Bablefish

Help! I need a translator! Over the last couple of weeks T's babbling has diversified. He's making a wonderful variety of articulate sound combinations ... most of which sound like complete gibberish and are totally adorable. The only actual words I've recognized are "dada", "mama", "all done", and "blue". The only letters I haven't heard now are 'j', 'q', 'r', 'x', and 'z'. It astounds me that he can string so many little sounds together so quickly. I'm sure he's talking, I just don't know what he's saying.

Despite my slowness in interpreting his astounding barrage of verbal cues, we had a huge breakthrough in communication this month. Three weeks ago, T began to point!!! Yay!!! He points all the time now. He even sometimes points when he's nursing and half asleep in the middle of the night. I love it. He loves to point at lights, and balloons, and other things he wants to touch and hold. If we follow the finger we can usually figure out what he wants. Last week he pointed me all the way from the bedroom to the drying rack in the kitchen where he retrieved a clean pacifier and put it in his mouth. When he wants something he points at it and says 'GA' ... sometimes repeatedly.

It hasn't been that long since I last blogged, but we've had so many new developments in just a few short weeks. T has been playing peek-a-boo for a while. He like to hide behind things, show his face, and say 'Haha!' I posted a video of it last month. Now he hides his eyes (or other parts of his face if he misses the eyes) under his tiny hands and pulls them off quickly just like I do. We get the 'Haha' when he does this too. What a cute little sense of humor. T's petite female friend has started imitating his deep throaty 'Haha!' The teachers were very amused when they told us about it. He's obviously a favorite among the staff. He charms people wherever we go. I know my baby is cute because complete strangers tell me so all the time. He's very accommodating to award them all with a very winning smile. He's such a flirt and he hasn't even hit a year yet. What am I going to do?

T's most recent skill is waving. He's been doing so for about a week and he waves bye quite consistently now unless he sees something he needs to point at instead.

I purchased an Educo Wonder Walker a few weeks ago and he loves it. It's super sturdy and has lots of gadgets on the frame for T to play with. As I watch him pull himself up and zip down the hall all by himself it's hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago we had to walk with him to control the speed. The walker doesn't swivel, so his next task will be to figure out how to turn it. He pulls up on everything and spans short distances between objects. He also lets go and stands on his own briefly. It won't be much longer before I'm chasing a running boy instead of a crawling baby.

Tossing Cookies

Poor T lost all his lunch and dinner around 10:30pm last night. He got a shower, new sheets, new PJs, a snuggle, and some milk before going back to sleep. Sometime around 1:30am he returned the milk (I didn't want it back) and once again got a shower, new sheets, new PJs, a snuggle, and more milk. During "more milk" take two, the milk was returned resulting in mom+baby shower, new PJs, and another snuggle. Sometime after 3am he tossed more milk (minus cookies). The mess was considerably less extensive so he just got a new sheet, new PJs, a quick face/hand wash with a wash cloth, and a snuggle. We skipped the "more milk" part. About an hour later the last of the milk was returned. This time he got a new sheet and snuggle. I don't think he even fully woke up. Somehow he made it to morning without sharing any more food or beverages with his crib and what's even more surprising is that he woke up in a fantastic mood!

He didn't appreciate the middle of the night showers, but other than that, he seemed hardly phased by the vomiting. In fact, I think after the first episode or two that he would have just kept sleeping if we hadn't heard him and insisted on cleaning up.

This morning he is getting milk in frequent small increments. I hope he decides to keep it this time.

Blue

The Scoot and I have been offering T choices. One of the most frequent choices is what color bib he wants to wear at meal time ... blue or yellow. Last week when offered this choice he said "blue." He only said it once, but it was very distinct so we gave him blue. Last night when offered the same choice he reached for the blue bib, but didn't say it. After saying "blue" for him several times, he started repeating it each time one of us said it. I doubt T has a full understanding of what blue is yet, but its fun to hear him say it. Last week we swear he was trying to say water melon (repeating after The Scoot), but it was pretty much just gibberish. Obviously some words are easier than others.

Sock Spitting

Cheshire Piano

Over the weekend I purchased an small battery powered mini piano that looks like a grinning kitty with keys for teeth. It plays different sounds and also plays per-recorded songs and rhythms. Scott and I have both observed T bopping to the beat when the music or rhythms are playing. Love it! He's already got a good sense of rhythm.

On a less happy note, he has a fever. It started sometime last night. The Scoot brought him to me to nurse and I noticed he was just hot all over. I stayed home with him today and he was a good sport all day, but I can tell he doesn't feel wonderful. I hope the fever breaks soon.

Little Imp

T was in an extra playful mood when we got home from daycare last Friday. He kept peeking at me behind the gate and saying "ha HA!" in an "I gotcha!" tone. It was so cute. I only captured this brief "ha ha" moment on video. T loves technology and as soon as the video camera comes out he stops what we were trying to record and tries to play with the camera.

After I put the camera away T started to crawl down the hall toward the bedroom. He looked back over his shoulder, gave me a very mischievous smile, and then bolted down the hall as fast as his little hands and knees would carry him. Adorable! I spent a good 5 minutes chasing him around on my hands and knees. I love it when he initiates serious play. What a fun little man and what a tease!

Ah Dah again, again, and again

Sometimes T forgets he know how to say "all done," but Saturday he remembered AND he applied it to three different situations in less than ten minutes. "Ah Duh" with his breakfast ... "Ah Duh" washing his hands ... "Ah Duh" having his diaper changed (in the middle of the change no less). It's nearly impossible to get him to hold still for a diaper change.