Forty-four weeks old and you have spent most of the time either having things put in your mouth or finding things to put in your mouth yourself. Either way, it really makes you happy, so I'm happy too!
You recently commandeered your sister's tea party set and stole all of the utensils for yourself. There probably isn't a room in the house that I haven't found a fork, knife, or spoon in varying shades of white, pink, and blue and somehow the discovery does not surprise me one bit.
I took a load of laundry down the hallway and I was shaking out the pants from the laundry bag, a little white fork flew out onto the carpet. A few days later, I pulled out the Tupperware drawer to find something to put the leftovers in and there was a tiny knife nestled between two containers. You being the third child in our family means that I am well prepared to find tiny objects and toys in places they don't belong. I have to say, it is completely refreshing to find things that are bigger than Barbie-sized forks and itty bitty purple Legos. I welcome the change to larger, sharper, more noticeable items for me to step on with bare feet.
You have always been a babbler, but suddenly you've had a babble explosion. You are making noise all of the time, from the moment you wake up until you finally give in and go to sleep at night. I don't worry about where you are because even in a room by yourself, you are talking away to whatever object you are playing with. None of your words so far are actually acceptable in the English language, but you speak as if everyone understands you and never seem to get frustrated if we don't know what you want. The tone and inflection are correct, but the words are nothing more than gibberish. Here is a current list of your 'words' and what we think they mean:
*geegle - this could be anything. most commonly used in rapid succession when around your sisters
*gock - for Ilsa and Freya, this was a duck noise. For you, it means you are hungry because you only bust this out when food is nearby.
*gilly - we think you are talking about Coda. Sometimes it sounds like "kittykittykitty" but again, you only use it around the dog or other four-legged animals.
*Dada - this is your one true word, and you really mean Dad when you say it...or someone who looks a lot like Dad and can pick you up. Or me. Or the girls.
*Mama - uttered very seldom and usually when you are angry, tired, or starving.
There is a pretty big difference in the language patterns of girls and boys and I am realizing that I have no reason to be worried that you don't have many words yet because generally boys develop slower than girls in this area. You are so chatty that we know you are communicating and that is good enough for now.
With your first birthday just around the corner, we are awaiting your transition from crawler to cruiser. Not to say you aren't giving it the old college try, but you seem to be stuck in fast-crawl mode with the random one-step thrown in for good measure. I have only just adjusted to having a very quick and very mobile baby and am not sure I'm ready for you to be a true "toddler" yet.
This milestone is always a tough one for me - to have my children go from being babies to toddlers, it just makes me a little sad. Not sad enough to want another newborn, but sad in the sense that this passage in your little life has gone by too fast. Because once you start walking, you stop needing mama as much and I kind of thrive on being important to you. Obviously there are things that I don't want you to need me for ("mom, I need you to wipe me!" and "mom, there's a giant spider in the bathroom!") but the hugs, the snuggles, the kisses, and to comfort you when you need it.
Sure, all of the other parts of parenthood are important, I mean, we are shaping your lives and all of that, but the fun part is being needed and a walking toddler would rather run away from their parents than toward them. It's just a fact that I'm going to have to face.
So for now, my little boo boo bear, crawl to your heart's content and make sure the direction you are crawling is toward me. Just stop calling me Dada while you're doing it.
Love,
Your Mama
