So much changes so quickly, it is difficult to remember everything I need to write down. I really ought to update more often so I don't forget anything!
Gavin turned 18 months on Wednesday, and as if a switch was flipped, we find ourselves with a little person on our hands who is barreling headlong toward Two. A week or so ago I was talking to Shannon, who was telling me about Devon and his saying "no." I commented that Gavin almost never said No. I jinxed the situation, because within a few days he was saying "mo," although never with the force or frequency of a full-fledged toddler. But this week, with growing intensity, No is the word of choice to any question or statement put to him. He of course doesn't really get the word, just that it's a powerful one. Most of the time he doesn't mean no, but it is funny how the word effects us. It's hard not to take him seriously and assume that when he says no he really means it.
A few weeks ago I said how Gavin was not a baby anymore, as if his last vestige of babyhood had been trimmed away with his first haircut. How wrong I was! Recently something happened that made me realize he has at least one bit of babyhood left, one thing remaining which ties him to that wee (ha ha) baby he once was: diapers.
In the last month, Gavin has been increasingly aware of bodily functions. When any of us burps or farts, he says "uh-oh!" and points to the offending part of the body. When he pees or poos in his diaper he says "uh-oh!" and points. He's very interested in Jason and I going to the bathroom. Last week, Gavin and I were sitting on the floor in the family room playing. He stood up and said "uh-oh" (a word, which, if you haven't figured it out yet, is one we hear a lot in our house) and ran to the bathroom door. He pounded on it, said "uh-oh!" very intensely, ran over to me, said "uh-oh!", then back to the bathroom. I asked if he had to pee. "Da," he said and pounded on the bathroom door. "Do you want to pee in the potty?" I asked. "Da," he said. So I undressed him and held him on the potty. He didn't pee; he got completely freaked out about the The Hole and struggled to climb off the potty. But within 10 seconds of my putting him down, he peed. (Three guesses what he said as he did it... that's right, he said "uh-oh!").
Later in the day I was changing his diaper and he pointed to his nether bits and exclaimed, "uh-oh!" I asked if he had to pee, and we repeated the same scenario from earlier, right down to his peeing right after I took him down from the potty. He only asked to use the potty a couple times in the days after that, but given his high level , continual interest, we have made a purchase. It resides in our bathroom downstairs, and has elicited an extremely enthusastic response so far. He has yet to use it for its intended purpose, but he sits on it a lot and loudly proclaims, "bah-bpeee!" (potty, for the uninitiated)
I remember with my niece Fiona how she would periodically take huge leaps in learning to talk, where overnight it seemed she would suddenly have heaps of new sounds, words, or ability to string the words together. We've seen that happen with Gavin twice now, so far. I think I mentioned it the last time it happened, but it happened again last week. Seemingly overnight he started babbling in very a sentence-like manner. His words are meaningless to us, but is he ever he intent and serious about what he's saying. He will look right at us, his face so serious, and say "bah bwee-a -uh-baaa-bee-bwee a bah buh, dooo drrrrr a bweee dweee, errrrrrr buh, bweee!"
A month or so ago, possibly even longer, Gavin started tickling us. Now he tickles everything in sight, including the dishwasher.
I finished my first big knitting project over the weekend. It took me a month or a month and a half from start to end, and doesn't he look dapper in it?
In the middle of his signing "Daddy" I asked him to smile. This is the result.
Jason brought home roses for me the other night. We had a date night and went to see Serenity. Liked the movie, though it wasn't quite what we were expecting. Didn't tie up the lose ends from the tv show like we'd hoped. But still, it was good.