Alphabet train

For Christmas I ordered Christopher a train with letter blocks. It tells you the letter on the block when you put it on the train. I thought it was going to be a small train he could push around. When I got it in the mail I realized it was huge and meant to be ridden on. We decided to send it back and I put it in our closet until I got a chance to go to the post office.

We had a blizzard that left us stuck in the apartment for an entire week before I could send it, and after a few stir crazy days I decided to get it out. It has been the best toy I've ever bought. Christopher has become crazy about letters. The actual blocks are his favorite. He walks around with as many as he can fit in his hands. They have been great for learning because they have pictures on the back of an object that starts with the letter on the front. He started out thinking every letter was an L, but he's gradually learned them all. Some letters he can say the actual letter when he sees it- like F, I, L. A lot of the letters he says the word associated with it, like apple, ball, and he can't do C's yet, so he meows when he sees a C.

He's become a little obsessed with letters. It's given us fun games when we go out. He points out letters on our whole walk. People who are around him a lot know his little language. He'll "read" letters with a whole string of words. You'll see him looking at a book and saying Meow, Apple, Turtle for the word cat. I hope we haven't completely screwed him up for when he is actually reading! I'm sure his kindergarten teacher is going to have some words for us!

Chris has started saying lots of two syllable words now. Alligator (I say two syllables, because he only pronounces two in there all-ga : ) is one of his favorites. He repeats lots of the words we say. He's also been putting words together for the past couple of weeks. I can't believe what a change that has made. I can understand so much more. We were at the pool and the water was cold, so he told me wawa - brr over and over.

I was doing laundry yesterday and hit my head on the door. Later he was really upset and saying Mama door. I realized he was sad I hit my head and telling me. Now that he's talking, I'm constantly surprised by his memory. He remembers the numbers of the buildings that our friends live in, that we need to water our "lilly" (bean plant) every morning, and that we rode the L train to get to Max's apartment.

He started saying I love Dada and I love Mama also. That was the best thing yet until he started "loving" everything. We get lots of "I love turtle" and even some "I love poop". He's such a boy!