The last month has been so much fun as we've watched Collin's vocabulary and language skills develop. Although his pronunciation is still in progress, he now mimics everything, creates complete sentences - with phrases - and loves to talk!
Yesterday, while my mom and I were riding in my parent's new fishing boat, Marley was driving and Collin was waiting for "my turn next." Now, as a background, we have taught Collin to take turns fairly well. Often, to settle "turn taking" disputes with our toddler friends, we've been counting. For example, "Marley gets the toy for another 30 seconds and then Collin it will be your turn." He says excitedly, "My turn next!" and I count out loud to thirty. It works splendidly. And visa versa also - Collin always gives the item away when his turn becomes officially "over."
Ok - so back on the boat- Grandma told Collin that he could have a turn when he counted to 10. He had never counted past 3, so I chuckled and sat back against the boat to watch him try. (I love watching him think and try so hard!) His "attempt" shocked me literally out of my seat! He said "1, 2, 3 .... (thought, thought, thought) ... 4, 5, 6 (short pause), 789 (no pause between any of them), "and a 10"!!! My mom and I were so excited that our mouths fell open, and we started squealling our congratulations! The excitment and shock waves seemed to rock the boat! Marley and Collin were so enthused that they both started clapping and saying "yeah!" We all started laughing, and Collin just beamed. He was so proud. It was a fantastic moment!
Needless to say, learning means repetition, so Kevin and I spent at least a solid hour of our drive home yesterday assisting Collin and practicing our "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and a 10"s. : )
Along the same lines, there are about 5 books that we read with Collin every night. Over the past week we were camping, and Daddy did bedtime every night. By the end of the week, Collin was interacting with the stories and "reading" "his parts" fabulously! On the drive home, we discovered that he also could "read" some of his other favorite stories. With a little assistance, he can almost "read" Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton in its entirety! It is so amazing how much he's taking in and how much he truly loves to learn new things! BTW - I highly recommend the book to all mom's of toddlers. We added dance moves and animal sounds, and it's great fun!! Owen also loves it ~ especially when he hears his brother's "Moo" or squeal as he "bows to the cow" or "skitters with the mice!"
Collin's other big feats lately: He can identify a circle, a square, a triangle, and a line. He can draw all of those except the triangle. Last night we traced our hands along the bathtub walls and he practiced lining up his fingers and observing the difference in shape and size between his hand and mine. It was so touching to watch him put his little hand in mine! : ) Collin is also learning his letters and knows that M is for Mama, D is for Dada, C is for Collin, O is for Baby Owen, G is for Grandma, and N is for Natalie (Na-Na). When he gets confused, we make the letter's sound, and he picks up on it right away. We're still working on colors. Some days are good, and others are not so good. On those days, everything is "Green!" and if not green, "Purple!" He rarely gueses anything is red or yellow, but is growing fond of orange. Pink is his ultimate favorite and the only one he always gets right. I'm having so much fun!
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