Vowels! (Or "-owels")

I heard rumors that Harrison's fan club was getting restless because of the long, long stretches between postings. Well, we aim to please here at Higgins Parenthood, so let me tell you some cute Baby Harrison stuff before we lose any customers...

Harrison is quite the talker these days, and by "talker" I mean "noise-maker" since we don't understand most of his words yet. In spite of that barrier, we can tell that he has made big improvements in his communication skillz lately...

1. He can understand about everything we say when we intend for him to understand. He knows the Five Ws -- Who all the key players are (pointing to people in pictures), What his toys are called (fetching whatever farm animal we ask for), When it's time to wash hands / eat / get some fresh pants / go to bed (not always super-cooperative here, but we know that he knows...), Where things belong (putting things where they live when we ask him to -- or putting his hands palms up in the air when he doesn't know -- you can picture that!), and Why (well, maybe not why unless "Because Mama says so" counts yet). Of course, we still have talks about things that don't involve him, and he ignores us very well when we do this. We'll really be testing his comprehension skills the next few weeks as we start a new "behavior modeling" program. I've been reading a book that suggests "gossiping" about your toddler to his toys and to other people around him as a way to tell him what he's doing that's good and what he's doing that's bad -- we all inherently know that if you have something really important to say, then you should whisper it, and that law of nature apparently works for kids, too. The trick will be for him to realize that even though we're not looking at him when we say, "Oh, I really like it when Harrison puts his toys away" or "Oh, I wish that Harrison would stop climbing that bookshelf," we are talking about him and we secretly want him to eavesdrop.
2. He uses voice inflection to ask questions, so now there's a difference between "Mama" (hold out your hand so I can give you this rock) and "Mama?" (are you listening to me?)
3. He uses more than just his mouth to communicate. He points, makes faces, and even shows you what he wants to happen (on tippy toes and stretching stretching stretching while he says "Up" to ask for a lift).
4. He is consistent -- he knows that communication exists and that it will work if he can do it right (sometimes he just has to try a bit longer than he'd like!).
5. His bank of sounds is pretty impressive, so it won't be long before he gets those sounds in the right order to make words and sentences.

The most significant holdup in Harrison's speech development is his current dislike (and lack of use) for most consonents. The kid just loves vowels. Some of his best words right now are...

• Up (sounds like a grunt -- "uh") -- for going up stairs and for getting a lift to reach something high
• Off (a staccato "ah" sound) -- both for turning lights off and for taking shoes off (feet are lifted up when it's a request for a shoe removal)
• On (a smoother "ahhh" sound) -- both for turning lights on and for putting shoes on (shoes are provided and feet are lifted up when it's a request for a shoe installation)
• Hot (drop both the H and the T) -- often includes a tentative hand brush against whatever it is that might be hot (the oven door, the pavement, the potato I baked the day before which actually was hot the day before -- good memory!)
• Hat (drop the H and the T again) -- often accompanied by a pat on the head
• Touch ("utch") -- with his little pointer finger out to "utch" whatever needs "utching"
• Luz (sounds like "ooze") -- Spanish for "light," Ms. Marlen told me that Harrison is helpful when announcing that it's time to turn the lights on after nap -- he points up and says "ooze"
• Eye (sounds just like "eye," which is why it's a little freaky!) -- usually pokes himself or someone else in the eye when he uses this word

There are a few exceptions to the consonant boycott -- most notably "Mama" and "Dada." Dada obviously means his BFF Chris. Mama can mean mother, milk, or more -- you have to look for the contextual clues with that one... If it means mother, then he'll look at me or touch me or hand something to me. If it means milk, then he'll go to the fridge and do his best to pull the doors open. If it means more (more of a "muh-muh" sound), then he'll open his mouth big to make a place for you to put more or he'll pinch the fingers and thumbs on each hand together and then tap all of his fingertips (it's sign language).

The cliffhanger... Harrison has a sound that he uses often enough for us to recognize but that we cannot figure out. It's "otch" -- sounds like "watch" but without the W. He has played with my wristwatch a few times, but probably not enough to ask for it again and again, so I don't think it means that kind of watch. And when we show him how to do something, we tend to say "look" instead of "watch," so I don't think it means that kind of watch, either. Any guesses?