Another collection of Ivan’s quotes and conversations:

“Arrr, matey!” While wandering around holding a rain stick up to his eye.

“Gookie Bah” – This is Ivan’s word for a cereal bar that is essentially an overgrown fig newton. While I call it a cereal bar, Ivan knows it’s like a cookie bar.
Similarly there’s “Gookie Bread” which is his word for both cinnamon raisin bread and banana bread.

Ivan and his sister were squabbling over a crocheted purple bear I’d made before they were born. They were arguing the point of ownership, so I told them the bear was mine. Later Ivan approached holding the bear and showed he understands collective pronouns.
Ivan: Me purpuh beh (translation – My purple bear)
Me: It’s Amanda’s bear.
Ivan: Ow-err purpuh beh? (translation – Our purple bear?)
Me (laughing): I will share the purple bear with you.

For happy hour snack we were eating crunchy cornpuffs called booty.
Me: Do you want booty?
Ivan: YEAH!
Me: When someone asks you if you want booty, what do you say? (I asked anticipating that cute, enthusiastic YEAH again instead Ivan whipped out his manners)
Ivan: Booty, peas.
He got his corn puffs.

Me: Ivan, could I have one of your raisins?
Ivan: No.
Grandma Tam: Can I have a raisin?
Ivan: No
Grandpa Mark: Can I have a raisin?
Ivan (smiling and handing raisin): Here ya go.
I guess we know who Ivan likes best.

He is coming out with more multi-word phrases.

It is probably good for my sanity that Ivan has starting using these two phrases in almost equal measure. “No-wan-it” and “tank you.”

He has gotten quite conversational. Here are some samples.

Me: Ivan, let’s change your diaper.
Ivan: NO-WAN-IT – (it is loud and strung together into one word)

Me: Do you want a cookie?
Ivan: Goo-Key.  Yeah!
(cookie is transferred)
Ivan smiling: Tank You.

Me: Good Morning, Ivan.
Ivan: Oh-meal (oatmeal)
Me: Do you want breakfast?
Ivan: YEAH!

Sometimes, we don’t know what he means, but other times his meaning comes through. He pointed at the gnome decoration on his plate and said, “Gampa HAR-bee At.” Translation: I think this garden gnome looks like my bearded Grandpa Harvey wearing a hat.

He likes pointing and naming objects and people very much. He identified all the stone garden animals on the walk from his childcare today.  He thinks a boston terrier looks like a cat.  He thinks deer are dogs.  He switches between goose and duck with no apparent reason.  He uses “Skahl” and “Babbit” to correctly identify squirrel and rabbit statues. He also loves pointing out things in his books and identifying them.

We know a pair of sisters called Kaylee and Pippa, but Ivan calls them both Boopa or sometimes Boopa and Odah Boopa. “Boopa” is his attempt at Pippa, but he’s decided her sister Kaylee is “Other Pippa” for reasons we don’t understand.

He’s gotten very good at singing along on his favorite songs or filling in missing words. If you sing “Twinkle, twinkle little” he will loudly sing, “STAH!”

Ivan has been calling pizza by the name “pizza-GUY” ever since we made a big deal about the fact that the pizza guy had arrived. Ivan says, “Pizza-guy yummy.”

Ivan is speaking – it’s amazing to hear his new words each and every day.

One morning this week he was going through the house pointing at things. “Jacket” he said pointing at his jacket. Then he pointed at Ezri’s coat and said, “Weh-zee Coe” (his word for Ezri and his word for coat). “Robot” he said pointing at one of our wind-up toys. “Nightmah Moo” he said pointing at Ezri’s pony named Nightmare Moon. “Chee” he said pointing at the camera (which he thinks of as the “Cheese!”). “Babybug” he said pointing at his babybug magazine. Not all words sound like what he’s trying to say, but “Babybug” is pretty clearly enunciated. Eric was surprised when Ivan pointed at a picture Ezri had colored of Hello Kitty and said, “Meow Picture.” We did not know he had learned or could say the word picture.

He is learning the power of please which sounds like, “Bees!” So, he will pick up a book which he calls “boo” and toddle towards you saying, “Boo, boo” and then a pause and a very loud “BEES!”

In addition to his emphatic, “YEAH!” for affirmative he also says, “Gokay” for okay. So, if I say “let’s go to the car.” He might say, “gokay.” But if I ask if he wants a bunny snack (his favorite little gummy fruit treat), he will roar, “YEAH!” “Gokay” is agreement. “YEAH!” is enthusiastic positive response.

He’s also making connections. There is a song called Monkey River that Ivan likes to listen to and he asked for it by pointing at the stereo speaker and saying “Oo-oo-ah-ah ivver” which is his monkey sound followed by his approximation of “river.” It took a minute, but we figured out what he was asking for. When you figure out what he wants and give it to him, he will favor you with an enormous smile and the roar of “YEAH!”

Eric was yawning and stretching his arms up to the ceiling one morning and it looked to Ivan like cheering. Ivan smiled lifted his arms up and said, “Hoo-RAY!”

The photo at the top is Ivan and I outside after Thursday’s big flood splashing in our yard. Ivan did multiple slides into the mud which is still on his face there. It was splashtastic.

When you figure out what it is that Ivan truly wants he now roars “YEAH!”
Do you want cheese on your pasta? YEAH!
It’s hard to get the cuteness of this across in text, but the “YEAH” comes out with the same ferocity as his dinosaur imitation and a giant grin.

His vocabulary is expanding daily and we sometimes get two word phrases. “No bink” which means “I do not want my pacifier” or “Wehzee go” which means “This is Ezri’s coat.” His word for coat sounds like go.

His pronunciation on “chicken taco” is particularly adorable. It sounds something like “TeekoTaco.”

“Weh-zee” or “Wehbee” is his word for Ezri.
She was away for a night at her grandparents for a Seder during his bedtime and he refused to go to sleep. He would say her name and then sob and scream. He loves his sister.

We also get to have misunderstandings. I asked Ivan if he wanted to go for a walk thinking to put him in his stroller and walk around the neighborhood.
As soon as I picked him up headed towards the stroller, he looked indignant and said, ‘No. WOK! WOK!”
Walk is one of his new words and that was what he wanted to do. So, we did a little walking in the yard and did not take the stroller out for my idea of a walk. He insists on walking more and more as opposed to being carried. This is sometimes convenient and sometimes just the opposite.

He has a favorite song. It is Stompy the Bear by Caspar Babypants. He will ask for it as “Beh” which is his word for bear and then point either at the speaker or at the computer that controls our iTunes. If you play it for him, he will then dance along and stomp trying to sing along at times. He knows the point at which the singer yells, “Go!” and this is his singular favorite moment in the song. Ezri can sing you all the words to Stompy the Bear and will correct you if you sing the bear colors in the wrong order. We’ve heard this song a lot in Blau haus. If you want to share the joy, here’s a youtube video of Stompy.

Ivan used to think all animals with hooves said, “Ee Oh!” which is his attempt at “hee-haw.”

Recently, he has learned horses neigh and goats say maa.
Though he still makes mistakes. He’s learned dinosaurs roar. He smiled and pointed at a picture of a salamander on his dad’s shirt and said, “ROAR!” There is a rubber frog bath toy that also does a most dramatic “ROAR! ROAR!” in Ivan’s hands. Any amphibian or lizard seems to roar in Ivan’s mind.

It is harder to take his photo lately, since he really wants to push the buttons on the camera any time it is out.

Car seats in cars are no fun. In the house, they are awesome good times.

Ivan’s vocabulary is expanding daily. Here are a smattering of the words he says routinely.

Tah-Doo – Touch Down (it comes with hand motions that make it clearer)
Boe-bee – Brobee
Muno – Muno
Bee-sah – Pizza
Wa-uh – Water
MM-uh-mmm-mmm do do – Mahna Mahna Do do do do DO! (He likes to make the Mm-uh-mmm sounds and then have you do the other part.)
Lala – Elmo (still prominent in our lives)
Grogah – Grover
Gookie – Cookie (either the monster or the food or a cereal bar which is, if we are honest, a big cookie)
Baba – Yo Gabba gabba
Bah-bah – Please sing bah bah black sheep
Yogah – Yogurt
(One morning I entered his room and said, “Good morning, Ivan” He smiled stood up and said, “Yogah.” Alrighty, breakfast time)
Ti-Tah Ti-Tah Coo-coo – This is him requesting to do Tick-Tock a game where you sway back and forth saying, “Tick Tock Tick Tock Ivan’s a little cuckoo clock. It’s almost one o’clock.” Then lift him up and say, “Cuckoo!” Sometimes, he gets to do his tick tocks upside down.
Wheee – The noise a slide makes. Also, the noise he made while watching Ezri sled down a hill with friends.
CAH! – Car
DOH!- Door
Bah – Ball
Bah – Bowl
Moo – Cow
Meow – Cat
Maa – Goat
Bee-bo – any kind of button – elevator, phone, belly, jacket
Daddy
Mama
Boo – ghost or anything that looks vaguely like a ghost
Boo – boots
Boo – poo
Nack – snack
Nee-ah – banana
Bap-uhl – Apple
Woe-Woe – Roll Roll (sugar babies)
yeah – yeah, yes, affirmative

Here are some of the words we get from Ivan.

Ee-oh Ee-oh – Horse, rocking horse, stroller, carousel horse
Wah-ah – Water
Bah – Bowl
Bah – Ball
Baby
Bee-BEE YEAH – chorus of Baby, You Can Drive My Car “beep, beep, beep, beep, beep YEAH!”
Eh-EE – Ezri
Meow – Cat
Bah-uh – bottle
Yo – Yo Gabba Gabba character
eYo or Yo – video
Gro-gah – grover
Boo – said when he sees a ghost or a white creature
Chee or Ghee – cheers or cheese (said when trying to clink his sippy cup or when he sees a camera)
Mama
Tee-ko – twinkle said when pointing to pictures of stars (or flowers or snowflakes)
La-la – Elmo due to Elmo’s song. You’d be amazed how many pictures of Elmo Ivan can spot in the grocery store – at Jewel the total was eleven.
Mahmee – Edamame
Beebo – Belly button

Now that Ivan can tell us things we get hilarious moments like the following.
Ivan approaching the largest of our cats, Mancato, raises one leg and says, “Ee-oh! ee-oh!”
Don’t worry Manchi got out of there before he was used as a rocking horse.