Uht - Ball

Uht - Ball -- defined as the toddler pronunciation of the word 'football'.

I fully realize that Braedyn is at the stage of Toddler Life where he is like a little sponge. He absorbs up everything he sees and hears, and all of these things contribute to his actions and his ever-expanding vocabulary. So I try to take advantage of his sponge-like mind by pointing out colors, numbers and shapes every time I get the chance. Needless to say, I get very giddy with excitement when I realize that he's learning new things. I was in his room coloring with him this weekend, and he picked up a blue crayon and started scribbling. I said "what color is that, Braedyn", and he said "brue" (blue). "That's Right, it's blue!" I said with a big smile. Then he picked up a green crayon and I asked him the same question, to which he responds "Geen" (green). And with that, I was grinning ear-to-ear with excitement and was just so proud of my little sponge. You see, Ben and I have been pointing out colors to Braedyn for awhile now, so it's great to see that he's finally starting to associate the color with the word.

Fast forward a few hours later... Ben is watching football, and apparently decides he would like to take advantage of Braedyn's sponge-like mind by teaching him all about the sport. So Braedyn gets out his little football and Ben proceeds to teach him the words and actions that he deems important, such as football, touchdown and fumble (you know, all the important things that will help Braedyn exceed in preschool). They were playing on the couch, throwing the ball back and forth, and just having a good ole' time. I must admit, it was a pretty cute scene to watch. Ben put Braedyn to bed that night, and when I checked on him later, this is what I found...

The next morning, he woke up with his football in hand and held on to it all morning long. After I picked him up from preschool, he gets his football out of his room and holds on to it all afternoon (apparently the thing might run away or something?!?). Then he decides to jump on the couch and throw the football around, all the while chanting "dad-dee uht-ball" and "tuh-down" (Daddy football & touchdown). So basically, any chance I had left to continue teaching Braedyn silly things like numbers and colors has been replaced with his newfound love and appreciation for all-things-football!! And trust me when I tell you that this new football fascination might be around for awhile. How do I know? Well, this is what I saw last night when I checked on Braedyn...