Roman's Dictionary: Part I

Some translations of Roman-speak into plain English:

• aint: empty
• Aint: Auntie Em
• boke:  broken
• bue: blue
• choo-choo: train (usually Thomas); or "I hear a train!"
• Da-ee: Daddy
• dak: dark; it's dark outside (or when I cover my eyes)
• Dee [pause] Dee: DeeDee (maternal grandmother)
• eeease:  Please (we have to remind him to say the "puh" sound)
• Frof: froggie (once was a pacifier; now cut off)
• geen: green
• ha: yeah; yes
• happ:  I want to hear the happy song (by Pharrell Williams), on repeat, PLEASE!
• hi: Hide 'n go seek; please go hide so I can find you!
• huss: hugs
• losh: lotion; I have a boo-boo...please put some lotion on it!
• launch:  laundry; I want to help put the laundry in the dryer, PLEASE!
• mac:  Macaroni and cheese
• mink:  Mickey Mouse
• opes: oops!
• pains: pants
• pook: change my diaper; I have a poo-poo; or I have gas
• 'side: outside; I want to go outside!
• sack: snack; I want a snack, PLEASE!
• shaw: shower
• suck: stuck; "I'm stuck!"
• suss: Daddy's glasses
• teese: teeth; I want to brush my teeth
• Tess: Texas Longhorns
• tick: "Tickle me, please!" or "That tickles!"
• umph: elephant
• up: "Pick me up!"
• wed: red
• wok: rock; and by rock, I mean, "Stand up, bounce me and sway with me until my eyes get heavy (even though I weigh 30 pounds)!"
• WoWo: my cousin William
• yays: raisins
• yites: lights

Just in case I forget...

Some of the highlights from our life with Roman at age 18-19 months:

• Roman's taste in foods bewilders me. His favorites are sausage, Honey's potato salad (mustard potato salad), edamame, black olives, cubes of mild cheese, and bread (right now). He likes tuna, but I would not say it's his favorite. Thankfully, he is not that picky, but he refuses to eat yogurt and cottage cheese. I think it is the consistency--he seems to gag when I put it in his mouth.  Oh, I almost forgot: he also refuses fresh tomatoes...just like his Mommy and Papa G!

September 22, 2014

• When asked what color something is, Roman's first response is always, "Bue!" (blue), even though he knows the basic colors.
• Favorite books:  "Christmas Eve with Mrs. Claus," by M.P. Hueston, "I love my Mommy because," by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, and "Oliver Finds His Way," by Phyllis Root. Roman loves to open the flaps on the Mrs. Claus book; and he loves to roar louder and louder (just like Oliver) in the book, "Oliver Finds His Way." These are all board book treasures we have found at our local library, so we don't own any of them. We do recheck for the 3 times allowed, so sometimes it feels like we own them!
• Loves anything with Thomas the Train or Mickey Mouse. Roman always points out that his Huggies diapers have Mickey on them.

At a Houston Astros Game
July 30, 2014

• Roman always points out the HEB (our local grocery store) logo when he sees it, saying, "E-B!" He notices it on packages of generic cheese, in the grocery store, on signs, etc.
• Roman loves having Maverick (his teddy bear) with him at all  times. He affectionately calls him, "Mav," and treats him like his little baby doll. Roman insists on giving Maverick a bedtime hug and kiss before he puts him to bed in his closet. He also enjoys sharing his drinks and snacks with Maverick.
• Loves to play with Play-Doh. Roman also likes to string large macaroni noodles onto a shoelace (if you hold the shoelace for him). However, he made it perfectly clear today that he does NOT like finger painting with pudding. As I guided his hands into the gobs of pudding on his tray, he began bawling.  The crocodile tears didn't stop until his hands were clean again!

Roman's First Macaroni Necklace
October, 2014

• Roman's favorite word to say: "ICE!"
• I wasn't surprised as Roman somehow transformed the sub-woofer next to our TV into a toy, a chair, and a table.  I became concerned when he pointed to the large hole in the sub-woofer and proclaimed, "Trash!"  Upon further inspection, we found a snap-bead and a flashlight inside our sub-woofer!  Oh, Roman.
• Roman heard someone (who shall remain nameless) fart the other day; and he declared, "Pook!" This is the word he uses for poo-poo or when he has gas.  Be careful, he will call you out!

Just in case I forget...

We are so thankful for our sweet boy!  He has quite a little personality (maybe too much like Mommy's determined side).  It amazes me that he learns a new word or concept each and every day!

Our loves from Roman's fifteenth and sixteenth months:

• A little girl came to our door selling hair-bows as a fundraiser for a mission trip.  I decided to purchase one (even though we obviously have no need for hair-bows in our household).  Roman seemed interested in it, so I gave it so him.  He immediately marched into the kitchen and declared, "shash!" as he threw it into the trashcan.  Oh, Roman, you are all boy!
• And Roman's word, "shash."  That can mean: trash, shadow, or crash.
• We encounter a bedtime crisis if "lambie" is ever out of battery power.  Lambie is our musical bedtime friend that must be singing before we can go to sleep.
• Roman has developed somewhat of an OCD personality when it comes to cabinets, doors, and drawers that are open.  If he notices a drawer is even slightly ajar, he points and urgently says, "Coe!"  He has started doing this in public and at friend's houses, too.  He insists that bathroom doors, toilet seats, and laptops are always "coe."  Oh, dear!
• Roman loves to give hugs to his stuffed animals.  He is especially fond of Maverick, his teddy bear.
• Roman loves to carry things around. He even insists on carrying the laundry basket, rather than pushing it on the floor.  That thing is almost the same height as Roman!
• Roman loves to pick up bugs--dead or alive--and put them in his mouth.  Ugh!  We have taught him since NOT to eat bugs, so now he picks it up and says, "Buh."  He hands it over to me so that he won't be tempted to eat it.  That stage is thankfully behind us now!
• Love, love, love when Roman climbs into my lap when he wants to read a "buh"!  Such precious moments!
• Roman is very attached to his blue baseball cap.  It also serves the purpose of taming his crazy curls!

Just in case I forget...

Roman,
You are 14 months old and WALKING!  We love your personality, eagerness, and people-watching skills.

• You love to play hide and seek!  When I pop my head around the corner and surprise you, you laugh and giggle until you get the hiccups.
• You have learned where parts of your body are located, but this is problematic when we ask you, "Where is Mommy's eye?"  I was seeing spots after asking you that [dumb] question!
• You love to bark when you see a dog, hear a dog, and even when you see a cat!  Does every animal bark?  Really?
• You sometimes get terribly upset when you realize it's time for bed.  But when we bring out your favorite book, Wave Hello to Thomas [the Train], all is well with the world!  The crying stops and the tears dry up.  Thomas, with all of his secret doors, mesmerizes you for minutes on end...which is a long time for a 14-month old!
• So, we thought your favorite food was avocado...until we introduced you to fish.  Avocado gets pushed aside when a breaded filet of tilapia is in clean sight!  You have very expensive taste in food, dear son.
• You love to walk.  As of May 9, 2014, you are pretty much walking full-time!  Hooray!  Crawling is still faster.  So, if you're trying to make a break for it out an open door, speed-crawling is more effective.
• You also love to put things around your neck.  Mommy's teething necklace is your favorite.  You have also attempted to hang clothes, ribbons, and toys around your neck as you walk or crawl.

• Recently, you have started imitating Mommy as she throws things in the trashcan.  Socks, washcloths, and anything else that is easy to heave above your head end up in our tall garbage pail.  We are still not sure what happened to our cabinet lock...Roman?!
• You communicate with your own version of baby sign language.  "Please" is always said with such urgency and intensity that it becomes a pounding of your hand on your chest!  You can also sign "milk", "eat", and "all done".
• You love to play outside.  When given a choice between your water table and the hose, you always choose the latter!  Most times I wonder, "Why do we bother having toys for you?"

• You love to feed other people the foods you choose not to eat.  This is much preferred over throwing the food!

Roman feeding his 6-month old cousin his Cheerios

• You have learned how to fold your hands to pray both at mealtimes and after your bedtime story.  Sometimes, you are the one to remind your scatterbrained Mommy to pray!

Just in case I forget...

You are a year old now!  It has gone by in flash!  These are some of my favorite things from when you were 11 and 12 months old:

• The way you feed Mommy all of your leftover food (Roman's way of saying, "I'm full now!")
• The way you sit on the wood floor and use your feet to spin around and around on your butt
• The way you smile and laugh when someone sneezes or says, "Ah-choo!"
• The way you play "hard-to-get" after waking up from a long nap.  When I hold out my arms, you crawl away from me and play in your crib.
• The way you imitate Mommy in almost everthing!  I have found you holding your ear-scan thermometer up to your ear.  I have also noticed when you put your dirty clothes into the laundry hamper.  You love to try to throw anything and everything into the trashcan.
• The way you hold toys up to objects you are not supposed to touch.  "Maybe if I touch this trashcan with my ball instead of my hand, I can get away with it..."

Many more favorite moments to come! 

Just in case I forget...

At 10 months old, I have a few favorite quirks that make me smile:

• The way you twist your tongue in your mouth over and over again.  It's as if you are trying to turn your tongue upside down!
• The way you make a "pop" noise.  You especially like to imitate me if I make the "pop" noise first. One night, I was trying to rock you to sleep, but you just kept going, "Pop, pop, pop, pop," instead of calming down.  I finally burst out laughing!  Of course, you starting belly laughing, too...Daddy had to rock you to sleep that night.
• The way you love it when I take your beanbag-style pacifier between my teeth and shake my head back and forth.  You take it from me, only to hold it back up to my mouth.  You laugh each time I shake your pacifier back and forth.  If you could talk, you would say, "Do it again!" over and over...
• The way you can't help but laugh if I start laughing.  Then your belly laugh makes me laugh more...it's a vicious cycle!
• The way you carry everything in your mouth, kinda like a dog.  You crawl around carrying socks, ropes, washcloths, and pretty much anything else you can get your hands on
• The way you would rather play with almost anything over playing with a toy.  Some of your favorite "toys" are keys (not the play kind), the handle off of a Victoria's Secret bag (basically, a rope), bows, straws, Christmas ornaments, shoes, paper, doors (open, close, open, close...), and the dishwasher.

These are some of my favorite moments from the past month:

• We were playing peek-a-boo with a small blanket.  I would put in on your head, and you would pull it off.  "Peek-a-boo!" I proclaimed as you pulled the blanket off and smiled proudly.  After a few rounds, you decided not to take the blanket off right away.  Instead, you started crawling blindly. You plowed right into your walker.  I couldn't help but laugh!  We tried again, and this time you ran into a toy.  Silly Roman...
• We were shopping at Target, and you were in the front of the shopping cart.  You usually sit up tall, looking around.  This time, you leaned over until your head was on the side of the shopping cart.  I tried repeatedly to sit you upright, but you screamed if I tried that.  You had just woken up from your nap, so I knew you weren't tired.  Still, you would rather lean over, almost laying down.  I finally had to put my purse next to you so you could lay your head on it.  You are hard-headed like your mama!

Just in case I forget...

Our faves from when you were about seven months old:

I love how you "army crawl" all over the floor.  Every once in a while, you stop to do the plank position for us.  You have discovered that you can get up on your knees and hands, but you are not quite sure where to go from there...so you just rock back and forth.

I love how you sleep on your side, clutching both of your stuffed animal pacifiers.

I love how you babble and talk to yourself in a sing-song voice to help you fall asleep.

I love how you wrinkle your nose when you smile.

I love how you belly laugh when Boo, the stuffed animal, barks at you.

I love how you hate mirrors when you are in a bad mood (or just tuckered out).  It seems to make you cry to see yourself so grumpy.

2013 State of the Union

I guess this is more like our "State of the Family" for the Walkers.  As we look back on 2013, we discovered that God has blessed us in more ways that we can count!  We serve a big God who is capable of big things!  The blessings of 2013 far outweigh the trials of the year.

Blessings:

1. God provided us with a healthy baby boy!  Over the past year, Roman has been our joy, love, and comedic relief!
   
2. Right before Roman was born, I was able to resign from my speech pathologist position.  I have been a full-time stay-at-home mommy ever since!  It is a joy to spend my days with sweet Roman.  Thank you to my husband, Jonathan, for working hard to provide for our family.
3. Roman started sleeping through the night on July 12, 2013.  He was a little over four months old.  This allowed Jonathan and I to actually start spending quality time together again.  What an answer to prayer!
   
4. Roman's baby cousin, William, was born October 23, 2013.  Roman is so excited to have a playmate who lives just a few hours away!  We visited him when he was only days old.  I can't believe Roman was once so tiny!
   
5. We finished off 2013 with a wonderful family vacation to Colorado.  Thank you to my parents, DeeDee and Papa G (to Roman and William), for providing for and planning our trip!  We enjoyed skiing, snow-mobiling, snow-tubing, and shopping while there.  Roman and cousin William also spent their first Christmas in the snow-covered mountains of Durango.  Great memories and sweet fellowship with family!
   

Trials that God so faithfully brought us through:

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."

~II Corinthians 4:17~

1. Many sleepless nights while Roman was very young.
2. Colic and gasiness that seemed to keep Roman crying all day long.
3. Sleep-training.
4. Unsuccessful scar revision surgery (post shoulder-replacement surgery).  

We know that blessings are not a guarantee in this life.  We have also learned that trials are inevitable.  When hard times do come, they are always for a purpose (James 1:12).  Thank you, sweet Jesus, for blessing us with another wonderful year!