The Great Communicator

Suddenly, Tank is a talking fool.

When we took him in for his 18 month checkup about three or so weeks ago, our pediatrician asked how many words he knew. I estimated roughly 12 and was surprised when she was so pleased.

"That's wonderful! Most of the time I hear 5 or 6. So if he knows 12 that's really, really good," she said.

I explained to her that he wasn't using all of them with regularity. A couple he repeated once or twice and then we didn't hear them again for days. 

In terms of frequency, Scott's vocabulary consisted of: juice, Elmo (funny how that came in at #2), mama, da-day, bye-bye, no, milk, dog, down, all done, ball, and more. 

Our doctor said that by his two year checkup he'd probably know 150 or 200 words.

No way, was my immediate thought.

But now I can see how its possible - even likely. Words are suddenly pouring out of Scott's mouth. It's as if they've been stored up in his little head for 18 months, waiting for a chance to come out. He's saying "plane" "choo-choo" "poop" and this weekend uttered his first two-syllable words - "anana" (banana) and "bubbles."

He's also starting to pair more them together more frequently. First it was, "oh no nooo!" whenever he dropped something or spilled his juice.

He's said, "bye bye daddy," and when we drove into our garage after a 3 hour roadtrip, he looked at me and said, "bye bye car."

And I can actually - kind of - have a conversation with him at dinner. I offered him more chicken and got a shake of the head and "noo." I offered him yogurt and again got a "nooo." 

When I asked him what he wanted, he hesitated, looked around and then pointed and said, "milk!"

How freakin' cool is that?

I've got SOOO much to say!!!

My kid is a Sasquatch...and I didn't notice.

For the past few weeks, my folks and I have joked about Scott and the unique running "stance" he'd developed.
It was sort of a side-to-side, not-quite-bending-at-the-knee-shuffle that made him look like a tow-headed Yoda whenever he moved.

We'd even started calling him Yoda.

I am officially a moron.

Today I took Scott to Stride Rite to get his feet re-measured since I wanted to buy him a pair of summer sandals, and I wasn't sure if his size 5.5 wide shoes were still the way to go.

I was also hoping to pick up some crew socks, since several of his didn't seem to be fitting well.

Duh, mom. You would think that somewhere a light bulb would have gone off in my dense little head.

They put Scott on the plate, and told me he's now wearing a size 7, wide.

SEVEN. I almost choked. And then I felt terrible. I'd been jamming my poor kid's feet into a size 5.5 shoe for God knows how many weeks/months, having no idea they were now three sizes too small.

Scott's proper shoe size, as evidence by the one on the left. I can't imagine why the brown ones were uncomfortable.

No wonder his big toenail fell off a few weeks ago. No wonder I had to yank to pull the darn things on and off. No wonder he walked like Yoda.

I think I may officially the worst mother ever - or, at a minimum, one of the most unobservant ones.

At least its a problem that's easily rectified. Scott has a passle of new shoes - including tennies, summer sandals, water shoes and topsiders. He also has socks. The woman at the store told me they'd probably last until July.

Mommy guilt on full display.

I certainly hope so.

Thanks, Mom, for finally noticing. Sheesh, what's a kid got to do around here to get your attention?

Eleven Months Old!!!

Really?
How in the hell did that happen?

I am counting down to Scott's first birthday with a mixture of unbridled excitement and, yes...if I am honest, just a little bit of dread.

How is my baby so big already? He's talking nonstop (not that we can always understand him); he's learning to point and follows our lead when we point at something; he's trying to pull himself up without holding on to something and he loves making a mess at mealtime.

(Although, I could live without his new habit of constantly changing what he likes to eat. He'll enjoy it one week and then, a week later, reject what we thought was his a favorite food. (The one exception: soup. He will always eat that!!!)

Scott's oddly strong, he's growing like a weed, he is apparently loving being with the big kids in the toddler room at the daycare...and I think he looks like a little man.

I have an old friend in Fort Worth who once told me, "you will never know your capacity to love until you have a child."

On a purely logical level, what he said made sense, but I didn't really understand how true that statement was until I was blessed enough to have Scott enter my life.

He makes a bad day better, and puts a smile on my face whenever I see him, and I burst with pride over all of his accomplishments - great and small.

Happy 11 month birthday Tank!! Mommy and Daddy love you!!

This month's winning photo:

And a couple of my favorite outtakes:

Hello Dear Mr. Bear, I will lure you into my good graces with my soft touch and sweet whisperings.

Word. Two old pals, chillaxin and hanging out.

Step back, Mr. Bear. This photo shoot is all about me!!