Pardon This Interruption...

.. from your previously scheduled program of Tanzania posts, but I simply must chronicle these oh-so-adorable-make-me-melt-isms my little peanut has been doing lately. (and also to throw in some pics from his 1-year session that I just got back!)

Like when you ask him what a sheep is, he opens his mouth, strains really hard and says "ah-ah-ah"

And like when he sees a dog - any dog: real life dog, on TV dog, cartoon picture of a dog - he starts saying 'ruff ruff' in a decibel almost high enough only dogs can hear it. And on our walk last night we saw a dog across the street that was coming back from his walk and going into his house. And twenty minutes later when we walked past that same house he started barking. (ie. my boy is a genius!)

And also when you ask him what a cat says he says "eeeeeee" really high-pitched cause he can't quite say the M or the OW sound on either end of Meow. And then he immediately begins looking for our cat and saying 'bug-bug?' over and over again until he actually finds him.

The way he dances melts my heart.  He either puts his hands out (kind of like one would hold a hula hoop around your waist) and twists really fasts, or crosses his arms over his belly and bends his knees, bouncing up and down.  And when it's really sweet, is when he comes over to me and says "up up" and I pick him up and he grabs my hand (old-fashioned-slow-dance-style) and starts jumping up and down with a big toothy grin because he wants me to dance with him. <3

Lets also talk about how fast he is.  He walks everywhere now. And is beginning to run.  And plays chase with that coy little smile and giggle that gives you the go-ahead that he wants you to come after him. And now that he is such a good walker he loves to pick things up and walk around with them.  Like his walker toy.  That he's supposed to push.  He picks the entire thing off the floor and walks around with it. 

And the boy talks.  All.  Day. Long.  What he's saying is only between him and God because I'm pretty sure no one else could decipher it 90% of the time but he jabbers all day long and it's adorable.  He has inflection and motions and facial expressions - the whole nine yards.  It reminds me a lot of Boo from Monster's Inc.

And it's really small and probably silly to you but I think the way he drinks from a straw is sooooo stinkin' cute.  The way his little lips pucker up and his cheeks stick out, and the way his eyebrows go way up (because apparently when the eyebrows go up the water in his cup rises as well)... it's so adorable.

His arm.  The boy has a great arm.  He picks up his volleyball and chucks it halfway across the room.  He has a little hackey sack he can throw really far too, and he loves to just throw/roll/bounce the balls back and fourth!

OH! And the other day I was getting his jammies on and he was standing up so I pulled his shorts down, and he reached down and pulled them back up - by himself!  It was so cute! And then it became a game :)

 There are a few things he really dislikes - getting his hands/face washed after meals, getting his nails trimmed, getting his diaper changed, and occasionally getting buckled into his carseat.  So I started asking him if he can 'be a big boy' so we can ___ (fill int he blank with the task he dislikes) and it's been working!  I can't believe it, but he will sit still, stop whining and let me do whatever it is, most of the time.  He really is getting SO big, I just can't believe it.

He's got his own little personality and is communicating really well as to what he wants and doesn't want.  He asks for 'hep' whenever he needs it, rather than throwing a fit, and will lead me somewhere to show me something if I'm not understanding him.  ::sniff:: my little boy is growing up.  I do love this stage though, it's so fun to play with him, watch him learn new things and figure things out for himself.