The Great Communicator

You guys, having a toddler is the best thing ever. I mean, not every second is the best, but there are a whole lot of fun seconds to make up for the others. And as for the un-fun seconds, well, I suppose teething will end eventually. I think I said once that I wanted it to die a slow and painful death, and it kind of is. Oops.

Anyway, right now my two favorite things about Joseph are his increasing vocabulary and his other attempts at communication. For example . . .

Outside: Oh my this boy loves being outside.

Every morning or after every nap, as soon as we pick him up out of his crib, he points toward the door or window and says, "Dat." As soon as he began walking, he would walk over to the door and hang out there til we got the hint. Over the past few weeks, he's become increasingly subtle about nudging us out the door. He began by handing us his shoes any time he wanted to go outside (always). He then progressed to first handing us our shoes and then his shoes. Since I tend to leave shoes around, he sometimes hands me lots and lots til I get the hint.

And now he's added another level on. When he wants to go out, he finds the sunscreen and strongly urges us to put some on. The past few times, if I've given him a little in his hand, it immediately goes into his hair. It is so funny.

The Bath: Since he now recognizes that things happen in sequences, it means that he knows that getting wet often involves getting his hair washed. And that is not okay. Considering how much he loves to throw rocks in water

he sure hates being in it himself. This is nice sometimes, like at a barbecue we were at on Labor Day. The whole time we were eating he wanted to get in the water. Once he got in, he realized it involved being wet and he avoided the pool for the rest of the time. It was nice to not have to stop eating every two seconds to grab him.

But other times it's not so nice. Like when he needs an actual bath and spends the whole time screaming because he knows eventually he'll get his hair washed. Since he knows that getting soaped up comes before washing his hair, he spends the whole time dreading it. And since he knows that being wrapped up in a towel comes after getting his hair washed, he spends the whole time begging for one. "Dow dow! Dow dow!" he shouts between periods of anguished screams, pointing at anything that remotely looks like a towel. Poor boy. Is it bad that we laugh?

Vocabulary: Speaking of words, he has some! Like the rest of us, his words directly relate to the things he cares the most about. So here's what he can say:

stick (of course)

stairs

that

nah nah nah nah nah (while wagging his finger)

shoe (at least, we think that's what shurzhurzhurzhur means)

quilt (this one might be temporary. I hung a quilt up the other day and he just has so much to say about it)

ball

blanket (at least I think that's what bah-bah means)

dada

And probably others that I haven't deciphered yet, like grapes, bananas, and strawberries.

Words that did not make the list: mama. Sheesh. He knows how to say it and says it when he likes the food I am feeding him. But if I ever try to coax him into saying it, he says "Dada!" instead with an impish grin. Someday.

This is not an impish grin. This is what happens when Mom shines a bright light in his face

Anyway, I could talk forever about him, but here are just a few pictures from the past few days to do the talking for me.

If I ask, "Where's your mouth?" he sticks his fingers or hand in it.

He also loves his tongue.

Sometimes he walks around with his hands behind his back. Thinking hard, I am sure.

He is so much fun!