Today was a day for visiting with family - Dad, Ellen, Margo, and I drove to Broomfield to spend the day at Gina, Steve, and Jayden's house. Although he's only 17 months old, Jayden's vocabulary is astounding. He's not quite putting sentences together, but he is stringing words together and making short phrases, and he knows more 4-syllable words than some of my high school students! He can say "motorcycle" and "calculator" and he will at least try to repeat most words that he hears. It's almost like he has to mull it over in his head a little bit, practicing in his mind what he's going to say, and then the word just pops out of his mouth. Very impressive!
Margo and I had painted a child-sized adirondack chair for Jayden, and somehow Margo fit all the pieces (and her motorcycle helmet!) in her suitcase for the flight out here. After reassembling it, we presented it to him on Monday, and he was quite taken with it. He could identify all of the pictures on the chair - truck, airplane, Elmo, choo choo, boots, and firetruck (even though he sometimes confused it with fireplace) - and he was able to sit all the way back in it and get back out again all on his own. Dad and Ellen also picked up a t-shirt for Jayden in Sturgis, complete with a teddy bear on a motorcycle, and he was happy to model it for all of us.
We all took a nice walk to Starbuck's nearby, with Jayden in his wagon that dad (Pop Pop) made for him. It was a beautiful morning to sit outside at the cafe tables. At first Jayden was happy with his Tilty cup of apple juice, but he soon became more interested in mommy's iced mocha instead. Margo remedied the situation by getting him his own Starbuck's cup full of water, and once he figured out how to use the straw, he was good to go. Jayden and I took a short walk past the shops and looked at the barn swallow nests with the baby birds waiting patiently for mom and dad to bring more food, and by then it was time to head back home for a nap, not just for Jayden but for most of us!
Once up from his nap, dad and I filled Jayden's pool for him, and Margo tried to teach him how to use his rubber ducks to spray water at people. He stayed in the water for a little while, but soon was ready to get "out now, please." By that time Gina had returned home from an appointment and soon after Steve got home too and we all walked to dinner at Woody's Wood Fired Pizza. Jayden was great at dinner, alternating sitting on my lap, Ellen's, and Gina's, and sharing pizza with us - he really likes pizza! He stood by himself for a while, just watching people walk by and taking it all in. He really is just a joy to be around. After we finished our meal, it was time to head back home and get Jayden to bed, and for us to drive back home. Tomorrow will be spent at "home" in Loveland, with some errands to be done and maybe a ride in the afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment