Vocabulary Blooming

I should have a guest blogger for yesterday. Daddy spent most of the day with LR while I coached a rugby game at Wesleyan. (We tied 12-12!) He was up nice and late - 7:15. Hooray for sleeping in! When I got home I heard about the two hours they spent playing at the park and the good naps he took. After a hearty dinner of lasagna and a nice bath, LR went to sleep without a problem. He was up at 6:30 this morning and I thought he might be hungry. Sure enough, he took 6 oz of milk right away. Then he had 2 blueberry pancakes for breakfast a little while later. To give some perspective, I ate 3 pancakes. He's 1/8th my size! How could he possibly eat that much?

He took an early nap, but it didn't last long enough. We went to the local school playground to run around a bit before lunch and got some great pictures while we were there. This park
has squishy ground underneath the jungle-gym and more importantly, NO woodchips for him to put in his mouth. LR had a pretty good time, but got fussy and I realized it was definitely time for lunch. We hustled home and he had tofu, cantaloupe, and cheese. Then we played, but I could tell he was walking that line between idle and cranky, so I put him down for an early nap hoping he would sleep a good long time. He woke up after a half hour, but Daddy was a trooper and got him to go back down for another hour.

Friends arrived and he woke up. I had to read him 'Hop on Pop' a few times before he was ready for company. Then he kept them entertained for the rest of the visit. He seems to learn more signs and words each day. Today I figured out that the sign he's been making for a few days is 'cat.' Then while our friends watched, he picked up the word 'bubble' which sounds like 'bubba' when he says it. He's making a sign where he covers both ears, but I have no idea what he's trying to say. He's ramping up his communications skills like crazy and he's looking like an honest-to-god toddler now. He walks most of the time and eats most of the stuff we do. Daddy is definitely loving the games of catch, kicking the ball around with him outside, and reading him books. LR clears his bookshelf for us once a day now. He especially likes 'Mommy Hugs' which we were given by my Aunt E. We have signs for all the animals and I tickle, nuzzle, and squeeze him with each page. The best part is the last page which says, "My mommy hugs me with a snuggle like this!" He knows even before I turn the last page to start running. I have to tackle him to give him a giant cuddle/tickle/kiss-fest. He loves it.