word 45

Benjamin's latest vocabulary:

40. tête (head)
41. cheese (pronounced "sheesh")
42. please (pronounced "peesh," and said while signing)
43. sucette, 'cette (pacifier, pronounced "shet")
44. clefs (keys, pronounced "clay")
45. zizi (penis, pronounced "sizz" or "sizzi," and said while, um, pulling)

Benjamin conquers the playground

rain, rain, go away ...

Benjamin got to see the biggest rain storm of his life today. He really enjoyed it. We have new storm doors this summer, well sealed, all glass, ceiling to floor, and lockable — so we tend to leave the main doors open during the day and use the storm doors as giant windows. An unplanned benefit of this arrangement is that Benjamin can stand at the glass door and look outside whenever he wants to.

He got to stay dry while watching a heavy deluge.

It was a quick and heavy downpour and stopped just as quickly, which upset him quite a bit. He wanted more rain. His mother had to explain that there was no more rain.

When I came into the room, Benjamin looked at me and did what I'd like to think of as his 2nd-ever ASL "sentence":

He signed "rain, rain" and then shook his head, "no."

"What's he saying?" I asked Nathalie.

"He's saying there's no more rain."

Wow.

- papa

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Here's Benjamin looking out the front door on a dry day.

(He's watching his mother garden.)

Sleep Talker

Benjamin's favorite phrase for weeks now has been "partout par terre" (pronounced "pa too pa ter"). He knows what it means ("all over the floor/ground") and it is usually a prelude to throwing food or spoons on the floor or spilling toys all over the rug. Sometimes it is just an observation as he surveys his play area.

I just went into Benjamin's room to check on him before going to bed. I put my hand on his back and he turned over.

Still asleep, he quickly muttered: "Pa too pa ter."

- maman

pumpkin patch

Before we knew that Benjamin would be Benjamin rather than Sophie, we called him "the Pumpkin."

So for his first Halloween, we dressed him as a pumpkin:
So pumpkins and babies go together in my brain. This photograph of Laurellyn, the daughter of a comrade of mine, taken about 3 years ago, is my new favorite pumpkin photo:

- papa

phrenology

Nathalie just brought Benjamin downstairs so she could get something out of the freezer chest. I held him against my chest while she dug through the frozen foods.

He pointed to things and I told him what they're called. Then he pointed to Nathalie's phrenology head, which sits on the window by my desk, and he said, "Tay!"

I looked at his mother, who had found what she was looking for, and I asked, "Did he just say tête?"

She pointed to the head and asked, "Benjamin, qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Tay!"

So I guess he does, indeed, know the word tête.

It's not part of the /sh/ cluster he's been focused on, but it is French, as are almost all his new words recently.

Speaking of phonetic clusters: this morning, I was holding Benjamin in the living room while his mother prepared my morning vitamin C drink.

He pointed to a vase of yellow roses and said, "Fla! Fla!"

And I said, "Yes, those are flowers, fleurs."

Then he pointed to a peace lily and said, "Fuh! Fuh!"

"Yes," I said. "Those are leaves, feuilles."

Then, hearing his mother dropping ice cubes into my carafe, he excitedly pointed toward the kitchen and said, "Fwa-fwa! Fwa-fwa!"

"That's right. Your mother is putting ice cubes in my drink, and they're froids."

This isn't new vocabulary, but I enjoyed hearing the string of F-words, so to speak.

- papa

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Update:

I went upstairs for a quick visit, and Benjamin was touching his head and saying tête instead of "tay." He did it several times, pronouncing both T's. He's learning fast.

shhhhhhhhhhh

I've mentioned that Benjamin acquires words in phonetic clusters.

Right now he's on /sh/ sounds:

words

35. chaussures (shoes — only the first half is pronounced)
36. chaussettes (sock — only the first half is pronounced, but Nathalie insists he pronounces this differently than chaussures)
37. shoes (again, to me, this sounds the same as chaussures and chaussettes)
38. cheveux (hair, said while holding his hair)

And violating the /sh/ pattern:

39. poubelle (trash, pronounced "bell")

onomatopoeia

3. meow
4. splash splash splash (said while splashing bathtub water)

His "meow" isn't new, but its frequency is new. (It sounds like "my" said high pitched and in 2 syllables.) He says it whenever he sees Lutèce, who he still calls "Buh" (Bones).

- papa

shake it!

Benjamin loves music and he loves to dance.



(Quicktime version)

alliteration

Benjamin's new made-up word is "fwafwa," which means ice.

He had already been pointing to my ice-filled beverages and saying fwa (his pronunciation of the French word froid, meaning "cold"), but now he's decided that individual ice cubes are called fwafwa.

He's enjoying playing with repetition and alliteration in general.

The books say you shouldn't call your baby "baby" — you should always use his proper name. But while I mostly say "Benjamin," I also call him benben, bubba, bb, and baby. His mother doesn't like that I sometimes say baby. (He's a toddler now, after all.) I said, "'Baby' isn't just for babies. It's affectionate. If you call me 'baby' I promise I won't be insulted."

So I just went upstairs to gripe about something work-related, to pause a moment, and then return to work. As I left, Benjamin was repeating bye bye bye bye bye…

In response to my gripes, Nathalie said in a sympathetic voice, "I'm sorry, baby."

At which point Benjamin said BYE BYE BAY BEE! BYE BYE BAY BEE!

- papa, a.k.a. "baby"

Happy First Birthday Kat!

(Katarina taught Benjamin how to turn on this lamp. Pictures of Benjamin's visit with Kat coming soon.)

Happy Moisniversaire, Sophia & Elisabeth

(Two lucky girls born 07-07-07.)

Kentucky

Benjamin and Nathalie are in Kentucky, visiting family and friends.

This is the first time since bringing Benjamin home from the hospital that I've slept without him being in the next room.

Here's a picture of him on his first air voyage:

The reason he looks red and sweaty is, apparently, that he had just been sleeping on his mother's arm in a not-overly-air-conditioned plane.

Here he is in his Mamie's backyard:

- papa