A tsunami of words

Maybe about 4 months ago or so, I was starting to get a little concerned because Tyler didn't really have a lot to say. It wasn't that he didn't make any noise - because he certainly made plenty. But, not much that really indicated he was trying to actually say any real "words"!

However, recently, my fears have been relieved a bit - because not only is he now attempting to say a whole slew of words, but he seems to picking up new ones on a daily basis!

So, just in case you meet him soon and try to have some sort of conversation, here's a little translation manual of Tyler-speak to help you understand the gibberish you get in return...

• Dah: Dog. Or it could be another animal that looks like a dog in that it walks on all fours and has fur.
• Wha-dah?: "Where is the dog?" Or more specifically, where is Loki... he isn't usually looking for Max when he says this.
  
• DAAAaaaaaaahhhhhh!: He found Loki.
• DAH!: "Max/Loki, come here!" They usually don't, since they haven't quite figured out yet that they are "Dah".
  
• Baby: Austin, or some other baby.
  
• Daddy: Daddy, or mommy, or someone else.
• Momma: Mommy, or daddy, or a picture of some other random woman.
• MOMMA!: "Mom! I want something... NOW!"
• MOMMAAaaaaaaaaaaa!: Just walked in the door, or around the corner and saw mommy.
• Wawa: Water.
• Cocka: Cookie. This could be a cookie for humans, or also a dog treat. Probably not the best word for him to be using, but unfortunately, he prefers it to any other variation on "cookie".
  
• Jue: Juice
• No, no!: Max is trying to steal some of Tyler's food.
• Amo: Elmo. Often only seen within our home on diapers. However, he did point out an Elmo towel at Toys R'Us today - transference in action. Lovely.
  
• Oh-no!: Most frequently heard when reading books on his own, accompanied by hands pressed to cheeks (think "Home Alone" movies).
• More: Possibly the most annoying word in his vocabulary, usually used within a succession of 4-5 "more" repeated concurrently with about 2 seconds separating each.
• Apple: Apple. Or applesauce. Or fruit in a cup.
• Baw: Ball or anything round.
• Ooo-ooo: Monkey. Actually, it just means he's seen a monkey - but he doesn't actually say Monkey yet, just what he knows a monkey is supposed to say.
• Woof: This one should be pretty self-explanatory. Typically said in a mocking fashion around Max or Loki.
• Chee: Cheese
• Peas: Please
• Tanku: Thank you. We're pretty proud of this one... but yes, he actually does try to say thank you (although once in awhile he does need a little extra prodding)
  
• Up: Wants to get in his chair, or be picked up, or get out of his chair, or on the bed, etc. This is his newest addition to the word library.
  
• Bobba: Bottle, as in milk bottle. This is not as commonly heard, but has occasionally slipped out.
• No: Nose.
• Eye: Eye.
• Ite: hot - even if it's not really hot.
• Mine: It belongs to Tyler.
• Cah: Car, taking a ride, or truck.
• Uh-oh: Austin just woke up or is crying.
  

These are all we could think up right now, but a warning here is that just because he doesn't say something, doesn't mean he doesn't understand it - or won't be trying to say it soon (often when you least expect it.) In fact, he's become quite the little helper around the house when you ask him for things like "Find a binky for your brother.... or Put the bottles in the sink... or Can you pick that up for me?"

At this rate, though, he'll be able to say all of those things for himself within the next month or two... That's our boy! :)

Of course, in re-reading this post, I just had to make this quick addition at the end to ask: What does it say about us that among our toddler's first set of words are the sounds a monkey makes, attempts at saying "cheese" or "cookie", and the phrase "Oh-no!"?

Scary, ain't it?

Baby's got a new set of tubes...

Austin finally did it - he got his new set of tubes!

He surgery WAS originally supposed to happen on February 20 (as noted in one of my previous posts), but Austin conveniently came down with a case of RSV around the 17th. This meant anesthesia would be risky, which in turn meant surgery (even one as quick as getting tubes) would have to wait.

Side-note: just in case Jeff confused you by telling you that RSV is "Baby SARS". It's not.

"Respiratory syncytial virus is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages ... infection can be severe in some people, such as certain infants, young children, and older adults ... RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States."

And now back to today's update.

The pediatric surgery center schedules their surgeries based on age - youngest first. So, thanks to Austin's young age, we were blessed with an especially early arrival time of 6:15 am. (I'd like to note here that on a regular work day, I'm barely even awake by this time, let alone out of the house with or without a baby!)

After Austin and I got to the center, I filled out the paperwork, handed over my credit card to pay more than you'd ever expect to pay for what essentially amounts to two tiny rubber bands, waited for a brief period of time, then moved on with Austin to our designated waiting "cubby".

This is where they check Austin's vitals, ask some additional questions about him, and then leave you to wait for the actual physician to arrive before they take the baby away for surgery.

Austin was quite the little charmer! And he passed all his tests. Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Apparently, our ear doctor (a really nice guy, by the way - he did Tyler's tubes too!) had accidentally overslept and arrived about an hour late. I guess doctors are human too.

Now, just to give you some reference though.... I was doing all this waiting with a baby who not only had to also wake up super early, but also had his last meal and drink at about 8pm the night before. (He couldn't eat/drink anything after midnight due to today's surgery)

Typically, this would be the makings of a full-blown nightmare. But, with Austin, well, he just took it as an opportunity to catch some more z's, much to everyone's amusement that passed by. This wasn't really an area conducive to sleep, but I certainly wasn't complaining!



After the doctor arrived, performed the surgery (which takes all of about 5 minutes) and briefed me on the event (remarking on just how small Austin's ear canals were), I was led in to the recovery area to stay with Austin, who was just waking up from his anesthesia - content with the little burst of narcotics they had also given him to help ease his transition to the wake

He was even still pretty content after spewing his freshly finished bottle of milk all over both of us. Yuck.

Looking at him now, you'd never know he even had surgery today! Now, we just get to wait and hope this ends our merry-go-round with ear infections.

Here are some additional pics from our wait period, compliments of my Blackberry...