Sweet, little Gus has been going through two new phases since the last time I posted about him: stuttering and potty mouth. They both took my by surprise. The stuttering is a little unsettling. I was really worried at first and I just feel so bad for him when he can't get a word out; however, I have been assured by both his preschool teacher and his pediatrician that this is completely normal for his age. In fact, his doctor told me that I shouldn't worry unless it doesn't go away within six months. She said his brain is working much faster than his mouth at this stage, which makes sense to me. So, we're just pretending that it doesn't exist. Even Catalina knows not to say anything about the stuttering and not to try to finish his word or sentence, just to let him work it out for himself, wait one or two seconds, and then repeat what he said so that he knows we got the point. She's really sweet about it, actually.
His other phase is not really concerning, it's just impolite (and pretty funny, at times). He loves, loves, loves potty words: pee pee, poopie, poopie diaper, po po (same as poopie), boobies, pelon (Cati's word for the male private parts), pacha (Cati's word for the female private part), and any conceivable combination of the aforementioned words. If he makes you laugh about something totally unrelated to potty words, he immediately siezes the opportunity and belts out a stream of potty words, one after the other, then he puts his hands on his hips, throws his head back and laughs a deep, fake laugh. If he's singing "Happy Birthday," he'll sing, "...happy birthday, dear poopie diaper, happy birthday to you." When people say, "Hi," or "Bye," to him, he says "Hi/Bye boobie." Honestly, I know that we should try to get him to stop, but if you mention it to him, it just fuels the fire. We're trying to ignore it, but, now and then, you just have to laugh. I'm guessing that this stuff is normal, it's just that I don't know any other little two-year-olds that are saying these things. Might have something to do with the older sibling, because Catalina finds it very funny (unless she's the one he's calling "pee-pee head"). Kara or Steph, would you care to weigh in on this?! I'm hoping that you've encountered this with your boys. Advice, please?
Other than those two things, he's just as sweet and adorable as ever. I'm really enjoying the alone time that we have when Catalina is in school. When she's around, he's busy following her instructions. When she's not instructing him on how to play, he still follows her around and repeats everything she says. It's really sweet and I'm glad that it doesn't get on her nerves too much. In fact, I think she kind of likes it. She knows that it's just because he loves her so much and wants to be like her. Ugh, they are just so sweet I could eat them up!
Here are some photos of my little man from the past few weeks. This first one is really cute! We've been transitioning him to his big boy bed in anticipation of baby Max's arrival. They will share a room and we don't want Gussy to resent baby Max for taking his bed. So, we've made a really big deal about him leaving his "baby bed" and going to his "big boy bed." Natalie brilliantly suggested giving him prizes in the morning, so that's what we've done. We show him a new Matchbox car every night and we put it on the mantle and tell him he'll get it in the morning if he goes to sleep in the big boy bed without getting out. It's going pretty well, much better than we expected. Thanks for the tip, Nat!! Here he is with his first big boy prize (he specifically wanted to sleep in firetruck jammies since he was getting a firetruck in the morning):
Playing at the mall while Cati was at school one day (by the way, Go Rays!):
Playing with silly Cici:
Looking for fishies, dolphins, stingrays, sharks on Bayshore with Mama (we really do see all of those things, plus manatees, in the bay while we're running):
Playing with is buddies:
Okay, only a couple more things, cute videos of Gussy singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and a song from his preschool (they sing it after cleaning up their toys):
7 comments:
Oh, they are so cute! I love the video of Gus singing (and him dropping the dragonfly plate on the table!). As for the potty mouth, we are working on that now...drives me nuts. No suggestions here because what I am doing must not be working! It is such a boy thing. I hear all the boys at school doing it - they think it is so funny. I tried ignoring it for a while, but now I try taking away 5 minutes of a TV show or some treat he really wants. He also uses a sticker chart where he earns stickers for using manners, doing things first time mommy asks, etc. I try giving him stickers when I notice that he has been using his nice words. Matthew is 2 years older than Gus, so it might not work for Gus yet. I think ignoring at this stage is best. I am over laughing at him now, except for when he calls a part of the female/male anatomy "nibbles"...I just can't hold it in! Good luck.
Sadie is 3, and evidently she's using potty words too. When she was in town for Scarlett's baptism a few weeks ago, she said, "Bye poop" when she was saying farewell to Shawn's dad. I think she only does it when she's tired and grumpy, which was definitely the case that day when she hadn't had her nap yet. Geoff and Angela are just ignoring it, but I was so surprised to hear it, I think I held my mouth open for a few seconds, and then couldn't resist laughing. Boy, that encouraged her. She then told everybody, "Bye poop!", one at a time. And keep in mind this is coming out of the mouth of a pretty little girl. Hang in there, sounds like it's just a stage! nichols
Oh. My. gosh. I am laughing so hard at his CUTENESS!! He is so precious! And I do not believe for one second that precious baby is saying potty words. ;-) He is too adorable for that!
And maybe it's just my boys - hopefully you have some friends with better behaved children than I do to give you advice - but Bennett and Brooks are 5 and 6 and OBSESSED with potty humor. They replace all words of songs with them:
(From Metrostation) "Shake, shake, shake, shake your BU-UHTTTTTT."
(From U2) "Uno, dos, tres, ca-FART-e"
They think they are like Saturday Night Live comedians. Seriously. Crack. Themselves. Up.
How precious. Remember, this too will pass. The kids look great. Love G
So cute! I wish I could hug that little boy!! No suggestions on the literal "potty" mouth. Abby (my 3 year old, not you, ha) says, "hello poopey diaper head" to strangers in Wal Mart...
Well - we will keep our laughing from afar. I am sure it is not quite as funny to you anymore : ) Sounds like everyone is doing - something more to look forward to. Hang in there.
I'm laughing so hard I'm about to pee in my pants! First off, Zacy stuttered for probably 6 months, got a little worse when Ben was born, but he eventually overcame it and only does it occasionally now. He would also jumble phrases together, I truely believe all of this was because his brain worked faster than his mouth. You are doing just what you should, letting him finish his thoughts at his own pace and maintaining eye contact(my smart sis gave me that advice).
As for potty mouth... can't help you there sister... I've got it coming from my 3 & 5 year old. Thank goodness Nate has a sensor on his mouth and at least knows when it is appropriate; Zac however, does not! I'm always fearful of what is going to come out of his mouth... stupid head, poopie head, poo poo face. You get the picture. Before we go into church or anywhere I always tell the boys... "no potty talk"! Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't! My sis is soooo much better with positive reinforcement... (go Jen)... Me I just don't seem to have the energy! I keep thinking they will outgrow it! Heavens I hope so!
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