He’s now 14.5 months old. That means he’s been walking for 4 months and now he’s really good at it. He’s also now opening the front door, opening (and closing) the dishwasher (while I’m trying to load it,)and he’s not far from opening the fridge, whereupon he would pull out all the most interesting containers. He does his “rounds” and they go like this; …Go to the tupperware cupboard, pull out all the tupperware and then (yes!) put it all back! Then into the livingroom to “adjust” the stereo, then to Tenzin, just to check in, then to me to tell me the story, then to open the front door and go in and out and in and out of the snowroom, then to the old stairs to play piano, then into the bathroom to peek at the toilet, fascinating as it is, then back to me to tell me about it all… There’s more. there are many, many laps of this circuit everyday, so he doesn’t forget how to walk.

When he’s “telling” me about it, it’s in a lucid monologue with florid gesticulations, but, alas, no words. (At least not in English.) When i tell him “no,” he usually points to the offending interest with gibberish in the perfect intonation of “But mom it’s so COOL.” When i again say no, he is usually so choked with frustration that he goes to the nearest hard thing and starts bashing his head against it. If it’s hand held, he’ll hit his head with it. Hmmm!

Tonight Sean was vigorously playing the xylophone and Griffin marched over, grabbed the mallet out of Sean’s hand and walked away with it. Opinion duly noted!

Getting him to try new food has been interesting. He’s tried fish and chicken and turkey, but he really isn’t keen on any of them. He HAS noticed, however, that Tenzin is much more enthusiastic about them than he is. What could be more logical! They have begun a new phase of their friendship.

The biggest recent development is really the rate of his language comprehension. He understands more than i can count now (upstairs, bouncer, tenzin, outside, most body parts, etc, etc) but has only spoken one new word; “mai-naw” meaning banana. He gets one every morning and now must say “mai-naw” 16 times to sanctify the event before his mouth is too full to speak.

He has also learned to do his first sign! (though he recognizes a few) He signs “finished.” He often makes that sign after one bite of a meal he’s not fond of or during a diaper change. It’s nice though, he’ll actually stop his squawking protests and sign “finished” with a smile. It’s charming while it lasts, because surely it’ll stop when he realizes it doesn’t work

He has stopped sleeping well. He’s woken up for the day at about 4;45 every morning this week and has taken his short naps begrudgingly. It’s exasperating, but a friend told me today that they often do that before a developmental surge. I don’t know if it’s true, but it makes me feel better. He does seem to be on the brink of talking… Maybe soon we’ll find out what goes on in that mischievous little banged-up head!