also very cute. When you ask him what a rooster says, he will tell you-- "Kikiriki", which is what they say in German. When you start to play Peekaboo, you may notice he says "Guck guck" instead. For him, this is right. Here is a little Denglisch demonstration.
-Jamey and Friends- Jamey is really starting to get to know people now and lights up when he gets to see his friends. Last week, as Glenn and Jamey started to walk to the park, Jamey suddenly derailed and wanted to go to Jaeda's house, the little girl who lives two doors down. She is only 5 months older than Jamey and they get along great. At practice the other night, I was in a back room with Jamey and spied Monica in the main room. I said to Jamey, "I think Christopher is here!" He immediately swivelled his head around, searching the room. I asked him, "Do you want to go see Christopher?" and he gave a loud "YEAH!" And off he ran. Once he had spotted Monica and Christopher, his run turned into as much of a sprint as Jamey can do.
-Jamey and Ipod Touch- Glenn loaded a few apps on his Ipod Touch that Jamey would be able to use-- kids' games that let him touch the screen without fear of ruining an app. He has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. Here you can see he knows pretty well what to do. It makes him seem even older when he sits on the couch with the Ipod in his two hands.
Sure, Jamey is starting to show off his temper and starting to fuss more, but it is still the funny things that hold my attention the longest. We have had 2 time outs, which seemed to have worked some. He is also getting into anything and everything, trying to put the littlest things in the most inconvenient places-- namely, behind the couch. We still have to rescue his James train from back there, as he wanted to see if it could drive up and down the wall. Oops.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Our little Plattler
For those of you who said it couldn't be done.... well, there actually aren't any of those, but anyway.... we are beginning to see that Jamey is understanding us in German as well as English. We ask him to do things like "Drum" or "Point to a tree", and he does it. I can ask him in German "Where is ...." and he points to it, no problem. And lastly, we see that he uses the same hand sign for Please whether we speak to him in German or in English, showing us that he understands that it means both Bitte and Please.
To up his Germanic type influence, he is beginning to do some our group dances. Keep in mind he gets no instruction, but that hardly matters. Just look at Christopher dance and that will tell you. Let me preface this story by saying that in our group, we do a dance called "The Miner's Dance." In it, our men are all carrying small hammer and chisels. The setting for the dance is a salt mine and throughout the dance, the guys make music using their hammer and chisels and tapping them together.
So, the other day, I was sitting on the couch when Jamey came to me and began making the sign for "Please." This usually means he wants me to do something. I looked around to try and figure out what he wanted, but there were no clues to be seen. Then I noticed that he had a toy hammer and screwdriver in his hand. On a whim, I began to sing the Miner's Dance song. His face lit up and he began to tap them together and move in a circle. At times, he would put down the tools and begin to plattl, slapping his hands against his thighs, just like Daddy. It truly is amazing to watch him begin to dance just through observation! Here is his performance.
Jamey's New Desk
In the past two weeks, Jamey has had an endless stream of visitors. First, it was Grandma V, Granddad and Aunt Gini, who had never met him before. Then, the day they left, Aunt Lindsay came to visit, armed with some gifts for Jamey.
As Lindsay's boys have gotten older, they have begun to give away their old things. Ben, her youngest, decided that Jamey might like his old Buzz Lightyear desk for his room. And like it, he certainly did. The moment he saw it, he walked over and climbed up into it. He would drag a book up into the chair with him and sit at it, reading his book. Just like in school. On top of that, when he is done, he pulls his books off his desktop and stores them in the chair of his desk.
Great gift, Ben! Thanks a bunch!!!!!
And the following weekend, after getting through 103 fevers and double ear infections, Jamey visited with Hoopapa and Grammy, along with cousins Susie, Amanda, Melissa, and her Baby Ian. Not to mention all the Boswells and Aunt Joyce. It was a great November birthday celebration and a lot of fun for Jamey, as he begins to play well with his cousin Isaac!
Halloween, Argh!
For Jamey's second Halloween, we wanted to find an awesome costume, and wanted to go around as a family one more time. At Party City, I found a $10 costume and a little plastic sword that fit perfectly. It would allow Glenn and I to find easy accompanying costumes to use. And the final touch would be that we would build a pirate ship out of Jamey's plastic car.
In the earlier part of the day, we ventured to Cox Farms, with the help of a Westfield student who gave us a free pass to get in. There were slides galore, which Jamey loved, and every one kept giving him candy. It was all capped with a hay ride, on which it started to rain, and the driver pretended to get stuck, scaring me to no end!
When it came time to really go Trick-or-Treating, we met up with Jaeda and Caden from down the street, and took off, hoping the rain would hold off some more. It sprinkled off and on, but it was still a good time. Jamey tried to go into a few houses, but still enjoyed going up to the doors. He didn't hold his pumpkin to get candy, but Mom took care of that for him. After all, I will be the one eating the candy. I may as well pick it out!
When we got home, I went to the center of the room, turned over his pumpkin and let the candy cascade out. This elicited from Jamey, a loud "Ooooohhhhh!" And it taughth him a new game. Whenever I tried to put the candy away, he would pick up the pumpkin and dump it right back out!
Monday, October 26, 2009
As Promised....
As promised, I am posting two videos of Jamey that I just love. Both are also on my Facebook. The first shows some of Jamey's talking skills.
And here is one that shows that Jamey knows just what to do when we do "Ein Prosit" at the end of our dance shows. This is what we sing as a toast, and during it, we wave our arms in the air, like we are waving around a mug of beer. Apparently, Jamey has been paying attention.
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