"I DID IT!"

At the tender age of 14 and 1/2 months:

• While rocking him to sleep and singing or simply humming the tune of "I Am a Child of God", he will pop up-- even when half asleep-- to sing "help" and "teach" at the exact timing when those words come up in the song. Last night he did this, and then at the end of the song, after he clapped (he always builds your self esteem by clapping when you're finished with a song), he goes-- again, half asleep-- "I did it!"
• He will try to climb up on furniture, and then look at you and say "help!" Then, once he's accomplished the feat, he'll proclaim "I did it!"
  
• Today, Kardesia taught him "I got this." :D
• He walks/ toddles around everywhere and it's so dang cute! Will post a video soon:)
• He is definitely a flirt: stopping women in their tracks with his smile and wave...I've been told multiple times today "oh, he's gonna be a heart breaker!"
• If you sing "Hush little baby" to him, when you sing "mockingbird" he'll go "tweet, tweet!" when you sing "billy goat" he'll say "maah, maaah!"
• He can count to three!
• He loves it when I count on my fingers...for some reason he thinks it's hilarious. :)
• He knows the color yellow. "lellow." If he sees something while we're out and about that's yellow (like the cereal topping tonight at a yogurt shop), he'll point at it and say "lellow!"
• If he sees an illustration of a butterfly anywhere (in a book he's seen hundreds of times, or a book he's never seen before, or on the plate he was eating off of this morning at Grandmommy's, or a real butterfly, he'll raise his arm high and open and close his fist because that's what we taught him the butterfly does (flutters). It's amazing to me that he recognizes these animals no matter what depiction he sees.
• If he sees a heart anywhere he'll say "heart" and put his hand over his heart. And then he'll want to touch your heart.
• He loves to show you his elbow and say the word. Then he'll want to touch your elbow, and the random lady's in line behind you at the grocery store.
• He points to all of these things and says the words: earring, neck, chin, cheek, nose, mouth, eye, ear, elbow, knee, toes, foot, feet, hair, hand, teeth, tongue, back, arm, cat, moon, star, book, ball, basketball (all sports balls are basketballs to him), toys, Jesus, fire (and then he'll say "hot!"), banana, strawberry, blueberry, pasta, bread, milk....etc.
• While at church, if ever we pass the cultural hall doors, he points to them and says
  "basketball!" because he knows there are basketballs behind those doors. Crazy boy! How does he remember? I took him in their once about 2 months ago and he played with a basketball...
• He likes to brush his teeth and his hair. And he will gladly brush your hair for you too. Such a kind soul.
• He knows the following animal sounds and will make them when he sees a picture of them: cat, dog, duck, donkey, rooster ("doodle doo!"), pig, frog, bunny (hop! hop!), fish (makes a fishey kiss face), dinosaur, horse, cow, sheep, goat, owl, kangaroo (hop, hop!), butterfly (the fist thing), mouse (peep, peep), monkey, turtle (he just says "tuhtle, tuhtle)
• I love how his meow is almost always hoarse sounding. It's so cute!
• He loves to find the MOON at night! And the sunshine and the moon in books:)
• Still, his favorite toy of choice, above and beyond any others, is a ball to chase or kick. It's awesome because now he stands up and kicks the soccer ball all by himself! Before Stace always held his hands to do this.
• He likes to knock, knock and then say "who's there?"
• He says "where is it?" (he'll bend his arm and stick his hand out when you say it too) and "I don't know"
  
• When I ask him "can you stand up?" He does just that! I was amazed at how he knows what I'm asking him.
• Today I asked if he could go over and put something in a bag and he did it. Same thing as above.
• He can do shape puzzles.
• Lately I've been getting a lot of "she is so beautiful" compliments on him...while he's wearing BLUE. To me, he is so obviously all boy, so it's crazy! But they always say "he's too gorgeous to be a boy!" and I always take it as a compliment because my mom always used to tell me that my big brother was so beautiful that everyone thought he was a girl when he was a baby-- so to me, it's a compliment:)

photito courtesy of Freya and Sarah! I haven't been nearly as good about pictures lately! :(