21 months old: He talks!

Daniel never fails to amaze me.  He's been a talker for months but the last few weeks have been a vocabulary explosion.  Literally, he's got several new words every day, too many to keep track of.  He hears us say a word and then he says it too.  And he's not just saying them, he understands what they mean.  Words that I don't even specifically remember teaching him, he knows and uses correctly.  A few of his recent ones are: shoe, sock, shirt, pants, diaper, zip (pronounced "zeep" like a Frenchman!), watch, milk, fork (pronounced like...well, it needs an R-rating), outside, I gotcha ("Igocka"), apples, and airplane.  And, finally, he says his own name, though it comes out more like "Naniel" than Daniel.

To be around him is to be treated to an almost constant narration of what he sees.  When he sees something he doesn't know the name for, he'll ask by pointing and saying "umma, umma, umma."  Actually, that's a phrase he uses a lot to get our attention.

He's learned a few cute tricks too.  We'll ask him, "what does the lion say?" and he'll reply "roar."  "What does the little piggy say?" "Wee, wee, wee" (all the way home).  And when we say, "how big is Daniel?" he says "sooo big" holding his hands wide.

Another cute thing he does is try to jump.  I'll stand in front of him and jump up and down.  He watches trying to figure out how I manage to get both feet off the ground and tries to do it himself but he ends up just getting up on his tiptoes and dancing around in something of a moonwalk.  Then I'll hop from leg to leg and he can copy me on that.  I know it's just a matter of time till he figures out the 2-footed jumping.  If there's a way to teach it though, I haven't found it.

In other news, we've decided on a preschool for Daniel.  After looking at 3, we've settled on Apostles Day School in Coppell, where our friends' two kids go.  It wasn't the most conveniently located option, but we loved the warm nurturing feel of it.  It's a Montessori school so the kids learn through self-paced "works" as well as group activities.  It's located at an Episcopal church too, so the kids get weekly chapel time, which we like.  He'll start this summer and I know he's going to love it.  He enjoys his days with Grandma but I think he'll really enjoy and benefit from the added stimulation of the classroom and regular interaction with other kids.  He really enjoys his playdates with his little buddies and it'll be fun to see him make new friends.

This is our favorite age so far with Daniel-he's so interactive, his personality becoming more developed, and every day we get to watch him learn new things.  Of course, every age has been our favorite, and I can't wait to see what's in store over the next few months.  Every day with our little boy is a blessing.  We're so lucky!

Driving!

He climbed right from Daddy's arms onto the fridge!

Trying on Mommy's shoes

Playground fun