Warning - Bragging Post!

Those of you who have kids know that little ones go through spurts where they learn a lot of things in a short time. Daniel is going through one of those spurts right now, and I just have to share - if for no other reason than so I can remember some of the fun things he's learning and doing right now. =)

First of all, Daniel took his first steps today! My Mom was playing with him in the living room this afternoon, and he took two steps between the couch and her. He still has a long way to go before he starts "really" walking, but it's fun to see him beginning to try.

Daniel has also started blowing kisses. It's interesting to see how the second child sort of picks some things up by "osmosis." Daniel is a very observant little guy, and he watches everything his big sister does. We weren't trying to teach him how to blow kisses, but he started doing it yesterday. All I can figure is that he's seen Rebekah do it often enough that he picked up on it.

Something else that Daniel has picked up from watching Rebekah is pretending. That is not something I had expected at all since I have never known a 10-month-old to do much pretending. Rebekah spends a good deal of time "cooking" food for her dolls and stuffed animals, and then feeding it to them or to us. Daniel has seen this process often enough that I guess he's figured it out! The other day he brought a plastic toy donut to me. I took it, not sure what he wanted me to do with it. He was looking at me expectantly, so I pretended to take a few bites out of the donut. He smiled, so I figured that's what he had wanted me to do with it. I handed it back to him, and he (grinning all the while) pretended to bite it himself!

Daniel has been picking up on sign language signs very quickly these days. He has been pretty fussy the past few days while he has had the croup, and hasn't been eating as well as he normally does. I was trying to feed him lunch today, but he wouldn't take anything I tried to give him. He just kept fussing and making the sign for "please." Finally I calmed him down and asked him if he wanted milk or food while making the signs for "milk" and "food." Daniel knows the sign for "milk" but we have hardly used the sign for "food" with him at all. He replied to my question with two signs - "please, food"!

He is speaking new words every day - more than I can keep up with! He tries to imitate much of what we say, and really wants to communicate. His favorite words are "ball" and "hot." He's very concerned about anything he thinks is "hot," and reminds us every time he sees the stove that it is hot! Rebekah's love of books has made Daniel interested in books as well, and he will pull out his little board books saying, "boop!"

He is also very intrigued with lights. When we enter a room, he will point to the overhead light (or whatever lights in the room that he recognizes as lights), and say "light." He will continue that until we either turn the light on or distract him. His preference is that ALL the lights in a room be on! His word for "light" sounds nothing like what it should, but he uses the same word every time, so I can only guess that he is trying to say "light."

He also says "thank you" and "stop." He won't say either on command, but when he is really "thankful" for something (like when I give him food off of MY plate), or wants you to stop something (he will often say "stop" when I am changing his diaper), the words come easily!

It is really amazing watching babies' little brains at work. It is incredible to think of how much a child learns in the first year of life. They go from helpless and stationary infants to mobile, communicating toddlers in just 12 months! We truly are "fearfully and wonderfully made."