The Roth Family Chronicles

Daniel and the Moon [2 1/2 years]

2008-10-14T05:36:39Z

Daniel enjoys looking at the moon. He always gets excited when he sees it.

In the evening of Saturday, October 11, as I was getting him ready for bed, he kept looking out his bedroom window, trying to find the moon. Frustrated, he said, "Where's the moon? I can't find it anywhere."

I noted that he said the active "...I can't find it..." rather than the passive "I don't see it..."I interpreted this as a sign of increased cognition, as a few weeks ago, I don't think he would have said it that way.

On Monday night, October 13, with an almost full moon easily visible from his bedroom window, he gazed at it for some time. He then said, "The moon is sad."

I asked him, "Why is the moon sad, Daniel?" Whereupon, he replied, "Because it's alone in the sky."

I assured him that the moon was not alone. The stars kept the moon company at night, and the sun kept the moon company during the day. Relieved, he asked, "The moon is happy?" I said, "Yes, Daniel. The moon is happy." This comforted him.

Daniel: Counts to 10 [2 years 1 month]

2008-06-04T03:03:06Z

It was bedtime, and I was reading Daniel some books. He was looking at the illustrations, and identifying them. One of the illustrations was a train with 10 cars. I asked him what it was, and he said "A train." Then, he pointed to the cars, and counted 1, 2, 3...10. This was the first time that he had counted to 10.

Daniel: The Angels' Share

2007-12-02T12:30:43Z

Daniel's speech progression has been well documented here. He said his first word at 6 months (see LiveJournal entry from 10/25/2006), his first 2-word phrase at 6 1/2 months (see entry from 11/6/2006), his first 3-word sentence at 12 months (see entry from 4/15/2007), his first 4-word sentence at 13 1/2 months (see entry from 6/2/2007), and his first 6-word sentence at 15 months (see entry from 7/14/2007).

His speech patterns are well established. Daniel is a "burster." Mostly, he just grunts or babbles. Sometimes, he'll say a word or two that we can understand. And, on occasion, he'll say something completely inappropriate for a toddler to be able to say.

This is in contrast to Hannah, who relentlessly accumulated an enormous vocabulary, adding a word or two each day, which I tracked on a Word file. At the same age as Daniel is now, Hannah had a larger vocabulary, spoke more clearly, and babbled less. But she also said fewer sentences, and those sentences she did say were less nuanced than what Daniel was capable of saying.

Karen and I estimate that we understand about 10% of what Daniel says on any given day. The other 90% is what I call "The Angels' Share." While I am not sold on the idea of angels or an afterlife, I have no doubt that if such things do exist, they are watching over Daniel, and are highly entertained by his observations, which only they are privileged to understand in their entirety.

Daniel: Third Tooth

2006-12-27T15:21:04Z

Daniel cut his third tooth today.

Daniel: Fourth Tooth

2006-12-27T15:20:30Z

Daniel cut his fourth tooth today. He now has two on the top, and two on the bottom.

Daniel: Crawls for the First Time

2006-12-27T15:16:29Z

Karen said that today, Daniel crawled forward for the first time. Yeah for Daniel!

Daniel: "More" (8 months)

2006-12-27T15:12:32Z

On Friday, while I was feeding Daniel breakfast in his high chair, he said, "More" [prounounced "maw," rhymes with "saw"] and started reaching for his food. I dismissed this as a random verbalization, because I didn't think that an 8 month old could use this word in context (as opposed to just mimicking something he heard). So, I didn't give Daniel credit for it. However, the same thing happened during two other feedings over the weekend, so I told Karen about it.

When I got home from work on Tuesday, Karen said that when she was feeding him lunch, he distinctly said "More" several times, while either grabbing for a bottle, or reaching for a food container.

"More" is officially Daniel's 7th word.

Daniel: Early evidence of musicality

2006-12-13T22:17:11Z

From time to time, Daniel has shown signs of being predisposed to music. Here are three recent anecdotes.

A couple of weeks ago, Daniel was cutting a tooth, and was inconsolable. Karen and I tried picking him up, putting him down, teething rings, a bottle, the swing, a fresh diaper, etc., but nothing worked. Then I tried something that would often calm Hannah down, when she was his age - music. I sang through most of Side B of the Beatles' Abbey Road (which was a favorite of Hannah's), to no effect. I also sang "Pure and Easy" by Pete Townshend, to no effect. Then it occurred to me - Daniel looks like his Grandpa Bob, is built like him, and has a similar temperament - maybe he shares a preference for classical music with him as well (Grandpa Bob was a Composition major at Juilliard). So, I hummed the Allegro from Bach's E major Violin Concerto, and he stopped crying almost instantly. When I reached the end, he started crying again. So, I hummed it again, and he stopped again. Daniel had never heard that piece of music, so he didn't stop crying because he recognized it. Knowing that he liked that piece, I brought the CD with me when I would drive the kids long distances, just in case it was needed. And sure enough, it was. We were driving to dinner, and Daniel was miserable, presumably from teething again. I immediately played a CD of Bach's E major Violin Concerto, and once again, he stopped crying in a few seconds.

Last weekend, we were driving to dinner, and I had Bach's Violin Concerto in A minor playing on the CD. Hannah was asleep, and at first Daniel, who had never heard this piece, was quiet. Then, we heard delightful sounds coming from the back of the car. They were rather hard to describe. They were joyful, atonal, and had a fun, sing-song quality. It occurred to me that Daniel was singing. Just, then, Karen said, "Omigod, Daniel is singing. This is the cutest thing I've ever heard." I said, I was just about to say the same thing. Obviously, he wasn't singing the melodies from the concerto, as he had never heard them. He was singing because the music inspired him to do it.

Daniel has a Fisher-Price Step & Play Piano, which is a toy that allows him to get sounds from keyboard like plastic keys with his hands and his feet, while sitting upright. Usually, he happily plays all the keys, to see what sounds he can get from them. But a couple of weeks ago, I saw him take his right hand and repeatedly hit two keys, over and over, with the same force, and even timing. I said to Karen, "Check this out. He's trying to REALLY PLAY those two notes, one after another." What I meant was that Daniel was trying to trigger two notes sequentially, with intent, rather than just randomly banging away.

Daniel: 30-week Checkup

2006-11-25T17:02:47Z

Daniel had his 30 week checkup today:

Height: 28 1/4" (75-90%)
Weight: 19 lbs. 10oz. (50-75%)

"No, you're Karen and Neil"

2006-08-30T14:54:22Z

For the last few days, we've been trying to teach Hannah that her name is "Hannah Roth." Karen was sitting with Hannah in the Family Room, when I heard this great exchange:

Karen: Do you know your name?
Hannah: Hannah Roth.
Karen: Good. Do you know your brother's name?
Hannah: Daniel Roth.
Karen: Very good, Hannah. And I'm Mommy Roth, and he's Daddy Roth.
Hannah: No, you're Karen and Neil.

Parenting Advice - from a Two-Year Old

2006-05-30T20:56:49Z

The four of us were at a restaurant, when about halfway through the meal, Daniel started crying. Karen and I hesitated, but Hannah knew what to do right away:

"No more the crying. Give Daniel some more bottle."

The next day, we were spending a leisurely day at home. Hannah, Karen, and I were in the playroom, and Daniel was asleep in the car seat on the island in the kitchen, when he woke up and started crying. Hannah ran into the kitchen, and then ran back to the playroom to advise Karen and myself on what we should do:

"No more the crying. Up-pick the Daniel."

Recites the Alphabet (22 months)

2005-12-01T15:55:40Z

I was walking by Hannah's playroom, when I heard her recite the whole alphabet, unprompted. I'd heard her say various sections of the alphabet many times before, but this is the first time that I'd heard her say all 26 letters consecutively. Yeah for Hannah!

First 6-Word Sentence (21 months)

2005-10-27T01:00:51Z

In the evening, Hannah asked for some cheese. As I was tearing her favorite string cheese into Hannah-sized pieces, she pointed to the kitchen table, and said, "Put the cheese on the table." Of course, that's exactly what I did. This was Hannah's first 6-word sentence.

11-Word Recitation

2005-09-29T15:20:59Z

Karen was playing with Hannah in the Master Bedroom. Karen started saying the rhyme "Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there? I frightened the mouse under the chair." However, Karen only got as far as saying "Pussycat, pussycat..." before Hannah cut her off, and said the rest of the rhyme, "...what did you there? I frightened the mouse under the chair." This was, at 11 words, easily the longest recitation we've ever heard Hannah say.

"Opposite"

2005-09-06T16:23:00Z

Today, Hannah handed Karen a book called "Opposites," and said "Opposite." This was Hannah's second three syllable word.

Hannah Starts to Potty Train Herself

2005-08-18T03:49:46Z

Shirley the Nanny was preparing Hannah to take a bath. Before she got in the tub, Hannah said to Shirley, "I want to peepee," and started to climb onto the toilet seat. Shirley put a potty seat on top of the toilet seat, then she lifted Hannah onto it. Hannah then proceeded to do her thing. Karen and I hadn't planned on potty training Hannah until she was 2. Apparently, Hannah wanted to try it out on her own. Yeah for Hannah!

Freud Was Right

2005-08-03T15:45:34Z

Until recently, Hannah has been equally affectionate with both Karen and me. But that's changed in the last week. She'll kiss me if I ask her to, and she'll also kiss me without any prompting. But not so with Karen. Hannah will only kiss Karen after much prompting, and never when I am present. According to my Dad, this is common behavior, and is usually exhibited in children when they are 3-5 years of age. This means that, at least in this regard, Hannah's psychological development is keeping pace with her cognitive and intellectual development.

First Two Abstract Concepts and First Compound Utterance (18 1/2 Months)

2005-07-26T14:47:14Z

After Karen and I got home from work, Hannah was playing in the Family Room. She was bopping along, saying "Happy. I'm happy." Karen asked her, "Hannah, are you happy?" And Hannah replied, "I'm happy."

Later in the evening, Hannah started to wind down, so we turned off the overhead lights. This usually helps Hannah calm down, so it's easier for her to get to sleep. Hannah was lying on her bear/dog rug. Karen sat down next to her, and asked, "Hannah, are you happy?" Hannah replied, "Not. I'm tired." Karen and I almost doubled over laughing.

"Happy" and "tired" are Hannah's first two spoken abstract concepts.

I immediately called my Dad, and asked him if what she said qualifed as two consecutive sentences. He said that this wasn't the case, because "Not." wasn't a sentence. Rather, "Not. I'm tired." was Hannah's first "compound utterance." Yeah for Hannah!

"New Books."

2005-07-25T18:33:56Z

On Saturday, my parents and Aunt came to visit. They brought lots of gifts for Hannah, of course, including several books of varying shapes and sizes. On Sunday night, I picked up Shirley from the train station. When we got home, Hannah gave Shirley her usual ethusiastic greeting. As Shirley was putting her things away, Hannah said to her, "New books. New books." Karen explained to Shirley that Hannah had gotten several new books, and wanted to share this important information with Shirley.

"Do you wanna see this?"

2005-07-22T19:17:41Z

Karen and I were in the bedroom getting dressed, and Hannah had just woken up. Karen's workout clothes were laid out on the bed. Hannah was particularly interested in Karen's purple sports bra, so Karen let her play with it. After a few minutes, Karen said to her "Hannah, why don't you show that to Daddy." I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Hannah walked over to me, offered me the bra, and asked, "Do you wanna see this?" This was Hannah's second 5-word sentence. It was also the first time Hannah had asked a question that was longer than 2 words. Her other questions were:
- "What's this?"
- "What's that?"
- "Where's Daddy?"

Shirley had been downstairs in the kitchen, preparing a bottle for Hannah. When we're getting ready for work, we keep the door to the bedroom closed. When Hannah heard Shirley walking up the steps, she got agitated, so Karen opened the door for her. Hannah then said to Karen, "I'm gonna get Shirley," and walked out of the room.

First 5-Word Sentence (18 Months)

2005-07-16T19:47:22Z

The day started with Hannah asking Karen, "Where's Daddy?" Later, while I was holding her, she looked out the window, and saw a soccer ball on our neighbor's lawn. She pointed to it and said, "I see a ball." This was Hannah's third 4-word sentence. Then, she topped herself.

My in-laws came over for a visit. As I was changing Hannah, Karen and Grandma Barbara were in the room. Karen told Barbara that Hannah had said "I see a ball." Hannah then joined in on the conversation, saying "I did see a ball." Then she repeated herself. Both times, she put the emphasis on the word "did," as if to make the point that she really, really had seen a ball. This was Hannah's first 5-word sentence. Yeah for Hannah!

Later, I was romping with Hannah on the floor in the Family Room. I was on my stomach, and Hannah was trying to climb on top of me. When she finally was able to balance herself on my back, she sat up triumphantly, and said, "I did it." Then she clapped. Toddlers are fun.

"I see a car." and "There's a baby."

2005-07-16T01:28:32Z

Late in the afternoon, Karen drove Shirley to the train station, with Hannah in tow. As they drove past another vehicle, Hannah pointed at it, and said "I see a car." Karen asked Shirley incredulously, "Did she just say what I think she just said?" Shirley smiled and said, "Yes." This was Hannah's second 4-word sentence (see entry from 3/12/2005).

After I got home from work, we drove out to get some frozen yogurt. There were several young children playing in the street. As we drove by, Hannah looked out the window and said, "There's a baby."

Hannah's Vocabulary at 18 Months

2005-07-13T20:32:01Z

At Hannah's checkup, Dr. Horowitz asked us how many words Hannah had spoken. We estimated around 50, but didn't know for sure, so Karen and I spent the next couple of days putting together a list of words and sentences that Hannah had used in a proper context. The total number of words was 87. I also listed 10 sentences that she has used in a proper context.

Dad said that in Arnold Gesell's book "Developmental Diagnosis: Normal and Abnormal Child Development," he says that the average 18-month old has a vocabulary of 10 words, while the average 24-month old has a vocabulary of 20 words. Yeah for Hannah!

Vocabulary Spreadsheet:
http://www.toppest.com/Transfers/Non-HTML/HRVocabulary7-14-2005.xls