Ussins

Tia reports that one recent day he came to her, stared intently into her eyes, and said his own name, emphatically. Twice.

At another time (another day?), he came to her doe-eyed, looked into her eyes dreamily, and wistfully said “Mommy.” And then took her face in his hands. And clawed. Into her cheeks. Fiercly.

He used to bite affectionately as a small infant. Now approaching toddler size, and with many more teeth (including molars, but that doesn’t factor into what I’m relating), he still does this. He bites HARD with those little perfect incisors. Unlearning that, and to simply kiss, has been very hard but he’s doing it well.

He’s kinda a little actor. He does two faces on purpose at least, happy and angry; for the latter he squints his face and curls his lips into an angry face, and holds out his arms and clenches his fists and shakes both - well his whole body really. He does this on command. This busted up his aunt when she saw it. For the former he does a cheesy little deliberate squinted face and grin and says “happy.”

Oh man, I really should get videos of those.

This evening he took a red marker and drew stigmata on the top of his hands and inside of his palms (yes, both sides of both), and also mine. Of course he doesn’t know that’s what they are. But it made me think.

I’m somewhat embarrased to mention to people, who ask, that he really knows and says A LOT of words. Unusually very many much. More than 170. Tia wrote a list. She keeps adding to it. Apparently 20 words is a lot for kids his age. So that’s like, more than eight times more. I think it’s signing and reading a lot that does it.

And he’ll understand most of any basic request or communication you make. Where did my infant go? - but he is still WILD. Today Tia was playing tug-of-war with him, with a yarn (I played this a few weeks ago in the backyard with him myself). He has a rollicking belly laugh if you play that he pulled you down. And he just babbles and tumbles and giggles and dances and is WILD. He is just as free and boundless with his enthusiasms as he was with the gods, nothing was filtered out. That’s the only way I can think of it.

I think things translate well in screen format, and here’s an exchange that occured last night. Warning: the “Innapropriate Joke” (TM) - though not terribly crass - follows.



[Minor corrections here since my first post, via Tia’s different memory of some details. And might I add, as this was posted on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 - take this, you terrorists! Here in America we still consider doing things the American way!]

---

Sitting at the computer and accross the room from Alex, Tia is looking through her digital photograph portfolio.

TIA

Nope, nothing to show here.

ALEX

You should just do some nude photography. It would get you more attention [Like Michelangelo!].

TIA

No.

ALEX

(confused)

Did you think I was even half of a percent serious? Because I wasn’t. .. I was a quarter of a percent serious.

TIA

I’d love to, but there isn’t any time.

ALEX

(more confused)

What!?

TIA

Oh, did you say “nude?” I thought you said new!

ALEX

(laughing uncontrollably)

No, I said “nude”.

---

Without intending to, Tia provided some very deft, in-your-face retorts. This was a perfect way of handling my innapropriate joke, and she wasn’t even aware - it was all accidental. Playing along without any shock was an excellent way to deter.



And may I say that Tia’s photography is of notice. And there’s a veiled insult I didn’t intend in the comment; which is the lie that her photography doesn’t get a lot of notice. Everyone who came and happened on her BFA final show loved it (including me).

He imitates phrases and words he doesn’t know the meaning of, very well, all the time. But often, when he isn’t just babbling either real or apparent nonsense - and by “apparent” I mean it could have some other than purely phonetic meaning which we simply don’t know (maybe all baby talk has such meanings?) - often he does know what he’s saying.

The other day he was holding some Barbie dolls together, and said “Help? Hug?”

He’ll say very briskly, in transition, “Okay” - and with the same briskness if he’s hurt or has a spill he’ll say “Oops - sorry”.

Sometimes he’ll withhold objects from mommy and coach her to say “Please?” if she forgets to.

He remembers objects in places he has seldom or only once been, and calls for them before he sees them on returning.

He also recently came to me sleeping in, and from the side of the bed tugged at my sleeve and said “Pull? Pull?” - then trying to push me up - “Up? Up?” - and I got up and he took my finger in his hand and said “Hand? Hand?” - and led me out of the room to play.

And best of all if you ask me, he often exlaims, often when running to me -”Dad-dy dad-dy dad-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee!”