Examples: Momma bo (bowl). Dadda ha (hat). I wan mo pees (more please). Da (that) daw (dog). A-tro-no (astronaut). Accapu (Octopus). Moo (moon). Ka (shark). My-my (mine mine). Ka-ko-it (chocolate). Kacka (cracker). Dookie (cookie) Momma all da (done). I wan da bu (that book). Baby (binkie). Mu pees (milk please). Up-da (upside down). Bye bye dada. Nap nap (napkin). Whey-t-go? (Where'd it go?). My my (...as in "I do it.") Bu tee (brush teeth).
He has slowly been making the transition from saying animal sounds to saying animal names. And (except for saying his own name), he will repeat what he hears us say. For example: "Cameron, say: car keys." He says "ca kee". This is major excitement for all of us!!
The most hysterical attempt at language is Cameron's interpretation of his sister's name. For almost 2 months, he has been calling her.... GAGA. Sophie thinks it's hysterical that Gaga sounds nothing like her name, and we have tried to get him to call her "ophie" or "soph"...but he screeches out her name as he runs into her preschool classroom to pick her up. He points to her plate, her toys, her dolls, etc., and says "Gaga ____". So that name is here to stay.
He has made zero attempt at saying his own name!
He loves playing with lots of kids. The older and bigger, the better. When there is chaos and when toys are being scattered (or thrown) all around, he is so happy to be part of the fun. At a "Littles Playdate" (a group of us regularly meet with our younger kids while our older kids are at preschool), Cam was upstairs with three other boys (all under 3). The boys shut the bedroom door and were all driving cars and trucks around the floor. I would periodically check on Cam, but he didn't miss me and he loved that independent fun. Last week, we enjoyed two other playdates, but these were organized and centered around the preschool kids. That didn't matter to Cam. He ran up and down the stairs playing all the games with the 4-5 year old kids. He shrieked with joy and smiled that big Cam smile that lights up his whole face. By the time he would make it up the stairs, all the big kids would already be running back down the stairs playing a new game. But he didn't get frustrated; instead, he just turned back around and kept trying to catch up. At one point, Sophie decided to start playing a game called "Keep Away from the Monster." It took about 3 minutes before I figured out that poor Cam was the monster in this game and he had no idea they were purposefully running away from him. Nice big sister...
His tantrums (or "beat downs" as I call them) are still full on. He becomes so frustrated if he doesn't get what he wants. His enormous grins and laughter are matched on a daily basis with enormous screams and body-flailing demonic moments. For as joyful as he is, he is equally challenging. But, I appreciate his passion for life! This week, something mysterious happened in the middle of the night, and all his binkies suddenly became broken and icky (we chopped off the ends). Cameron surprised all of us by making this transition to no-binky-life as drama-free as possible. I'm so proud of him. Also surprisingly, he has been less frustrated and angry since the binkies broke. Yay!!
And finally, I started this particular blog post several mornings ago before everybody woke up, and I have added bits and pieces to it when I had a few moments. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Cameron was being silly and crazy (his normal self) and he tripped and fell right onto the corner of the base molding, leaving a nasty gouge outside his eye. Fortunately, Doug was home because I seriously froze at the sight of the blood and the depth of the hole in my son's head. As Doug said, this won't be the last time this happens to Cam... he is my sweet and cuddly and crazy and coordinated and strong and hysterical boy. He is the type of boy who will be just a little naughty in class, but the teacher won't mind too much. A flash of his trademark smile will cause the teacher to forget whatever it is that Cameron did that hour.
The Cam-man is trouble and his 4-year old sister rolls her eyes and shakes her head at him regularly. It won't be long before Cam and all his friends are chasing Sophie the monster around the house!
