Spontaneous Four-Word Phrase!

We have really been working hard to get Ethan to say 2 and 3 word phrases.  Most of the time we say a phrase and have him repeat it word by word.  We then put the words together and have him say them, which is extremely difficult for him to do.  Recently, we have been trying to get him to say, "I want ____."  Miss Megan at the Rowe Center has been working with him on this as well.  Last week, she held up two foods and asked him which one he wanted.  She wouldn't give it to him unless he said, "Want ____." 

This morning, my mom and dad came over to take Megan to the Fowler Park Pioneer Days Breakfast, which is a yearly tradition.  A couple of minutes after they left, Ethan looked me straight in the face and as plain as day, said, "I want Gamma's house."  I was amazed!  He thought that Megan had gone to my parents' house and was telling me that he wanted to go too.  It is a breakthrough for him to come up with a spontaneous phrase and not to simply repeat one.  So proud of him!

Yesterday, I read books to Ethan and Jacob.  Afterward, Ethan picked up one of the books and said, "Row, row, boat."  It was a nursery rhyme book, and he was trying to read it all by himself.  It was so cute!

Sometimes, he is really funny when he tries to make the words that he knows work for the situation he is in.  This morning provided one such example.  Jacob was playing with a maraca, so I started singing, "Shake...shake...shake!  Shake...shake...shake!  Shake maraca!  Shake maraca!"  Apparently, Ethan didn't want me to sing because he came over and pointed to my mouth and said, "Mouf off."  He's getting great at problem solving.  He knew that he couldn't make his mouth say the words "stop" and "singing", so he used words that he did know to get his point across.  However, when he wanted to play with the maraca, he came over, pointed to my mouth and said, "Mouf on".  I started singing for him and he beamed from ear to ear.  I'm not thrilled that he is becoming somewhat bossy at times, but I am ecstatic to see his speech improving!