Thumper’s first sentence
Thumper has been talking for quite some time now. Months and months, and I wish I could recall exactly when it started (or I wish I’d written it down, rather than assuming I would remember). His first word was daddy, and then came mommy, ball, Dido (for Diego), belly, etc etc. In recent weeks he added no and not to his arsenal, and began to use them rather forcefully, testing the toddler waters. It was always single words or two word combos (like, “me that” or “my that” when he wants something) mixed with his own Thumper non-English language, until the other day. The other day, he produced his first sentence. Three words, all strung together in context. I was so proud. Though…the sentence itself… I hope it doesn’t hint at some really terrible two’s ahead of us.
His first sentence: “No, not that!”
And he’s been saying it ever since. This morning, he decided to up the level of difficulty and add another word. “No, not that, Mommy!”
I love that he’s talking, I love how verbal he is. But is it wrong to wish he was saying “yummy scrambled eggs” or “I love you, Mommy” or something like that?
Sigh. No, Mommy. Not that.
Heh. Forget terrible 2’s. Wait until he’s three and has an even stronger command of language. That’s when self-determination really kicks in!
Posted by: Amy
Heh. Forget terrible 2’s. Wait until he’s three and has an even stronger command of language. That’s when self-determination really kicks in!
Posted by: Amy
One of these days, Thumper will crawl into your lap, put his arms around you and say “I love you, Mommy” and you will melt into a puddle of happy Mommy. And when he’s older you’ll laugh over his first real sentence.
Posted by: Anne
Olivia’s first ‘sentence’ was “No, mama, no.”
It didn’t hurt her ability to later say “I love you soooo much”
Posted by: Rebecca
And so it begins. 🙂
Posted by: Carole
No was Tadpole’s first word (besides Mama). She still won’t say yes, but she says thank you and please, so it’s ok. Today she even said, “I like Mama.”
Posted by: kate
The next step is a scream attached to the NO. And THEN comes I love you mummy, and kisses and hugs and you forget all the no’s. But how amazing and wonderful to have conversation with a small child, and see them learn their life through words and the accumulation of words. It is a marvelous part of motherhood.
[You’re going to love ‘But Why?’ too.]
Posted by: Alison
How old is Thumper now? Just wait until he starts making up his own songs, that’s fun to watch. Andy is currently on a mash-up of Twinkle Twinkle, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and If You’re Happy and You Know it, mixed in with babbling nonsense. He also likes to sing random portions of the ABCs, this week’s portion being WXYZ, followed by a random string of numbers; his favorite is 789.
Posted by: jen
Ha! I guess we can’t control our children and make them say what we want, can we? Still, I bet he’s adorable even when he says those words 🙂 Congrats on the first sentence!
Posted by: connie
One of these days, Thumper will crawl into your lap, put his arms around you and say “I love you, Mommy” and you will melt into a puddle of happy Mommy. And when he’s older you’ll laugh over his first real sentence.
Posted by: Anne
Olivia’s first ‘sentence’ was “No, mama, no.”
It didn’t hurt her ability to later say “I love you soooo much”
Posted by: Rebecca
And so it begins. 🙂
Posted by: Carole
No was Tadpole’s first word (besides Mama). She still won’t say yes, but she says thank you and please, so it’s ok. Today she even said, “I like Mama.”
Posted by: kate
The next step is a scream attached to the NO. And THEN comes I love you mummy, and kisses and hugs and you forget all the no’s. But how amazing and wonderful to have conversation with a small child, and see them learn their life through words and the accumulation of words. It is a marvelous part of motherhood.
[You’re going to love ‘But Why?’ too.]
Posted by: Alison
How old is Thumper now? Just wait until he starts making up his own songs, that’s fun to watch. Andy is currently on a mash-up of Twinkle Twinkle, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and If You’re Happy and You Know it, mixed in with babbling nonsense. He also likes to sing random portions of the ABCs, this week’s portion being WXYZ, followed by a random string of numbers; his favorite is 789.
Posted by: jen
Ha! I guess we can’t control our children and make them say what we want, can we? Still, I bet he’s adorable even when he says those words 🙂 Congrats on the first sentence!
Posted by: connie
If you say no to him a lot he will say it back. Try using different words instead of no. Perhaps he will start rebelling using different words too. 😉
Posted by: LaurieM
OK – so my firstborn is now 28 yrs old – and his first sentence was, and I quote: “Mommy go to work”. ulp – a long long time ago,and yes, mommy still go to work – and here he is today: wwwdotjulianvelarddotcom or however anyone can interpret it – he was totally young and now positions prose quite nicely –
but ps – his first real word was Dada –
now back to my mommyknitting – and a wonderful time alone with Bell Book and Candle ;o)
Posted by: margaret in manhattan
My little girl’s favourite is ‘No’, she uses it a lot, no sentences yet though.
Posted by: Sharon
You have officially given birth to a drama queen.
If the next sentence is “Oh, puhleeze,” you’re in deep trouble, bunkie.
Posted by: Lee Ann
Well, at least it wasn’t “Enough already,when are we going back to Brooklyn?”
Posted by: JK
I like to use their contrariness against them. A sample conversation with any of my kids at this time in their lives would go as follows.
Say the kid in question approached me and asked for a snack. I would offer suggestions:
“Would you like an apple?”
“No!”
“Would you like a banana?”
“No!”
“How about some crackers?”
“No!”
“(Kid) do you ever say ‘yes’?”
“No!”
“Do you always say ‘no’?”
(confused silence)
Posted by: Ruth
If you say no to him a lot he will say it back. Try using different words instead of no. Perhaps he will start rebelling using different words too. 😉
Posted by: LaurieM
OK – so my firstborn is now 28 yrs old – and his first sentence was, and I quote: “Mommy go to work”. ulp – a long long time ago,and yes, mommy still go to work – and here he is today: wwwdotjulianvelarddotcom or however anyone can interpret it – he was totally young and now positions prose quite nicely –
but ps – his first real word was Dada –
now back to my mommyknitting – and a wonderful time alone with Bell Book and Candle ;o)
Posted by: margaret in manhattan
My little girl’s favourite is ‘No’, she uses it a lot, no sentences yet though.
Posted by: Sharon
You have officially given birth to a drama queen.
If the next sentence is “Oh, puhleeze,” you’re in deep trouble, bunkie.
Posted by: Lee Ann
Well, at least it wasn’t “Enough already,when are we going back to Brooklyn?”
Posted by: JK
I like to use their contrariness against them. A sample conversation with any of my kids at this time in their lives would go as follows.
Say the kid in question approached me and asked for a snack. I would offer suggestions:
“Would you like an apple?”
“No!”
“Would you like a banana?”
“No!”
“How about some crackers?”
“No!”
“(Kid) do you ever say ‘yes’?”
“No!”
“Do you always say ‘no’?”
(confused silence)
Posted by: Ruth
Me, I just think it’s the cutest thing ever. Challenging authority already? I like this kid. And besos to you.
Posted by: Michelle
My son’s forst sentence was “This is Marketplace!” chirped from the backseat of my car. Too much Public Radio?
Posted by: HistoricStitcher
Awww. 🙂
Posted by: alison
My DH reminded me last night, while driving home in the car, the Bug carrying on a running commentary (at FULL volume) of everything he could see, think of, had ever heard of, imagined, etc. He said, “I TOLD you you shouldn’t be in such a hurry for him to talk!”
Posted by: Carrie
Aww, this makes me laugh and give you *hugs* at the same time. Jacob’s first word was “no”.
Posted by: Amy
Our little guy just started talking and his first recognizable word was “No”. No “mama” or “daddy” – “NO”. I was so upset and my husband said, “Look, I am sure that in the history of humankind some child’s first word was ‘love’, or ‘peace’, or ‘friendship’, but our kid’s is ‘no’ and it’s not a reflection on our parenting.” And I laughed and laughed.
Is it because of our parenting style? “No, not that, Mommy!” It’s because we’re raising independent kids. 🙂
Posted by: Liz in IL
Me, I just think it’s the cutest thing ever. Challenging authority already? I like this kid. And besos to you.
Posted by: Michelle
My son’s forst sentence was “This is Marketplace!” chirped from the backseat of my car. Too much Public Radio?
Posted by: HistoricStitcher
Awww. 🙂
Posted by: alison
My DH reminded me last night, while driving home in the car, the Bug carrying on a running commentary (at FULL volume) of everything he could see, think of, had ever heard of, imagined, etc. He said, “I TOLD you you shouldn’t be in such a hurry for him to talk!”
Posted by: Carrie
Aww, this makes me laugh and give you *hugs* at the same time. Jacob’s first word was “no”.
Posted by: Amy
Our little guy just started talking and his first recognizable word was “No”. No “mama” or “daddy” – “NO”. I was so upset and my husband said, “Look, I am sure that in the history of humankind some child’s first word was ‘love’, or ‘peace’, or ‘friendship’, but our kid’s is ‘no’ and it’s not a reflection on our parenting.” And I laughed and laughed.
Is it because of our parenting style? “No, not that, Mommy!” It’s because we’re raising independent kids. 🙂
Posted by: Liz in IL
I can hear that sentence in my head. He doesn’t need to say I love you Mommy because that is already something both you know. No, not that! is something you apparently don’t know and he needs to tell you 😉
Just wait, pretty soon he’ll be telling you all kinds of sweet nothings.
Toddlerhood is fun and frantic all at the same time. I miss it when I think about impending puberty at my house.
Posted by: Dr. Steph
Impending puberty: emotions plus words most definitely does not equal logic.
Thumper’s first sentence: more logical than 12 year olds. 🙂
Posted by: Aura
You just put a smile on my face. I need that today.
Posted by: Knittripps
OT: this morning I was driving and had the radio tuned to WOR. Joan Hamburg told YOUR tale of using a St. Joseph statue to sell your home in Brooklyn!!
Posted by: Anne
At least it wasn’t “Don’t taze me, bro.”
I can recall being thrilled, thrilled, when my son spoke his first sentence. Then when he was about 12 he said, “You just had me to do work.” Yeah, that’s it. (His kids are 14 and 19 now — heh.)
I’m thinking about you new to the northwest. Fred Meyer stores. They are actually Kroger, but pretty nice anyhow. No insisting you get some silly card in exchange for personal information. Well, there’s a card but it isn’t directly tied to lower prices. And you can do almost all shopping there at one place — I like that a lot.
Posted by: Catherine
My daughter’s first sentence was “Butt cheese” which I blamed on my husband. A little sleuthing and we figured out she meant “Brush teeth”. Wonderful material for use in conversation with her future mate. Saw you quoted in WSJ today with your St Joe…
Posted by: Carrie McW
My daughter’s first sentence was “Butt cheese” which I blamed on my husband. A little sleuthing and we figured out she meant “Brush teeth”. Wonderful material for use in conversation with her future mate. Saw you quoted in WSJ today with your St Joe…
Posted by: Carrie McW
I love it–it’s so odd the things kids seem to get fixated on saying. My 2 year-old nephew has been saying (for almost a month now) “I don’t have time!” No context, though, just his phrase for everything.
Posted by: nstssj
I can hear that sentence in my head. He doesn’t need to say I love you Mommy because that is already something both you know. No, not that! is something you apparently don’t know and he needs to tell you 😉
Just wait, pretty soon he’ll be telling you all kinds of sweet nothings.
Toddlerhood is fun and frantic all at the same time. I miss it when I think about impending puberty at my house.
Posted by: Dr. Steph
Impending puberty: emotions plus words most definitely does not equal logic.
Thumper’s first sentence: more logical than 12 year olds. 🙂
Posted by: Aura
You just put a smile on my face. I need that today.
Posted by: Knittripps
OT: this morning I was driving and had the radio tuned to WOR. Joan Hamburg told YOUR tale of using a St. Joseph statue to sell your home in Brooklyn!!
Posted by: Anne
At least it wasn’t “Don’t taze me, bro.”
I can recall being thrilled, thrilled, when my son spoke his first sentence. Then when he was about 12 he said, “You just had me to do work.” Yeah, that’s it. (His kids are 14 and 19 now — heh.)
I’m thinking about you new to the northwest. Fred Meyer stores. They are actually Kroger, but pretty nice anyhow. No insisting you get some silly card in exchange for personal information. Well, there’s a card but it isn’t directly tied to lower prices. And you can do almost all shopping there at one place — I like that a lot.
Posted by: Catherine
My daughter’s first sentence was “Butt cheese” which I blamed on my husband. A little sleuthing and we figured out she meant “Brush teeth”. Wonderful material for use in conversation with her future mate. Saw you quoted in WSJ today with your St Joe…
Posted by: Carrie McW
My daughter’s first sentence was “Butt cheese” which I blamed on my husband. A little sleuthing and we figured out she meant “Brush teeth”. Wonderful material for use in conversation with her future mate. Saw you quoted in WSJ today with your St Joe…
Posted by: Carrie McW
I love it–it’s so odd the things kids seem to get fixated on saying. My 2 year-old nephew has been saying (for almost a month now) “I don’t have time!” No context, though, just his phrase for everything.
Posted by: nstssj
Enjoyed the article in today’s (10-30) WSJ recapping your house selling adventure re St. Joseph. Enjoyed it on the blog – and even more so in such a surprise location! Thanks for a wonderful on-going reading experience. Happy also to hear how much your family’s enjoying Portland, home to some of my (non-knitting) relatives. If Powells took boarders, I’d be out of Southern California so fast . . .
Posted by: Victoria
Hehe! My daughter’s first sentence was “No, no, Momma, Don’t!” She was 20 months old, climbing the stairs, I needed her to come down, and she didn’t want me to help her.
My son’s? “Car go bye-bye!” sobbed out as he tried to climb over the baby gate to get to the car (before I even left the house) to go to the library with me and his big sister. Guess he didn’t want to stay with Daddy!
Posted by: tara
My baby’s first sentence (over 30 years ago!) was,
“I see winno.” (window)
This was accompanied by the adorable baby point with the chubby index finger.
She still has lots to say, you can read her knitting and other thoughts on:
http://amolson1.typepad.com/walnut_cheeks/
Posted by: Karen O
Google
Posted by: tnrtq
It’s interesting – it takes them a long time to figure out they have an impact on the people around them – I think they figure it out anew with every developmental stage – and with varying degrees of caring if they hurt you. My younger one (now 13) cares more about my feelings than my older one (25). We’re just part of their laboratory, really.
That’s a very creative sentence, it’s complex. It looks like he has your facility for words. Heh, they make you realize how much genetics has to do with everything, too. 🙂
Posted by: Patti
My sister didnt talk for ages! And when She finally did? all she would say was “I eat” just like that. No “mama” “dady” “no” yes” or anything else. From not talking to “i eat”
Posted by: fayleigh
I taught my nephew to say “not my mommy!” just before he and my sister had to take a plane flight. That was a lot of fun. 🙂
Posted by: David
Enjoyed the article in today’s (10-30) WSJ recapping your house selling adventure re St. Joseph. Enjoyed it on the blog – and even more so in such a surprise location! Thanks for a wonderful on-going reading experience. Happy also to hear how much your family’s enjoying Portland, home to some of my (non-knitting) relatives. If Powells took boarders, I’d be out of Southern California so fast . . .
Posted by: Victoria
Hehe! My daughter’s first sentence was “No, no, Momma, Don’t!” She was 20 months old, climbing the stairs, I needed her to come down, and she didn’t want me to help her.
My son’s? “Car go bye-bye!” sobbed out as he tried to climb over the baby gate to get to the car (before I even left the house) to go to the library with me and his big sister. Guess he didn’t want to stay with Daddy!
Posted by: tara
My baby’s first sentence (over 30 years ago!) was,
“I see winno.” (window)
This was accompanied by the adorable baby point with the chubby index finger.
She still has lots to say, you can read her knitting and other thoughts on:
http://amolson1.typepad.com/walnut_cheeks/
Posted by: Karen O
Google
Posted by: tnrtq
It’s interesting – it takes them a long time to figure out they have an impact on the people around them – I think they figure it out anew with every developmental stage – and with varying degrees of caring if they hurt you. My younger one (now 13) cares more about my feelings than my older one (25). We’re just part of their laboratory, really.
That’s a very creative sentence, it’s complex. It looks like he has your facility for words. Heh, they make you realize how much genetics has to do with everything, too. 🙂
Posted by: Patti
My sister didnt talk for ages! And when She finally did? all she would say was “I eat” just like that. No “mama” “dady” “no” yes” or anything else. From not talking to “i eat”
Posted by: fayleigh
I taught my nephew to say “not my mommy!” just before he and my sister had to take a plane flight. That was a lot of fun. 🙂
Posted by: David