Success!

You managed a second success in the potty tonight.  We noticed you were seeming a bit... urgent and asked if you needed the potty.  You signed "potty" so we tried.  You kept wanting to stand up, but eventually... success! Your mom sat next to you and read to you, while I stayed in front and tried to keep you from standing up at the wrong moment.

Oddly, after the fact, you bit your lip to the point it bled.  You immediately signed "hurt" and we put ice on it.  Grandma Kathy happens to be here with us now.

You were very happy with yourself, and we were very happy with you.

Numbers

Tonight while putting you to bed, you signed one and said "UN!".  I had just given you Oliver while on the changing table.  Did you want one Oliver?  No, you were still a bit distressed.  "UN!" Perhaps you meant 'two'?  I asked if you meant two, and wanted both Olivers.  I signed "two" and then showed you one and one, one on each hand.  Yes, this was it.  "Two" I said.  "ooo" you smiled. 

I got you your second Oliver. 

You displayed understanding of numerical concepts, and used the right words and signs to get across the right category of ideas.  I'm thrilled.

These days you're learning signs about as fast as we can give them to you.  Tonight it was "mushroom" and "sweet potato".  You used sweet potato later that night with mom when she asked if that' what you still had in your mouth.

Grandma Kathy gets the double wave, and is "MAma" or "MA".

You becon us to follow you.  You look up in the sky every evening when we get in the driveway to look for the moon, and airplanes.  After an airplane comes and goes you turn to me and sign "more", as if I can make more come.

Trick or treat

Tonight we took you trick or treating for the first time.  You were in an adorable dragon costume sent to you by your Auntie Meg.  Mom went as Danyres Targarien from Game of Thrones, so she could be "mother of dragons". 

We went in the lucas valley neighborhood, which is a place we might live to live some day.  Your Mom's good friend Amy was back in town with her family, and they were trick or treating there.

You never got scared, despite the lights and scary sounds.  You've not really had much candy in your life so far, and we wanted to condition you properly, so after your first house, we gave you one of the mini peppermint patties you had received.  We knew you liked those because you went through aton of them at your great grandma's house.  You liked it, smiled, laughed, got excited, and then signed "more, more!".  I told you we had to go to the next house to get more.  (I carried you the whole time).

At each house, i tried to get you to sign "Thank You" for the candy.  You did a few times.  Your mom opened a kit kat and fed it to you in pieces.  We tried to find you candies that you could actually eat.

Your favorite part of the night, though, had nothing to do with candy.  A bright green 8 inch glowstick made you lose your mind.  You waved it around, you waved it in my face, in your face, and you grinned from ear to ear and laughed and wiggled.  You thought it was the coolest thing.  People kept giving them out, so by the end of the night you had quite the collection.

At home, once in bed, I let you play with your glow sticks.  Figure you won't choke or anything.  Can't hurt.  You're still in your crib babbling away by yourself.

I dont know how much of tonight you'll remember.  The kids in the neighborhood really seemed to be having a great time.  I hope we get to have a lot of fun on Halloween together.  I look forward to working on costumes of your choice when you're old enough to have a preference and express it.

My favorite tonight was a kid dressed as a candy vending machine.  Awesome.

We both love you so much.  So many people were so happy to see your adorable sweet face.

You're walking!

You're really on the threshold of finally breaking through.  Tonight in the garage, you chose to take the 5 to 7 steps from your mom to me, and then form me back to her.  We'd sort of hold our hands out just in front of you, to make it seem a shorter distance, and you'd go for it.  At first, you'd just dive at me when you got close, but eventually you realized you didn't need to hurry to finish, just to keep an even pace and walk up.

We were so thrilled and excited, and you were so happy that we were happy. I signed "again!" to you and you obliged.  Of course, when you get super excited, you like to try to nibble me, and you did.  So I also had to give you stern looks and tell you "no biting!"  But you don't mean it maliciously, you're just playing, but you don't understand it hurts.

Then you decided you wanted to look in my empty kegs.  And then you wanted to play chase, so I chased you behind the bar, which was in the corner in front of the storage shelves, and you'd lie on the ground laughing your ass off as I'd get closer and closer and then tickle you.  You went nuts laughing and chasing me around, too.  Then you got obsessed with the cat door.

Later tonight, you stood up, on your own at the corner of your changing table and took a few steps befor falling at the rug.  I was excited and signed "again" and asked you to please do it again.  You didn, this time making it all the way to me.  You did it about 7 times, going to the corner, standing, letting go, then walking over to me, which involved a turn.  Your mom got some video.

Your signing is also coming along in amazing ways.  You saw a moon in the Big Red barn book on the alst page, and signed "moon" with your left hand.  We tried to teach you the sign for "turtle" today, but it's not really an important word for you yet.

I gave you a bath tonight, and, as usual you try to turn the water on, which comes out cold.  You don't mind it but your bath water gets steadily colder.  So we try to move fast.  You had a great time, as always, with naked time on our bed afterwards.  You patted your mom's belly, then came over and didn mine, then back to her.  Pulling up shirts.

I clapped loudly to discipline Midori, who was trying to pull something out of my Burning Man accessory bag to play with. You thought the single loud clap was cool and tried to do the same.  It was awesome and adorable.

You're just the sweetest child.  You like to have fun, try things.  You learn very fast (when you care).  It's a delight to spend so much time with you.

Open, Sesame

Your mom texted me yesterday While I was racing at the Southwestern Regional Championships to tell me that you'd figured out how to open the front door.  You are now just tall enough to reach the handle, pull it down towards you to spring the lock.  You then drop to your knees and pull on the doorstop attached to the door to pull the door open.

I greatly look forward to seeing you do this.  While it means we'll have to take some precautions so you don't crawl out the front door and into the street, it also means you can plan ahead, understand how things work, and are happy to do things for yourself.  All of these are good things.  I'll try to capture this on video.

Once we start bolting the door, you're going to be very unhappy.  I'd love to let it be for a bit so you can enjoy practicing your new trick, but it's probably best to be safe.

You've really turned the corner with your signing.  You understand that the gestures we're using with words are important and have meaning, and you now try to copy them promptly, just as kids do with spoken words.  You spontaneously signed "friend" for your Oliver a few days ago when I had you on the exercise ball.  You pointed to him, and then did the cutest little twisty twist of your hands with a finger out to sign friend.  At first I didn't understand, but then realized you were using the "friend" sign for Oliver, which is what we'd been doing to teach you a sign for him.  I was thrilled.

Today I realized that you are pressing three fingers to your mouth for "water" which is similar.  You were very particular today pointing and asking for your drink that had water in it.  And then you used that gesture.

So now the challenge for us is to give you new signs as fast as you're picking them up.  It's great to have ways of communicating with you.

Also, today you made a giant burp, and thought it was funny when mommy kept making burp noises back at you.  You laughed and laughed.

Yes!

You are having a bit of a breakthrough in communication.  Your signing is getting faster and more consistent, and it's possible you're saying "more" (which comes out as "mo!").  Tonight at dinner you pointed to the multi colored daisies on mom's desk.  You like the flowers.  So I signed to you asking if you wanted a "flower" (which you know the sign for).  You answered with a big dramatic nod of the head for "yes", and then signed for flower.  SO I brought you the flowers.  We did this many times, each time with me giving you fewer cues.  Eventually, i asked what you wanted, and you signed for flower.

You're alo doing a very good job using "yes" to reply in the affirmative for things, though ususally you do it when we've done what you want, notin response to a question, but that's coming along, too.

It's so nice to be able to communicate with you, and I can see how happy yu are in being able to get what you want more easily by signing. I think you're getting that things and ideas have sign symbols, and you can use them to communicate. 

I'm going to teach you the sign for "beer" next.

I loved back yard camping with you.

You did it!

I just want to quickly note that you stood freely using no hands for the first time yesterday!

It was a complete accident: You were standing on the back porch playing with the screen door, sliding it open and closed, as you like to do.  I, without thinking, slid the door open for you, which is what you were trying to do.  You let go with both hands, and stood there: legs wide apart, knees bent, and slowly eased yourself onto the floor.  But you were standing free with no hands and balancing for a brief second or two.

I cheered, your mom, who was lying on the couch with her recently injured knee, also cheered.  You smiled, because we were happy, though I don' think you understood what you did.

We're really hoping you can figure it out and make strides.  You like walking while holding hands, now and can move your feet very quickly. I think you can probably do it, if you just try a little.