We only knew it would be a matter of time when the constant questioning would begin. The start of a long era of "what's that?" came out of nowhere and Lee and I seem to have different feelings about it already.
Taking into account that we are only about four days in to something that could last years, Lee has already expressed the feeling of being fed-up. This happened during an episode of Blue Planet when Jackson repeatedly asked what a jellyfish was that kept blobbing across the screen. On the other hand, I like the repetition and hearing Jackson wanting to understand what he is seeing so I could answer the same question hundreds of times without getting annoyed. I know that after a few weeks, Jackson will add his new vocabulary to his lexicon and never ask again what a pineapple is, for example. And because of this, I am happy to answer his endless questions.
I think the trick to not getting tired of the "what's this?" is trying to treat each question as if it has not been asked before, thus essentially compartmentalizing the other hundred times you've heard it. Also, knowing that one of the times you say it, it will stick and a new word will have been acquired. Success! My other trick is sometimes giving a lengthy and very detailed answer which will sometimes be too much information for the question being asked and will give a short respite from the line of questioning. (For example, a pineapple can also be an 'oblong shaped fruit with a brown spiky coat that is grown in tropical climates all around the world.')
A funny response Jackson has to learning new vocabulary is that he will sometimes respond with 'yes' or 'okay' instead of repeating the word. If I say, "That's a doughnut," and he doesn't feel like trying to pronounce it, he will say, "Yes." Listening from the outside, it sounds like I am answering a mini-teacher who is quizzing me on my knowledge of everyday foods. (To his credit, I can understand when he doesn't want to repeat 'croissant' when I use a thick French accent.)
So wish us luck on our journey through this new stage of toddlerhood! We'll see you on the other side.
Jackson was featured on his nursery's Twitter page this week for showing strong friendship bonds. This is him with his current best friend, Benedict (who's been mentioned in previous blog posts). Look at that embrace!
At nursery, they also had a 'car wash' on one of the milder days
We had our own little clearing (dance floor) at the annual Christmas light switch on
Reactions from the lacklustre crowd rendition of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
We knew it was time to go when Jackson turned to pushing his new 'choo choo' around on the street
After Thanksgiving dinner, Jackson was really excited and started singing and galloping around the house
Developmental updates: Jackson's new words this week were digger, "I'll do it," and purple. He also started saying, "Doing?" with a furrowed brow when he asks what we are doing. He usually says it about five times in a row and by the end of getting to our answer, he says, "Okay." Jackson had his first parent-teacher conference of the year and it went very well. His key worker said that he is on-track with all age-related expectations besides being a funny and well-loved member of the class. Go Jackson!
P.S. I hope that all of my family and friends back in Ohio (and all over the United States) had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was given a day off this term at school and it just happened to land on Wednesday which was perfect timing to have our own little Thanksgiving celebration at home. Even though it was a day early, we were able to eat all of the food through to Friday--and gave extra thanks for all of God's blessings! (Jackson's favourite dish was Waldorf salad.)
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
