A Zeke Update

Poor Zeker, already overshadowed by his little sister :) Well, here is an update on how our big boy is doing.

Pretty darn good would be my answer. Our favorite part of the day, lately, has been when Josh gets home from work and the two of us are sitting on the couch while he unwinds and dinner finishes cooking and the "Ezekiel Comedy Show" begins. Zeke is SO happy when his daddy comes home and he just LOVES to make us laugh and watching his sense of humor develop is pure joy. Much of his act is physical comedy; funny faces and sounds, some running around in circles and jumping, and crawling with his head rubbing against the carpet and his bum in the air, but he's also delved into ironic humor as his favorite stunt and the climax of his show is usually walking into the room with something that doesn't belong on his head, on his head.
This time it was an apple. And let me tell you, Zeke found it soo funny that he nearly hyperventilated.

He's also been really growing in independence since his first birthday. I find myself having a harder and harder time keeping track of him at the park and remember with bittersweet emotions the little boy of 3 months ago that I hardly watched because he refused to leave the picnic blanket without me. These days he could be anywhere and while I learned that he IS checking up on me on one fateful day when I *gasp* moved, he most definitely doesn't want help up the stairs or to be caught at the end of the slide.

Now daddy is another matter. If daddy is at the park he better stay 2 steps behind so that he's on hand to deliver any interesting sticks to, or partake in any particularly hilarious face Zeke has thought up. But Mommy, well she can just stay on the bench, just as long as she stays on that SAME bench and doesn't throw anything away or move to get out of the sun.

His independence is showing in other, less satisfying, ways as well. Like his new abhorrence to any form of "help". He will feed himself, no matter how messy the food. And let me tell you, Zeke is a messy eater.
He also tries to dress himself, to put on his own shoes, to brush his own hair and teeth, to get into the car by himself, and any number of things that he cant actually accomplish yet. This has upped our mutual frustration levels quite a bit.

But on the other hand frustration has also gone down a lot in the last few weeks as Zeke has grown astronomically more able to vocalize his wishes. When he turned 1 I was honestly a little concerned about his language skills. He knew a few words, mostly nouns, but he barely ever used them and he was growing increasingly frustrated with his inability to express himself. He never would pick up baby sign and I wasnt sure what to do. Well its only 2 months later, but now he knows between 20-30 words and uses them ALL DAY LONG, he never shuts up.

He can say "please" and "thank you", "hi" and "bye", name all of his facial features, many of his body parts, and most of his toys. He knows "momma" and "dadda" and "kitty", "puppy", "blankie", and "bottle". He can say "yum" and "no" and "up" and "mine", "that" and "go" and "yay" and so many others and he's even been stringing them together to say phrases. It seems like he learns a new one every day and his pride in being able to correctly name the toy he wants to be handed, or in being able to tell us that he wants a snack or to be held, and then being understood and having his desire complied with is so exciting for all of us. I think now that he understands how useful this talking thing really is there is going to be no stopping him.

The number 1 thing we've been hearing? "I nice". We've been working on gentle touches a lot around here lately, with both myself, other children, and the kitty and I guess we tell him to "be nice" way more than we realized. But at least he's getting it, "I nice" is usually accompanied by a very soft rub with his hand...although often its also coming right AFTER he is too rough with someone.

Well I gotta run but maybe soon I'll do a Ziggy Stardust update as well, cant forget my 3rd "child" after all.