Potty mouth

I forgot to write yesterday that Benjamin said a four-word sentence—his biggest one to date. He still only says half-words but he said four half-words in a row!

I asked him if he wanted another push on the swing and he said, "No—wan' ge' dow'!"

So I got him down.

Our biggest hurdle to communication (besides his unwillingness to vocalize almost anything) is that when asked a question he will answer by shaking his head no and saying "Uh-uh," a good chunk of the time. 50% of the time this means no. 50% of the time this means yes. It's terrible.

Just this morning he was sitting at the table looking like he was...working hard...so I asked him if he needed to go potty.

"Uh-uh," he said, shaking his head.

"Alright," I said. "You let me know if you need to go potty."

He refuses to say the word potty and his potty sign is so fleeting, so nonchalant—he thinks I can pick up on a gentle flick of the wrist while his hand's curled into a fist...on his way to grab a car or punch his sister. I can never tell if he's signing potty or not. He's just not obvious about it.

"Pah-pah" was one of the first words either of the girls picked up on and they both used the sign beautifully.

Benjamin refuses to use actual potty words. No amelioration for him. He wants to get down to the nitty-gritty of things and prefers the terms 'pee' and 'poo.'

So it was that he announced at the breakfast table that all his hard work had paid off.

"Mom! Go poop!" he yelled to me in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, this was past tense. He didn't need to go. He already went. But he talked about it...so that's good, right?