Monthly Recap – November

Chief had an exciting November! He learned new things, put more words together, visited new parks, made new friends, and drove real life construction equipment. In Chief’s world, it was a perfect month.

He visited the trampoline park. Now that the weather is turning colder, some days it’s just too cold to make our way to the neighborhood park. Thankfully, the trampoline park in Norman does toddler time every Tuesday/Thursday from 10am-noon. We’ve been taking full advantage! Chief LOVES it! He asks to go to the “jumping park” everyday. He knows he has to wear the gripper “pink socks” we purchased from the park in order to jump. He’ll pull them out of his drawer and load them into his diaper bag to make it easier for me to take him. He’ll ask for the green “bah-ret” (bracelet) that they put on us when we pay our admission. It’s wild that he knows you need “pink socks” and a “green bah-ret” to play at the trampoline park.

Reese came to visit! Reese is my friend’s (Meghan) daughter. They live in Houston so we don’t get to see them often. As far as Chief is concerned, it was like an angel fell from the heavens and landed in our living room. Chief is a big fan of Reese! They shared snacks, played trucks, chased each other on the Pi Phi lawn, and there was more than one hug/kiss episode. Chief is convinced she still lives in our back room. Reese left her milk here, so Chief drank “Reese cow milk” for a week after she left.

He closes his eyes.For the last couple of months if you ask him to close his eyes he’ll cover his eyes with his hands and say “Chief close eyes.” Well, now he does it when he gets in trouble. If we raise our voice, scold him, or give him a stern “No!” He’ll say “Chief close eyes” and cover his eyes with his hands. When you’re trying to get on to him, it’s the most heartbreaking thing he can do to us. 

He negotiates going to new parks. Chief is on a new park kick. He calls our neighborhood park the “old park” and any other park is a “new park.” One morning I was leaving for work and as I was putting clothes on him I told him he needed shoes so Marnie could take him to the park. 

• He said “new park?” 
• I told him no, that she was taking him to the old park. 
• He said “Mama car new park?” (because he knows we have to drive to new parks). 
• I told him that I needed my car to go to work so he was going to walk to the old park with Marnie. 
• He said “Mine (Marnie) drive Mom car new park?” 
• I asked him how I would get to work if she took my car, and without skipping a beat he said… 
• “Mine car.” 

He’s got all the answers…

The words, the phrases, the compartmentalizing – I can’t get over how his little mind works. Some examples:

• Everything is “gross” or “nice.”Those are his opposites. If he thinks his food might be hot and we reassure him it’s not he’ll say “food nice?” If we tell him not to touch something or to get off the floor he’ll respond with “floor gross?” or “Mama cup gross?” If we ask if he needs a new diaper he’ll answer with “baba nice.” It makes us laugh so hard. As long as we tell him something is gross – he won’t touch it. 

• Chief has always pointed out water towers, radar towers, and exclaimed “Ball! Ball!” as we’d drive by.  We explained water towers to him and now, no matter where we’re driving, we’re always on the hunt for “wa-wa balls.”

• Chase was holding Chief, brushing Chief’s teeth one evening. Chase felt a hair tickling his nose, but because he was holding Chief in one arm and a toothbrush in other he asked Chief to get it for him. He didn’t know if Chief would comprehend what he was asking him to do. Chief looked hard at Chase’s face, moving his little head from side to side like he was looking for the perfect angle, then – pluck! He pulled that hair right off Chase’s nose. Without missing a beat he very seriously said “Mama hair Dada face”and carefully dropped it in the sink.

• Chief loves dip. I mean, who doesn’t? He loves it all – hummus, guacamole, peanut butter, ketchup, Chick-Fil-A sauce. The funny part is he thinks anything in a bowl, vat, or cup is “dip.” Ask him what he wants for lunch and he’ll exclaim “Dip!” But also ask him what we rub on his bottom before bed and he’ll exclaim “Dip!” Dip is anything from food, to lotion, to make-up, to the Aquafor we lather on him before bed. If you can stick your hand, brush, or spoon in it – it’s dip. 

• He put more words together than he ever has previously. One of Chief’s favorite books is the “Little Blue Truck,” but he calls it “Chief’s blue truck book.” We got him a new Christmas themed “Little Blue Truck” book right around Thanksgiving. We were about to put him to bed one night and asked what he wanted to read. He didn’t give an answer so we asked if he wanted the new Chief’s blue truck book. With such determination and concentration he exclaimed “No read Chief new Chief blue truck book!” But the thought process behind stringing those words together was incredible! You could tell he was thinking really hard; there were pauses between the words where he was trying to figure out what word was going to come next. It was really awesome to see his mind work. 

He spent Thanksgiving in Chelsea. It was Chief’s version of heaven. If he was awake, he was outside. He saw my mom’s side of the family and my dad’s. He drove tractors, backhoes, and big trucks. He played in a helicopter and airplane. He sat on a horse. He chased Charlie and tugged on his tail. He ate whipped-cream straight from the can. And he discovered a large collection of brooms and orange cones that he would’ve played with for hours. Perfection.