Vincent Laws. All boy. All things outdoors. These phrases perfectly describe this stage. Allow me to illustrate. Vincent's favorite word and object is "ball." He says it at least a dozen times a day while either carrying or looking for anything that might resemble a ball. He has a mean throw and will play fetch with Grits Grets. To our amazement he kicked a ball at thirteen months. In other stereotypical male habits, his sound effects are quite impressive. I might be imagining things but did I see fear in the eyes of the tiger and lions when Vincent let out his deep, loud "roar" at the zoo? "Baa" is frequently expressed while reading Ten Chirpy Chicks by Debbie Tarbett (his favorite book right now). Finally, he's been caught making a nice car sound while pushing his toy trucks and "quack quack" while playing with his rubber duckie in the bath.
We spend most of our day outside here at the Morlandt house. It's the first place Vin wants to go after waking in the morning or after a nap. I know this because he will whine and fuss until I open the door. While outside he loves for us to push him in his beep beep car while he carries a ball in his lap, occasionally throwing it to the dogs. He enjoys the sand box but we are working on keeping the sand IN the box. The slide is definitely his favorite outdoor equipment. Well, that and the hose. Let me just interject here that this is one of the many things I love about having a boy. He does NOT mind getting wet, muddy, or just plain gross. He will douse himself with the water hose and run around for an hour afterwards with sand stuck to his hands, feet, and face while loving every minute of it. So fun!
Vincent's most recently acquired skill is "dancing." And, as is true of most children I know, he has developed his own style. Turn on the music and the boy starts marching/stomping with his feet while pumping his elbows up and down or swinging them side to side. Think military drill meets chicken dance. All this dancing started the very same day he returned from his first Kindermusik class with Jean Jean.
In addition to producing animal/environmental sounds Vincent is attempting to repeat words. He spontaneously says "mama, daddy, Gus, ball, up, bye, more, bite, nose, and book." What seems to characterize his verbal expressions the most at this stage is fussing and pointing. I remember this well from Sophia. "I'm not sure how to say this so I'll just point at it and fuss. No not that. Not that either. No. Why can't you understand what I want, Mom? I'll just keep fussing and pointing. Eventually you will get it or you will give me crackers in a cup as a clever way of distracting me. But don't worry I'll find something else I want when I'm done with those crackers."
Let me close this update with a trait that continues to set Vincent apart. Affection. Love. Kisses. His new nursery workers at church (he moved up) seem to agree. One commented last Sunday when I dropped him off, "Hello Vincent! He's an easy one to love isn't he?" When I picked him up later that morning a different worker said something along the same line as she declared, "What a love!" while passing him over the divide. He doles out kisses freely, rests his head on complete strangers' shoulders, and smiles at the drop of a hat. How I love the feel of his soft hair on my cheek as I rest it on the top of his sweet head. The pats on the back. The baby kisses. This kind of sweetness will never lose its potency. It fills my heart to overflowing each time.
No comments:
Post a Comment