Learning about and Interacting with the World

Monkey is changing so quickly, and it really is amazing now to see how much he clearly understands.  I love watching him grow and learn more about the world.  His frequent antics include:

• He can kiss, open-mouthed, but he rarely does it.  I was trying to convince him to kiss me, and he grabbed my head with both hands and laid a big, wet kiss right on my mouth.
• He can say "outside."  He will grab our hand and lead us to the door, or he will ask to be picked up by putting his arms up, and he'll point to the door.
• He can say "stick," and he knows if he has one in his hand, our Boston Terrier will want to play.
• He thinks the dog wants to play chase, and he'll run or crawl around the room, laughing while the puppy runs the other way, but Monkey just thinks its all part of the game, and he loves it.
• He smiles and begins to bounce and/or clap when  he hears music.
• When he hears us laughing, he'll chime in, too, laughing a different laugh than when he is sincerely giggling.
• He is trying to learn how to use utensils.  He insists on holding a utensil while he's eating, and if I'm feeding him yogurt or oatmeal, he wants to dip the spoon into the bowl, too, and he'll try to put it in his mouth.
• He loves the water.  He will go toward the stairs in the pool, and he is always anxious to go in.  He will splash and play for quite a while, and he's becoming braver with letting us hold him farther from our bodies.
• He can follow simple directions, sometimes: for example, I handed him J's Father's Day card and asked him to give it to Daddy, and he did just that.
• When he's tired, he lays down on a blanket and looks at me and smiles.
• He smacks his head a lot when he's eating, so I've been taking advantage of that opportunity to ask him where his head is...now he can respond to that question by pointing at his head.
• He's so much more interested in books now.  For such a long time, it was hard to hold his interested for a whole book, unless he was tired or feeling snuggly, or he was in the mood to play with them on his own.  Now, he'll sit and enjoy the pages for several books in a row, helping to turn the pages and point at the pictures.
• He can point at things he wants, to let us know.

It's just crazy to think that a year ago, he was such a helpless little blob of a newborn;  the growth from newborn to toddler is so exponential.