Parenthood.18

15 months 

Baby Leopard recently figured out how to whine on command. He says, "Ma ma" and scrunches his face up and uses a whiny voice. 

He's learned to climb up on a chair and he loves to climb up and read his books, especially when Daddy is also up there reading. 

16 months

He's trying out tons of new words--"toes" and "for" (fork) and "tr" (Christmas tree) and just generally communicating more complex ideas, like "I don't like being in the car" and "why aren't the trains in this box?" That takes a mother's translation powers, of course, and mostly includes crying. 

He understands "two"--he picks up a second car or a second Elmo or a second dog and says, "two." He's basically brilliant. 

This phase is already almost over but I'd forgotten to record it: He has for a while been saying, "Dubaji" and scrunching his face up and smiling. It is more like, "du du du du duba duba dubaji." And it's hilarious. It's his happy word and me saying it can put him into a good mood so that he's starts saying it and smiling. Or sometimes he just starts saying it on his own when he's happy. Anyway, I think I've butchered that explanation. But we don't know what the word means, just that it's a happy, silly expression. (And what I wouldn't give to have an interpretation!)

We're experiencing leaps and bounds in communication: He tells us to "do den" when the book is finished. We can have whole conversations, like: 

     Me: "What are these?"

     Baby Leopard: "Elbows!"

     Me: "How many?"

     Baby Leopard: "Two!"

(Of course, any more than one is two. Which is to say, three, four, and five, are also two. But still: incredible!) And he can read the whole title to "Moo Baa La La La."

(I will say it is pretty difficult for me to handle when he calls something the wrong name persistently. For instance, all spoons and forks are called, "for." I've told him, "No, this one's a spoon" about a thousand times. And for one day he did call it a spoon. Then he reverted to "for." It's basically infuriating.)

He also asks sometimes for "Elmo mo" (Elmo's world) which his father sometimes gives in and gives him (in extenuating circumstances) and I for the record, dear internet, do not. Except for once on a plane and once in a car.

Today I also ni-ni-ed various cars and fire engines from Baby Leopard's collection, something I never would have imagined doing. But, hey, we're breastfeeding positive around here. And we have no plan for weaning. 

But we do need a plan for potty-training, which right now involves Baby Leopard sitting on his little kid potty in the bathroom with his diaper on. But on the plus side, he's pretty excited about that activity.