2003-11-04
Well, last night I went off to class with the understanding that B would call if he felt Clay really needed me to come home. Things went pretty well in my absence; he said Clay missed me but wasn't too distressed, that he enjoyed his dinner and his bath.
I found that I missed Clay quite a bit as well. He's really growing on me lately. I guess it's no surprise that his learning new words is totally exciting to me. I'm such a verbal person, such a cognitive person, and his language is the beginning of being able to know his thoughts. The physical milestones such as crawling and walking were cool to observe but this is in another league.
For the longest time he said only daddy, no mama or mommy. Well, he finally got the hang of it and now, of course, he never stops saying it. When we're in the car, you hear alot of "Mama!" "Yes?" "Mama!" "Yes?" "Mama!" "I'm right here, honey. I can't turn around because I'm driving." Then after a while we get into "Daddy?" "Daddy's at home, we'll see him soon." "Daddy?" "Daddy's at home, we'll see him soon." "Daddy?" "Daddy's at home, we'll see him soon." It does get a bit tedious.
His play is also changing as he becomes more dexterous and more capable of pretending. His favorite thing lately is a battery-operated plastic train B got home. He connects the four cars, sets in on its track, then turns it on. He calls it "too-too" (his version of "choo-choo").
He's also really into his baby. When we visited B's parents, Clay became enamored of a big baby doll. He spent a lot of time pushing it around in a "low-ler" (stroller). B's mother lamented that she had no bottles for him to feed the baby with and I said that was okay. Later I was on the bed in the guest room nursing him when he grabbed the baby and put her to the other side, complete with slurping sound effects.
One other thing he's attached to is a little terry-cloth bear that sings Happy Birthday in a surprisingly non-cloying little voice that Clay sings along with ("Ha.... Too.... You....").
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