Ussins

Tia called me at work to let me know he took a step from the bed toward.. the computer. Um.. I don’t know what kind of omen that might be. Anyway, he was standing alongside the bed and wandered off [holding both arms in front of him (update: I reported this a bit wrong at first writing)], stood balancing on both feet, took a step forward, [stayed balanced for a short while, and grabbed the back of the chair in front of the computer. Tia said he was laughing and just full of joy through the whole adventure].

[Tia doesn’t write here often because she’s not a blogomaniac. No, not even for the children. Well, the child. Actually she said she wants to - but I think this will do for this.]

Also he has five teeth and one more coming in. And he gave me a gentle affectionate vampire bite this morning.

Also I forgot to say that at church last Sunday we passed a glass case in the wall, and he reached for it after I passed and went “Hhuuuuuuuuh!” - I said “What?” and moved for the case. It was full of antique and modern Boy Scout pariphinalia, and he ogled at all of it. When I caught up to Tia again, she asked what we stopped for and I told her - and when I did, he grinned from ear to ear. So he might be really interested in scouts.. which he’ll probably be ready for in what feels like a blink.

Oy.

I loved scouts.. only for the campouts. Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges! .. maybe he’ll want them. I have no doubt I’d have been very proud to be an Eagle Scout. I don’t even know how far I got.

Something I read reinforced an I suppose innate idea I have that kids need nature, the wilderness .. but I don’t think it’s any different for adults.

And a note from church.. the Elder’s Quorum president talked about how he was kind of creeped out when he was younger that they blessed (dedicated) his house - he said maybe it’s because you normally bless sick people, or something else I don’t remember, or, I sardonically inserted, a grave, which made people laugh.

Update to the list of words he knows: bonk (for several months, and I think I haven’t noted this, he’s been responding to a prompt of “bonk” if you hold your head close to his and say it - he gives you a little affectionate head butt or bonk.), ear, nose (he’ll often put his hand on either if you say the word) bite (usually as in don’t bite me hard.. I think I haven’t noted this, but he often bites into the back of mom’s neck or shoulder like a little vampire when he hugs her, or he used to but doesn’t much now because he knows mom doesn’t like it).

Mom was holding him when I left for work this morning. I waved goodbye to him and mom, turned and started walking down the hall, and he said in his little high-pitched, sweet voice: “Bye-bye.” I wondered if I’d heard what I thought and turned and looked at Tia; she looked back goggle-eyed.

I just backposted an introduction about us with random photos from the past six years. There’s a new header link to it above that says “Introduction/What’s Up”.

Yesterday morning a bluejay squawked outside and he pointed to the window, made the sign for bird, said “Bi!”, and moved to look outside. I wouldn’t have even noted the bird. To us it’s just a bird outside, but to him it’s everything.

We walked with him this morning and some joggers passed. He beamed at them and waved his arm hastily in greeting. They giggled.

The first and last of these (the first being my absolute favorite picture of him - he’s signing “Light”) are of him at about 9 months, the rest are where he is now - 11 months and a week. His elven ears show clearly in the fifth and sixth photos. He was unhappy with the cold in several of these.

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Yesterday he was standing alongside my desk as I was in bed reading, and still holding the desk, he stepped away from it, reaching toward the bed which was just out of reach. He began to move to make a free standing step to the bed, but then skillfully dropped down onto his bum. He then crawled to me and hoisted himself up beside the bed, and looking up at me with his friendly grin, said warmly:

“Hiiii daa-daaa.”

I said: “Hi! Good job, you just spoke a sentence.” - and he got down and crawled away.

So there was his first sentence and almost his first step. He’s doing to me what I taught him to do to mom - I’ve frequently taken him to Tia in the morning, waved his little arm at her as he smiles, and said “Hii ma-ma.”

Today while I was in the shower he pushed on the bathroom door to get in and again said “Hii da-da.”

Yesterday I carried him for a walk and we passed a woman sitting on a bench at the mouth of Rock Canyon. He called accross the street to her “Da-da! Da-da!” - so I guess that also means “Friendly grown up.”

The day before yesterday, outside, he looked at our car and went “vvvvrrrrmmmm” and waved, as in waving me goodbye in the morning off to work as he often does.

The day before that he crawled accross the wooden floor in the basement where I lay on a sofa thingie (the white one for Tia’s photography), hoisted himself up to me, took my face and wrapped his mouth around my cheek, and slowly bit down.. HARD. I said “Ouch!” and lifted his teeth off, and said “No, kiss gentle.”

His word, sound, and sign vocabulary has been expanding a lot, and here’s his complete (so far as we know or remember) vocabulary with a few ones we’d left out. I don’t know whether I’ll keep tracking these if he’s starting at sentences now.. isn’t he too young to leave babyhood?

Words: Bird (buh), book (booh), dip, duck (a sharply stopped “duu”), boo (like peek-a-boo), bye (ba), doll (da), snowman (mo-man), bear (beh), hi. He had me get a painting of Jesus off the wall and hold it in front of him. He smiled at the portrait and I said “That’s Jesus. Jesus.” He imitated: “Che-seh.” Noted previously: Book, ball, ma-ma da-da, grampa (ba-pa), poop (bpoo-bpoo), bop, outside (da), this (dis/deesz), that (dat), dog (da), banana (nana), cheerios (dcheess), SPIDER MAN (bai-man!), dam (?).

Sounds: Pig (throat cluck), lamb (a baaaa without vibrato), flower/star/flare shape (a sharp nasal exhale which is a mistaken sniff), horse or zebra (a tongue clack or a niegh - he’s been doing that for months and I think we didn’t mention it; he also does this for a deer), cow (booo). Noted previously: Lion (gutteral French RRRR), elephant (also ASL sign), cat, monkey (a chimpanzee haa-haa-haa), dog (wfff!) bear/gorrilla/aligator/monster (rhaspy Rrrah! - or also for bear just a chest grunt), car (BVVVVVBBVVV)

Signs: music, light, milk, dog, elephant, baby, bed, bye-bye, pointing.

Words he understands: dance (he’ll dance), kiss (he’ll kiss you, gently or sometimes as I’ve noted with a hard bite), upstairs, walk, brush your teeth, bath.

[Here’s an update of some I missed. Also the bird he signed since posting this was a new sign for him.]