James' Vocabulary

Just some observations about James' English-speaking skills...

James is talking like crazy. He's been repeating after us all along, but is now starting to say some more common phrases on his own now, without being prompted. One of the funnier ones, is when you give him something (like his supper plate), he'll say, "Thank you. You're welcome." Comes from us telling him to say, "Thank you," then responding with, "You're welcome," and he repeats after that too - just now he's saying both on his own.

When James first came home, we were using redirection as our discipline technique, almost exclusively - and it worked for a while. But with him getting more comfortable, he's starting to test his boundaries a little bit more. So we're having to discipline him and get a little more stern with our instructions. He usually has one, maybe two, tantrums in a day - usually regarding being told no about something. Sometimes he gets mad and comes crying and hitting. We don't allow the hitting, so holding his hand and telling him, "No hitting, pa frape," will usually erupt into an all-out tantrum. He knows what, "No hitting," means, and he doesn't like that phrase. However, when he calms down from the tantrum, we're teaching him to say, "I'm sorry," and when we reiterate the, "No hitting," he is learning to respond, "Yes Mommy or Daddy". He is also saying, "I'm sorry," on his own when he realizes someone's hurt after he's done something. He is answering, "Yes," when we ask him to do something as well - even little things like throwing something in the trash, etc.

When it's time to change James' diaper, he knows how to respond with either, "Yes" or a no-head-shake, when we ask him if he's stinky or poopy. Also sometimes if the answer is yes, he'll just repeat the word stinky or poopy. Sometimes he'll just go get a clean diaper and come tell us he's stinky or poopy. Too funny! Some would say he's ready for potty-training if he knows when he needs a diaper - but he hasn't the slightest clue what to do when he sits on the potty. I've let him sit on it a few times, but I'm not pushing it. Also, when we're changing a stinky diaper, he will say, "Eeeewwwww" when we open it. Too funny!

I think one of James' favorite phrases is, "Uh-oh!"

James is learning to count, and I'm trying to teach him a few colors too. He will say, "two," if I say "one." He will repeat colors after me - my favorite is, "lellow". I'm also working on some vocab words from books, and he's getting better at sitting for some really short books where we can turn pages quickly - and he'll repeat phrases/words after me as I'm reading. He likes to watch TV, and will repeat words that are stressed. The other day they were doing circles, and I showed him some circles today as well. I think he knows what they are now, as later in the day he pointed one out to me, but the word doesn't quite come out right.

When we go up and down stairs, he will say, "Up!" or "Down!" with each step. He asks, "Stairs?" when he wants to go up or down them, then when we've finished going up or down, he'll point to the floor and say, "Down", then to the ceiling and say, "Up."

James still loves his shoes and socks - and now boots, so he knows how to use those words quite well. He loves going places, so he knows what it means when I tell him to get his coat and hat - but he hasn't used those words himself consistently without prompting yet. He wears hats around, but since he doesn't say the word well on his own, he usually just pats his head when he can't find his hat when he wants one.

James is good at saying the following words/phrases at the appropriate times:
Bye-bye, see you later!
Bye-bye, I love you! (VERY funny when he's playing at home, just going in a room and closing a door, then coming right back in and repeating a hundred times!)
Nigh-night, I love you!
Dear God, Thank you ... food ... Mommy, Daddy, Elijah, Josephine, Kaylen ... Amen! (I think the folks sitting near us in church get a kick out of him saying, "Dear God" when I told him it was time to pray, and "Amen" after everyone else had said it. It was rather loud, and cute!)
Brush teeth
Nose, ears, eyes, belly, belly-button
Ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh (and scratching his arm-pits, when he wears his monkey shirt or sees a monkey photo)
Woof-woof (when he sees a dog or a photo of a dog, or pretends to be a dog)
Beep-beep (that's what a car is called, you know!)
Mmmmmmm, yummy!
More
Please (although usually when he says this he just wants water, not using it for anything else quite yet - working on this)

He also knows and understands lots of other phrases, instructions, and questions, just doesn't necessarily repeat them. He gets confused when we say You and Me, which I understand is common, but very cute! He's getting better about when he sees himself in a photo or a mirror, pointing to himself and saying, "Me!" Although when he sees a photo of me, he points to himself also - I think he's getting "Mommy" and "Me" confused a bit. ;)

Love, love, LOVE it when Daddy gets home from work, and he runs as fast as his little legs can carry him, hollering, "Daddy! Daddy!" all the way across the kitchen to the entry-way and into Daddy's arms, then proceeds to tell him about his day - just jibber-jabbering, mostly in Kreyol. Jock listens to audio books and used to come in the house with his headphones still in as he finished up a chapter. I told him he needs to finish up and put the headphones away before he walks in the door, so he can experience the joy as well.

James also still speaks some in Kreyol as well...

James has this funny way of talking in Kreyol really fast, where he kind of points his fingers, lowers his chin, and kind of looks like he's letting you have it about something, but half-jokingly. Last week when I took him in for his immunizations, right when the two nurses were finished (they have 2 nurses so they can get it done twice as fast - three pokes in each leg) he did this at them. SOOOOOO funny! He immediately perked up when I stood him up to pull his pants back up, then as they were walking out of the room he did it to them. I don't think they noticed that they were being chewed out though.

James also still talks in really fast Kreyol when he's really excitedly playing. The older kids like to get him going, because it's so funny to listen to!

Jock and I were just remarking tonight at how well James is talking. I don't think Elijah and Josephine were really talking much until about 4 months home - although they also understood us a lot of what we said to them this soon. I'm certain that they weren't talking much, even in Kreyol, at the orphanage where they were at. Their orphanage also didn't provide much individual attention to the babies like GLA does, which I'm sure is some of the big difference in James' language skills compared to theirs. At any rate, it's amazing to me how quickly young children learn a language. It's so fun to hear James' progress in how quickly he is speaking so well!