Saturday, March 2, 2013

Chooch and Smooch


I went to see my daughter and care for her last week after she had her 4 wisdom teeth surgically removed.  We had all been concerned about the possibility of nerve damage in her face and neck, as the first dental surgeon had said that a nerve was very close and possibly intertwined around a tooth.  The second opinion was different, but still a bit of a concern.  The surgery went smoothly and quickly.  There was no nerve damage at all!  She couldn't pick up her son and couldn't carry him around for the week I was there though.  Throbbing and the risk of losing a clot kept her lying pretty low for a few days.

I stayed a week and learned more about my grandson while I was there.  He is quite a kid now.  A toddler of 18 months.  A big deal.  A walker.  A giggler.  A watcher of everything.  A mimicker of every sound he hears...and he hears everything.  I wonder at parents and others who can speak crudely and rudely around young ones, saying that they are too young to understand and they aren't listening and it's going right over their heads.  Nope.  No, it isn't.

But that is for another day.

On the day I want to talk about, we needed a break from blocks, books, trucks, etc.  and decided he could watch tv - Netflicks - Mr. Rogers to be exact.  So she asked him, "Do you want to watch tv?" (Now, mind you she doesn't do this often and there are only 3 or 4 shows he watches ever.  She doesn't even watch tv while he is awake.)  Anyway, he said yash...which is yes, of course.  And then he said, "Chooch."  I asked her what chooch meant and she shrugged her shoulders.  So she turned on Mr. Rogers.  He looked at Mr. Rogers coming through the door, changing into his sweater, and began to cry.  He likes Mr. Rogers.  Why was he crying?  He stopped crying when trolley came in.  Then he started to cry again.  Now what?  He watched again for a few seconds pointed to the tv and again cried, and said "No, no".
I told my daughter that I didn't think he wanted to watch Mr. Rogers for some reason.  At which point her face lit up in a look of understanding!  Chooch was for choo-choo train!  He wanted to watch Thomas!
She quickly changed over to Thomas the Train.  He looked up at the tv and stood with his hands behind his back as the train came on the tv screen.  And then... he turned to look at his mom, and he blew her a kiss!
He doesn't say many words yet, but the ones he does say mean something.  We have to be careful they don't go right over our heads!

10 comments:

  1. What a sweet story! Gotta love those baby words! You are right, how sad for little ones who are surrounded by the wrong kind of words just as they are learning to communicate.

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  2. Oh, I have a story I could tell, but it will have to be for some other time.
    That is cute, though.

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  3. Amazing how these little guys manage to get their message across! So sweet!

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  4. Yes, they do know and understand! Love how you shared his slice! Blowing a kiss too? What could be better?

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  5. Great story. Don't you love those little ones? And I love your ending. Poignant. Thank you!

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  6. Beautiful! He said everything with the kiss!

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  7. This age is so hard with the communication, isn't it? Imogene says words very softly & then it finally 'gets through'. I love your story, Donna. What a neat thing that he told what he wanted, & even sweeter, he blew Momma a kiss. I bet all the hearts got a few sizes bigger! (So glad your daughter is okay, too!)

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  8. How wonderful that your grandson has people around him so attuned to what he wants! Lucky kid!

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  9. My youngest daughter is 18 months as well. It can be frustrating when she is trying so hard to tell us something that is obviously important to here and we can't understand. And then, there are the times when we do understand and it's magical! I love this story on so many levels. My oldest lived and breathed Thomas the train for about three years...my second child used to blow the sweetest kisses...my third is four and has become a gifted translator for the baby. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. What a gift, to your daughter and grandson, and to you! Enjoy those moments.

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