15-month update

Since this is a running record of Toby’s firsts, I thought I’d better include a history of his first words along with his progress - time overtakes us and soon it'll seem like he's always been doing this or that! At 15½ months, the words are coming fast and furious – he’s a prompt and accurate imitator, be it words or dancing, gestures, and other actions. He’s got a huge crinkly-nosed grin that he perfected while we were in Canada, much to the delight of his Auntie V & Gungie (my Mum), and he’s an experienced kisser, offering goodnight or anytime kisses to his big brother & sister. He loves group hugs – while being held by one of us, he will reach out for the other and hug both of us together. My Mum was the first person honoured with a group hug besides Anthony & myself. He will usually kiss me without prompting, though when I’m leaving for the office, he may refuse, but eventually he’ll at least wave. Modesta or Monica usually carries him downstairs so he can wave bye-bye as I drive away.

He wakes in the morning happy as a clam, offering crinkly grins & kisses, pointing at me and Baba, reading books, and playing with little bedside table toys. He doesn’t like being covered by blankets at all, and lately he’s been taking his pyjama bottoms off as well. He invariably walks around with only one sock on, unless he’s wearing Robeez – they stay on! He loves dancing, and lately his variation is twirling in a circle, and then wandering off on a dizzy spell. He can walk like a gorilla courtesy of Kevin, and started practicing jumping just the other day. He pulls us by the hand to where he wants us to go, and points at what he wants. He’s a pro at climbing and going down stairs – he’ll either grab a hand for support and walk just like an adult, or climb on his hand & knees, but he’ll get there!

His favourite toys are really books – he’s always been fascinated by books - though he likes stacking mega-block bus and trailer set we just got for him, a singing dog from Grandaddy’s caregiver Donna, a shape sorter from Robyn, and he definitely loves the Baby Mozart & Baby Einstein videos. His favourite toy of all would have to be a broom! And it must be full-sized – the baby one I got for him doesn’t hold very much interest.

His first twenty-odd words are…

• Baba – I would have to say this was his first recognizable word - Daddy in Kiswahili (Mum-mum is very infrequent)! It must have been around 7-8 months.
• Baby - everyone was a baby for a while, and he points to himself in the mirror or a photo as well. Again 7-8 months.
• Kitty (kiti, titti, dits, diti) - at 8 months, he said this in Canada due to the many cats in his grandmother’s house, and never forgot it! Loves kitties!
  
• Hello (hewo) – very early word, usually uses when picking up any object to use as a telephone, also says lots of hewos in the morning and when I come home from a trip. He often looks at me with his head turned sideways when greeting me!
• Bye – waves & says bye to anyone leaving
• Foot (doot) – can wash his own feet in the tub, and holds his foot up when I dress him
• Up - first learned conceptual word where he understood the meaning in different contexts – to be picked up, to get up onto a chair or bed, etc. Usually hold his arms and says ‘up’ to be picked up. However, when picked up, also first used ‘up’ as a request to be put down!
• Down (dow) – points at the floor and says ‘dow,’ starting to get the concept of down is opposite to up.
• Book – knows all books are called books, not just his, etc.
• Hot – definitely knows when something is hot, whether it’s food, milk, or something hot to the touch (may have something to do with the burn he got on the stove at 11 months!
  
• Dog (dogo) – saw quite a few in Canada, and recognizes them all as dogo.
• Eat (eett) – when he’s hungry, also means he wants milk/bottle
• Eyes (ice) – points to eyes and hair, oddly enough
• Shoes (ooz) – can also refer to socks, though he knows the difference when I say it
• Juice (jis) – anything drinkable
• All gone (aw-gone) – learned in Canada at 14 months, usually accompanied by outstretched hands palms up and surprised expression
• Birds (bids) – learned in Norway among the seagulls of Sandoya
• Bread (bed) – pretty sure he’s talking about bread, or a cracker, when he said bed
• Okay – now has conversations on telephone-objects that include lots of hewos and okays. Also uses ‘okay’ to ask my permission - he picks something up, looks at me, and says ‘okay?’
• Gigi – knows Kevin’s nickname
• Ball (baw) – also learned how to kick it (important for a future Arsenal player)
• Poop – pats his bum & says poop when he has one – started that in Norway at 14 months, and is fairly consistent. I hope this is a good sign for toilet training!
• Bubble – very recent, could either be bubble or purple according to Leah.

Other ‘words’ he says but we can’t figure out a direct translation:

• Dadaa! – usually a shout for my attention
• Abu-baaabu – his own babble, often turned into a little song
• Puchie-puchie – more babble
  
• Ntaa – we think it means I want, so it’s similar to nataka (I want) in Swahili, but surely he doesn't know that!!
• Coke – I don’t think he means pop, but I can’t figure out what it is. Might be yogurt.
• Oka – may be Monica, may be okay, again I suspect it might be yogurt.

He also knows more words than he can say, of course, and understands simple instructions like Put it back, Give it to Baba, Changie bum, Shirt off, and, definitely, No. He also knows Toby sit, Toby eat, Toby come (rather like a dogo!! ;-). And whenever he does something he’s asked to do, he claps for himself.

Will post more as he learns’ em!

Oh, and a quick update – after 3 sleepless nights and days, where Toby sobbed for most of the day and even fell asleep in his dinner, we gave up on the crib training. It’s pointless when he shares our room, and we don’t have a choice about that right now. We’ll have to wait till we can bribe him ;-) Anthony fixed Toby's jetlag problem while I was away in Juba this past week, and he mostly sleeps through the night… that’s good enough for now!