We have been very pleased to see him bring books for us to read to him. It's also been great to see him sitting on his own, pouring over his favorite books (his Dinosaur books are the current favorite). He still won't sit still for long periods of time, but if he brings you a book he's interested in, he might sit for several readings of it.
His verbal skills have exploded this month, but especially over the last week. As we mentioned in previous posts, we have been making him use words to get what he wants instead of just sounds. The result has been a more extensive vocabulary. This week he started using three word sentences. Because he understands that words can help him communicate with us, he is excited about using them, and tries to say a new word almost every day. He can repeat almost any word, but some new words he actually understands and uses include: Turtle, Justin, Norah, Yellow, Duck, Water, Blanket, Pluggy, Shoes, Socks, Mess, Baby, and Clean. His favorite current words seem to be "Daddy" and "No."
It's been entertaining witnessing his comprehension of concepts such as "messes". He frequently fills a toy shopping cart or stroller with toys, runs a few laps around the house, dumps the toys onto the floor, points to the debris field and exclaims in a very enthusiastic voice "Mess!" Other things prompt this response as well. One day we drove by an apartment complex that had caught fire. He noticed the rubble, charred building, and piles of broken wood and declared "mess!"
Our discussions with the doctor were interrupted several times by his enthusiastic exploration of the new examination rooms. The office recently moved to a new building and some of the cabinets have not been child proofed yet. On our previous trip to the doctor, the babies opened up the cabinets, so I knew that there was nothing in them. As a result, I didn't become frantic when Justin opened up the cabinet beneath the sink and climbed in. I looked down and exclaimed "Really?" at which point the doctor turned around, shocked to see him in there. She knelt down and asked him to come out to which he replied in a very sweet and quiet voice, "No." She laughed and eventually managed to talk him out of his new hiding place.
During this visit, as Justin was again trying to climb into the still unlocked and empty cabinet, the doctor laughed and said, "It was you! I remember now. I knew someone had climbed in there!" Yes, we are very memorable. Thankfully his busy, nonstop actions are actually right on track for his development. Our doctor has pointed out in the past that the genders develop differently, with girls being more verbal and the boys being more physical. We have definitely observed this with our babies. Of course, when both of them were under the exam table, softly panting and yipping (they were pretending to be puppies) all I could do was sigh since the doctor and nurses were all laughing. Apparently we are entertaining too.
The best part of this month's changes has been his 3 word sentences. They were so unexpected, that it was a bit of a shock to hear him say:
I want Daddy
I want that
I want some
I want more
I like that
Those were all great, but "I love Mommy/You" was beautiful.
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