MarcusCAG Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) This started yesterday morning. It was really kind of funny... Marcus has called my hubby "Daddy" twice, maybe, but for some reason yesterday he popped out with his first name. I rarely call him by his first name, usually I use "pet" names of some sort ('honey', 'doll', whatever), and I always try to refer to him as "Daddy" in the boys' presence. But, those few times I probably called him into the room with some stress in my voice and used his name, like if one of the boys seemed to be in some sort of trouble or something, Marcus apparently was listening. And he just pulled that special designation out of his figurative hat yesterday morning. At first, he didn't get it all out, he kept saying "Ro... Ro" in a funny tone. In the beginning, for me it was like, Is he saying your name? and my husband would just shrug. But by the afternoon Marcus had it down pat, almost perfectly: "Roh-ssss!" And that's practically all that would come out of his beak yesterday, all day long, finally spot-on. "Ross!... Ross!... Ross!" My husband said he thinks he's contact calling. He said it's his new "toy" and he hasn't tired of it yet. He said he thinks it gives him a sense of power. Really, he's probably right with all of those suggestions. And Marcus seems to have no intention of letting up! (Too, I think it's because my husband works such long hours anymore, and the boys--all the pets, really--are so excited when he is finally around the house for any length of time, they want him to spend all his time with them.) So I understand the whole "Daddy mania" thing. Still... I walked into the birdroom once, yesterday I think, and said to Marcus, "What about my name? Are you going to ever say Mommy's name?" Marcus looked me straight in the eye. "Stop!" Well, then! I guess I must be chopped liver, haha! Not only has Marcus never said my name (as far as I can tell, anyhow, maybe he muttered it garbled sometime or something), he's never even called me "Mommy" like my hubby refers to me--I don't even get "Nice Lady" or something like that! Sigh. But the funny thing is, Marcus started up again this morning. "Ross?... Ross! Ross!" My husband was out in the den, trying to ignore him after acknowledging him a few times, yet Marcus remained determined. "Ross! Ross!" And then, amazingly, Marcus apparently addressed me (but how can I know for sure, he won't use my name!!) and demanded to know, "Is he back there?" "Yes, Daddy's back there in the den," I said, or something like it, wanting to bust out laughing. It was almost too much!! I ran and told my husband, Get your headphones off and answer this poor bird! Not that I want Marcus to think he rules the roost or anything, but I don't want to discourage him from learning and using new words, either... Anyway, that's what's been going on here with us this weekend. I shot a couple of videos of Marcus regaling us with his new favorite word, but I have yet to upload any of them, so everybody will have to wait to watch his mind-numbing, repetitive performance. Oh, boo. Edited August 1, 2011 by MarcusCAG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly Yokum Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Oh, I can't wait to watch this capture. The thing that comes to mind. You have a new baby, and all day long your saying momma, mom, mmmm, Dad comes home, and says hows daddy's baby. What does the child say first? da da.. SO heart crushing. Sounds like your Marcus is a hand full, and very smart. When he call Ross, I think I would correct him with daddy or even confuse him with Mommy. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenabrd Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 hahaha!!! i'm so sorry you aren't getting your mommy props! my conure athena learned to say daddy bird, hey daddy bird and used it like an obsessed green monster for the longest time. now she says it once in a while. but will she learn momma bird, absolutely not, hahahaha!!! we've both tried to teach her momma bird, or mommy bird, but her response is always pretty bird! my husband says i must be pretty bird since that's all she'll respond with. sometimes she'll even ask, where'd he go? when my husband leaves but she never asks where'd she go!!! oh well, i guess it's all part of that mommy thing we go through and don't go through with our kids and fids! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samy Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Congrats on the new words, and So sorry about it being for the hubby and not you. Koko says Mama but it is his go to word to get everyone and anyones attention. He uses it to get a cracker (which he says Mama cracker) to get out by screaming Mama until I come and get him out of the cage or whenever I am not feeding him fast enough at dinner. It is humorous the first few days but Hahns Macaws maybe tiny birds but they have huge vocal cords and sound like the big guys do. Hopefully Marcus will pick up Mama or Mommy shortly and it will be you that gets the calls next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Too many times Mama is second best but we know the truth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Love your stories! And yes, I would like to see the video performance. Our bird, Brutus, learned my name because my husband has a habit of bellowing it when I am not in the room. He says it just like my husband does, kind of long and drawn out. So now Brutus knows me as, "Mamma" and "Sharon." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 What a great update on Marcus and his accomplishments. I always enjoy reading them. It does seem they will only use their favorite persons name most the time. I am in the same boat, Dayo will call for "Mommy", but never calls for me or than "Come Here".... Thanks for sharing this and looking forward to the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Yee, thanks for all the commiseration and the sweet comments, guys! (Judygram, yours made me giggle, thanks!) I just think it's funny, not only do I feed/clean/attend to all the boys all the time, but I can kiss Marcus all over, he sings for me, he lets me pick him up and cuddle him (insofar as he 'cuddles' at this point)... but who does he call for by name? MY HUSBAND! Anyway, I uploaded two videos and will include them here. The one was shot yesterday, a goofy little four-minute conversation I had with Marcus about him calling his Daddy so much; and then the second I took earlier today (because I didn't know yet how the others turned out). It's a short clip of Marcus, literally, saying nothing but "Ross" for a minute and thirty--hehe, I told my husband to 'feel special' because of it. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslterp59 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Have been enjoying reading about Marcus' speaking antics. I had to laugh at some of the wording in your story... "...and the boys--all the pets, really--are so excited when (your husband) is finally around the house for any length of time..." The way I read it, your boys are numbered among your pets??? Don't worry, both our kids (who are grown and live away from home) claim I love Gemma more than I love them and that Gemma DEFINITELY has more toys than they did when they were little. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly Yokum Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I just had to laugh at the second video. That was so cute. The first one was so sweet makes me want to just give him kisses all over. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait until Val starts talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I had to laugh at some of the wording in your story... "...and the boys--all the pets, really--are so excited when (your husband) is finally around the house for any length of time..." The way I read it, your boys are numbered among your pets??? Hehe, actually, since we believe that our little flock of four is all male, we often refer to them as "the boys". No human children are involved, at this point, anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslterp59 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 AH, I understand now. It just sounded so funny... kinda like, "my kids, all my pets in fact, etc" I'm still getting used to who has how many fids and their names and sexes... sorry!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 All right, I am happy to announce that, yes, Marcus has started saying my name! I made such a cranky fuss to everyone over him going all-out saying my hubby's name, and now he's finally saying mine. Yay! But the funny thing is, he says our names in completely different tones of voice. My husband gets this loud yell--ROSS!--and I get this teeny, tiny whispery thing: Karen... Karen... And last night, apparently in his mind he wanted the ultimate parront and Marcus combined our names, so occasionally I will now hear the odd Kar-Ross. Hahaha, go figure!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Loool! Well, reading about your boy it makes me wanna ask you, when are you planing to sign him up for school? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly Yokum Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Good for Marcus, I knew he would do it. I wonder why he is picking up your first names, and not mommy and daddy, since that is the way you talk to him. Marcus is a character, I too, enjoy reading your post. I know your must be so proud of Marcus. I too wonder how your reading and letter learning was coming along, or did you put that on hold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Did you teach him to wave? That is so cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 Morana, Shelly: No, I haven't stopped the Alphabet Letters Project (haha) but my efforts at working with Marcus and "reading" have admittedly been not as focused recently. I see the little box of letters there and I think, I need to pull them out and work with him. This time of year is always kind of crazy for me, but come September things should slow down a bit, and I'll have more time to focus on those things around here that I've been putting off. Like Marcus and his reading. But I will keep everyone posted, the good and bad of it, and let you all know what happens next time! Chezron: Actually, no, we didn't teach Marcus to wave. That was in the longer video, right? When we first adopted Marcus last year, whenever we would ask him to step-up (he wouldn't), he would throw these little strange fits and smack his foot around a lot. It was kind of scary, and seemed to indicate some trauma regarding stepping-up that he experienced in a former home, but thankfully he doesn't do that anymore. Thankfully he steps up now pretty reliably, too! But occasionally Marcus will still wave his foot around when he is talking, generally when he's in a worked-up mood, so I usually regard it as emphasis of some sort for whatever he's trying to get across to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupid Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Great videos! ! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I also liked the way he was emphasizing his speech with the waving of his foot. He is adorable and I loved hearing him talk and practice his speech. He is a very clear talker and has lots and lots to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusCAG Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 He is a very clear talker and has lots and lots to say. Thank you, and, Oh, you have no idea! It's like the dam's been broken through anymore... not that I am complaining, in the least!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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