Journal of Kieran from 1 to 4 Years Old

Here's a few random events in the growth and development of The Boy from 1 to 4. This was ported over from the old web site. Unfortunately we haven't updated it since just after he turned 4 (pretty much as soon as he started school). I'm hoping the blog will get us back to at least occasional updates...

Feb. 14 2002 - State of the Nation at 18 months old

Knows his alphabet all the way through (though he tends to forget 'G' and says 'U' twice instead of 'V'). Recognizes any letter you show him.

Knows all his numbers from 1 to 12. Recognizes any number you show him.

Vocabulary of almost a hundred words. Recognizes many objects or pictures you show him and says the correct word (with some unique pronounciations).

Says "Schumacher's car" whenever he picks up a race car. This is influenced by Andrew next door. I'm trying to alter this to "Hakkinen's car".

Feb. 15 2002

Walked into the bathroom while I was in the shower and said "Daddy in shower".

Feb. 16 2002

While walking by a radiator that was on said "Hot". Though we've told him that fireplaces and ovens are hot before, we've never mentioned radiators.

I mentioned that we were going to the mall today and might be able to play around the fountain. He responded by saying "Fountain - water".

Said "Schumacher in ambulance". A very positive step! OK, he probably said "Schumacher AND ambulance", but I'm sticking with what I heard...

Feb. 18 2002

While crawling on our bed, picked up my boxer shorts and said "That's Daddy's pants".

Enjoyed playing "Banzai Mommy and Daddy". He runs from the kitchen into our arms, but only if we pretend we aren't looking at him.

Feb. 19 2002

Bunny was lost today...He took it well.

Had a very good swim at class and really enjoyed playing "Humpy Dumpy" (aka Humpty Dumpty) where he would throw himself off a floating mat into my arms when I said "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall..."

Feb. 20 2002

He seems to have survived the loss of Bunny pretty well. Doggie has taken his place and he slept through the night with nary a complaint. He asked about Bunny occasionally today, but has adapted well otherwise. Mommy seems to be more traumatized than he is.

When I wet his hair in the tub, he now puts his hand up to his hair and says "No soap". He's not a big fan of getting a shampoo, though he doesn't complain too much.

Feb. 21 2002

He slipped on the first stair while going up and then said "Kieran bonk head". Halfway up the stairs he said "Bath time". On the last step, he said "Top stairs".

In the bath he was able to screw on the top of a bottle for the first time.

Feb. 27 2002

While looking at the cars on the street, he said "That's Neese's car" (aka Denise's car), "That's Robup's car" (Robert's car) and "That's Linlal's car" (Linda's car).

When it was Danielle's turn to play with a little car in the driveway, Kieran stood and pretended to cry to elicit sympathy. This was proven when we could see that he was looking at us from the corner of his eye.

Feb. 28 2002

While getting ready this morning, Kieran said "Mommy, Daddy, Office". I told him that we would try to be home early today and he then said "Soon, home soon".

After dinner, he tugged Mom's sweater and said "Sit down, couch". This is so he can play his game of Banzai-ing Mommy...

Mar. 1 2002

Kieran kept asking "Mommy, you know what?". When Mom said "what?", he answered "Mommy, you know what?". This became a rather circular affair.

Mar. 2 2002

In his Truck Board Book, Kieran was able to match each of the 5 wheels on one page with the 5 trucks on the other - all by himself (ie. "This wheel, Front Loader. This wheel, Fire Truck...).

When we asked him if he wanted to go to the mall today (a fun spot for him is the fountain at the mall), he said "Fountain, water, bubbles".

Mar. 13 2002

His Grandma has been here since Monday and now whenever she's not in the room he says, "See Meme. See Meme!" We think he's quite fond of her...

Mar. 14 2002

We came home from work to find Kieran had learned a new word while spending the day with Grandpa. "Screwdriver".

He also pointed at my Dad's glass of sherry and said "Grandpa juice!"

Mar. 15 2002

While his Mom was giving him some bagel, he said "Cut it in pieces".

Mar. 17 2002

We discovered an old book with a game about the sounds a horse makes when it trots and gallops. In particular the section that went "Tap-tap-tappety-tap, Tappety-tappety-tap, Tap-tap-tappety-tap, Tappety-tappety-whoa!" sent him into hysterics for at least 15 minutes.

Mar. 18 2002

Shortly after getting home from work, Kieran said "Now Mommy and Daddy home". And then he smiled.

During dinner, he wanted his shirt off so he tugged at it and tried to lift it over his head and said "Shirt off! Shirt off!". 10 seconds after it was off, he pointed at it and said "Shirt back on!".

Mar. 21 2002

When the Grocery Gateway delivery man showed up, Kieran said loudly "Look at that guy!". After he left, we watched the "big green truck" and proclaimed that it was "mine". As we waved bye to the truck, Kieran said "Nice man".

Mar. 25 2002

His Mom and Grandmother ('Dida') went to go buy some clothes and food. When asked where they were he said "Mommy, Dida shopping. Back soon."

Mar. 26 2002

He occasionally likes to read the Stratford Festival brochure we have and usually begins by asking for "All Well" (ie. All's Well That Ends Well). Now, when we ask him "Kieran, what do you want to see in Stratford?" he says "King Leo" (ie. King Lear).

Mar. 27 2002

When I put him down for sleep tonight, I said (as I always do) "Daddy loves you". As I turned to leave he said "And Mommy". So I came back and said "That's right, both Mommy and Daddy love you", to which he responded "Yah".

Mar. 28 2002

While checking the Weather Channel on TV today, Kieran walked by the TV, stopped and said "oh, nine degees!".

Apr. 4 2002

While shaving this morning, Kieran popped in to take a look and said "Daddy shaving. Kieran shave too."

Apr. 5 2002

Kieran has taken to saying "Dida, Dadu, Meme, Grandpa...Not Here. Too bad."

Apr. 7 2002

Today, Kieran and I walked a bottle of vanilla extract around the block in a purple stroller. No, I'm not kidding.

Whenever we walked by a piece of garbage on the street, Kieran would point and say "Garbageman, pick it up?" When I said yes, he would shake his head and say "Too bad" (meaning that it's too bad that people would drop garbage on the street).

Apr. 26 2002

At the library, his Mom asked him if he wanted to put his name on the picture he just drew (abstract of course). He answered "Yah, Kieran Turnbull"

After asking him what he thought the weather was outside he said "Bright and sunny".

May 1 2002

Kieran wanted to see inside "Daddy's car" today, so we sat in the driver's seat. I put the key in to turn on the radio and when I changed the station, Kieran heard music and said "Ooh, that's a good song!"

He calls his library books, "Libio books".

In the Amazing Cars library book, he's decided that the 1935 Dusenberg is Grandpa's car, the London Taxi is Meme's car and the Lambourghini Diablo is Daddy's car.

The book also has a picture of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car which he calls "Chitty Bing car".

June 16 2002 - State of the Nation at 22 months old

Has said his first 5 syllable word ==> "particularly". It wasn't in context, but that's hardly the point...

Says "Hi" and "Bye" when talking on the phone. Will also engage in some conversation (telling you what he is holding and answering some questions).

At dinner tonight said, "Mommy, I need a bib".

Can climb up stairs to slides by himself and loves to go down them.

June 25 2002

Picked up a truck book of his and read it to me. After pointing to every truck on a page, he would say "Turn another page." and then turn the page himself and list of the trucks on that page.

July 2 2002

His three favourite trucks are now the "Hummer", "Pickup" and "4 by 4". If you tell him the truck is a "1 by 1", he will correct you. "No, it 4 by 4".

Sep. 7 2002

From the back seat of the car, he suddenly said: "What happen Friday? Mommy stay at home. Daddy go to the office. Sorry."

About a month ago said to his Daddy "I Love You".

Nov. 24 2002

Can count by himself up to 30 (can be prompted to go higher). If shown a calendar, he can count every day on it.

Can sing the whole ABC song (including the "Now I know my ABC's..." section) all by himself.

Favourite current CD is No! by They Might Be Giants. Can turn on the stereo and CD player and choose the CD and track number of the song he wants. Can remember almost all the songs by track number AND title.

Favourite current video is Mighty Machines. Can turn on the TV by himself and put a video in.

Favourite current book is Bunny Money starring Max The Bunny

Says sentences like "How about we listen to a song and then we go to the bath?" Also uses the word "otherwise".

Likes his milk "really really warm".

Had his first dentist appointment 2 days ago. Said "Aaaaah!" for the dentist and learned how to spray water into a cup. He has 18 teeth in his head...

His best friend is Malcolm (3 days younger) who lives across the street. Always wants to know what Malcolm is doing and likes to play with him (though they both still have trouble sharing).

Nov. 25 2002

Totally unsolicited he said "Mommy, I love you" when she said goodnight to him.

Nov. 30 2002

Has been saying "Me a poo" the last few days...Finally figured out that he is imitating the way his friend Malcolm says "Winnie The Pooh".

New favourite song - "Hot Christmas" by Squirrel Nut Zippers. Listened to it ~30 times today and all the way to Mississauga (to Auntie Lisa and Uncle Pierre's place). When we got there he asked "Does Auntie Lisa like the Hot Christmas song?" We then brought the CD in the house in order to verify that she did...

Had a lot of fun playing with little baby Jesse (a year younger than him). He sat next to her and whenever she would shake her head he would do the same and laugh.

Dec. 1 2002

While sweeping the snow off the walk with his little broom, stated several times "Daddy, I'm doing a great job!"

Dec. 4 2002

His new game in the morning is to step into our closet, slide the door closed and then say "Daddy, where is me?"

As he was put down to sleep, he was asked why Mommy and Daddy were so happy. He said "Because you love me".

Jan. 19 2003

While typing "numbers and letters" on the computer, I typed in his name and asked him what it said. He correctly identified it. When I asked him how to spell my name, he typed in A-S-S.

Discovered the joys of Hot Chocolate and Special Hot Chocolate (Ovaltine). And granola bars.

Jan. 21 2003

Had a good swim lesson today (the second one after almost a year break). He quite enjoy Kicking our feet while on his stomach and really enjoys jumping in the pool and the slide.

While picking a song at bedtime, he asked what something said on the tape deck door. I told him it said "AUTO-STOP" (he can recognize the word STOP and knows how to spell it). He thought for a moment and then said, "Daddy, that means stop by itself." When I told him that was right, he then said "Daddy, you said it wrong."

Feb. 19 2003

After coming home from work, he sometimes asks us "Mommy/Daddy, did you have a good work day?"

While getting him ready for bed tonight he asked if he Mommy could "put him to sleep". When I said Yes, he then said "Daddy, I love you. Can you go now?" Always eager to get to his books...

Feb. 22 2003

Had his first full day at Day Care yesterday (though Mommy was with him all day). He enjoyed playing with Playdoh and wearing smocks while painting

Sang all of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with me. As a matter of fact, he's still singing it now, in his crib an hour after bedtime. He just now broke into Happy Birthday.

Mar. 27 2003

The first thing Kieran said to me today was "We're starting to run out of things. We need to buy some more."

Apr. 5 2003

His list of favourite songs last week consisted of "Hash Pipe" by Weezer and "Common Law Love" and "Speak Of The Devil" by Sonny Landreth.

His current bedtime ritual is as follows...First we brush our teeth (Kieran turns on and off the water taps himself), the we climb on the toilet seat and ask for our diaper to be removed first (a difficult task, but doable). We climb into the bath and play (mostly drinking the tub water and spitting it out) and when it's time to come out, Kieran opens the tub drain himself. We have to wait until all the water drains (and say "Bye water" the whole time) and then we play the hiding game before he climbs out (this consists of Daddy draping the towel over his head a numbe rof times). After drying off we bring our clothes to the clothes hamper and run naked back to his room to get into our PJ's (usually our dump truck shirt over our race car shirt OR the bulldozer shirt over the school bus shirt). We then sit down for a book and listen to music. After the book, we decide that we need a different CD in the player. Once we choose the song, we turn out the lights and we dance to it. After the song is done, Kieran turns off the CD player and then asks for Twinkle Twinkle (which I then sing to him). Once done, I put him down and he gathers up his little bear Klondike and asks for his back to be patted. After I pat it, I tell him we love him and he says that "Lots of people love me and like me" then he tells me to "Have fun". The last few nights he then adds in that "maybe we can make something tomorrow" (meaning a recipe in the kitchen) and then finshes with "see you when I wake up".

His current favourite songs are "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers, "Turning Wheel" by Sonny Landreth

Potential new favourites: "Baby Please Don't Go" by Sonny Landreth and "Stomach Worm" by Stereolab.

Apr. 5 2003

Just as we were leaving his daycare, he stopped to point to the pictures of the other kids in his class. He was able to identify and name (just by looking at the pictures) 14 out of the 15 kids. The only he didn't know, was a boy who only comes in on the days Kieran isn't there.

Apr. 13 2003

Looked at my fleece and saw the IBM logo. He said "I-B-M, that spells work".

Apr. 14 2003

Kieran was watching Dudley the Dragon and saw that Mr. Crabby Tree is scared of the dark. He says "maybe he's scared of a ghost or something...but Mommy I"m not scared".

Apr. 30 2003

Recognizes the written names of every child in his Daycare.

Had calimari at dinner.

May 3 2003

Went pee in his potty for the first time.

May 4 2003

Went to see his first movie in a theatre ("Bob The Builder - A Christmas To Remember")

Oct 26 2003

Dismantled his crib today. First night in his new bed - his first real bed. Last thing he said to me before we said Goodnight was "It's very comfy. Thank you for my new bed Daddy."

We carved our first pumpkin today. He really liked it when we put the candle inside.

Current list of favourite songs - "A Knife And A Fork" by Rockpile; "Keep A Knockin'" by Fleetwood Mac; "I'm A Man" by Joe Jackson; "21st Century Digital Boy" by Bad Religion; "Transverse City" by Warren Zevon; Just about anything by Sonny Landreth...

Waaay back during the summer, we asked him what he thought the new name of the baby giraffe at the zoo should be (there was a contest going on). Of his own accord he said "Pinkertoot".

We also celebrated his birthday with a combined party with his best friend Malcolm. The party place was Kids Works and half the place was a big sandbox with a full playsey made from wood with slides, etc. The assembled crowd of 13 kids had a blast.

He also loved the visit from his cousin Akaash. Since Akaash had brought his skateboard, he showed Kieran how to do kickflips and for the rest of week "Akaass, do some kickflips!"

Dec 8 2003

This morning he checked the time (it was 7:57) and then said, "Mommy, I have 3 more minutes before I can put the TV on". When he was asked, "How did you know that?", he said "I don't know".

Favourite songs of the moment ==> "Power", "Human Race" and "Can't Turn Back" from Red Rider's Neruda album, ALL of Warren Zevon's Transverse City album and just recently "American Gigolo" by Weezer.

He likes to pepper his speech with "...besides which...".

Jan 24 2004

I wrote 2 sentences for Kieran today and he read them both perfectly. One was "Bubble Tea For You And Me" and the other was "Time To Eat Our Dinner". The previous day at Starbucks he read from the wall "From Here To There" and "From Now To Then". He's reading!

Tried underwear on him this afternoon. Not a rousing success. In his words, he "leaked" twice.

Mar 13 2004

As he was eating Ice Cream for dessert he proclaimed that it "has vitamins and minerals that help you grow short."

Mar 15 2004

Has been peeing by himself in the toilet the last few days and hasn't leaked in his underwear. Today he pooped by himself in the potty for the first time and exclaimed excitedly after I finished wiping him "Daddy, pooping in the potty is fun!"

Aug 4 2004 - State of the Nation at 4 years old

Can read entire paragraphs containing 3 and 4 syllable words

Restarted swimming class. First time in the pool without Mommy or Daddy (just him and the teacher). We thought he would be very upset his first class, but he was very brave (though had some tears during the class). Subsequent classes have gone very well and he goes to the teacher without much complaint. Floats very well on his back (with arms straight out), blows bubbles while on his tummy and kicks like crazy.

has his own little vegetable garden out back and has had his first grape tomato and cucumber from it. His comment on the tomato? "Mmmmmm".

Loves doing dot-to-dots and mazes. Has improved his drawing skills quite a bit since doing them. He can do 3 full 40-50 page books in a matter of a day or two. Loves going to Mastermind to pick out new books.

Graduated from pre-school in June.

Currently in a two week afternoon camp with his buddy Malcolm.

Current musical favourites include Streetheart and The Wiggles.