{"id":1115,"date":"2014-02-04T17:07:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T17:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/family.manandyak.com\/?p=1115"},"modified":"2014-02-04T17:07:58","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T17:07:58","slug":"autumn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/family.manandyak.com\/?p=1115","title":{"rendered":"Autumn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is a recap, by way of random memories and musings, of our first autumn back in Oregon.<\/p>\n

When we arrived in Corvallis, Josef was barely crawling at all. \u00a0Over the second half of June he refined his technique, and by the height of summer he was cruising all over the backyard. \u00a0Later he developed a method to get around while holding something in his hands–sort of a half-crawl with one knee and one foot. \u00a0At the end of August he figured out how to balance standing up by himself. \u00a0His desire to be able to throw things into the kiddie pool necessitated this innovation. \u00a0During September he honed his toddling skills by hanging on to the edge of a couch or coffee table, and in October he took his first steps. \u00a0I would call it more of a controlled slow motion fall forward, with legs moving. \u00a0One of the first times it happened was during a Skype session with Oma and Opa, which was really special. \u00a0Come Halloween time, he was able to show off his skills for Gramnette too, as she came for a visit before her move to Portugal. \u00a0By November he was a seasoned toddler!<\/p>\n

Josef’s first legitimate word was “balloon,” spoken on his birthday. \u00a0He would repeat a few other words when prompted, but that was the first thing he could independently identify and call by name. \u00a0He quickly added others to the mix. \u00a0Josef’s words (roughly in order of appearance):<\/p>\n

Booooon (Balloon),\u00a0Ahh-Cann (Trashcan),\u00a0Ahh-Coo (Vacuum), Uhn-Kin (Pumpkin), Boon (Broom), Ell-kee (Milk),\u00a0Att (Hat), Poop, Bah (Ball), Ott (Hot),\u00a0Bee-Bee (Berry),\u00a0Ukk (Truck, Duck), Ock (Clock, Sock, Block), \u00a0Bapple (Apple\/Pear), Ba-Ba (Banana),\u00a0Papa,\u00a0Ba-Pa (Grandma), Ma-Pa (Mama), Up, Keesh (Keys), Kissh (Kiss), Ah-Wah (Sarah), Aoun (Down), Beep Beep, Auw-Lay-Uh (Calculator), Doe-Doo-Loe-Doe (Meaning unknown.)<\/p>\n

He loves sound effects. \u00a0He knows the noises that dogs, cats, birds, and bears make and he is trying to refine his pig snort. \u00a0He also learned how to make the tick-tock sound of a clock. \u00a0When he falls down he likes to say “plop!” \u00a0He likes to poke your nose and say “Boop.”<\/p>\n

There is a small herd of stuffed animals on top of his bookcase, and sometimes when he is feeling the love he will point to each one in turn, and we take them down and he gives them each a kiss. \u00a0When it comes to humans however, he prefers to be on the receiving end. \u00a0When asked for a kiss he just leans in and presents his cheek for kissmentation. \u00a0Believe me, there is no more kissable surface on earth than that plump rosy cheek!<\/p>\n

One of his great frustrations in life is mis-matched tupperware lids. \u00a0(Mine too.) \u00a0He will struggle mightly for a couple minutes to get a lid on, and then fling it aside with a shrieking spasm of rage. \u00a0Lately he respond similarly when asked to wear a coat. \u00a0If I show him the coat first, and show him the arm-holes, sometimes that helps things go more smoothly.<\/p>\n

Whenever he hurts himself on something he always points at it, tears in his eyes, with a look of recrimination.<\/p>\n

Josef’s first obsession was with trash cans. It started when I took out the trash with him in my arms. \u00a0I was pretty impressed that he could say the word, so perhaps he felt a little pride at that. \u00a0Thereafter, he would always make sure to point out any trash can he could see, even if it was across the street, or in the bed of a pick up truck. \u00a0He has become quite adept at spotting them, and we always laugh to hear a ecstatic cry of “trashcaaaaaaaan!!” from the back seat of the car. \u00a0A nice byproduct of this obsession is that he is very helpful about throwing things away for us!<\/p>\n

A favorite bath time activity is the ever-popular “cram washcloth into pitcher with spatula” game.<\/p>\n