Lex counts. For a long time it was just “one, two!” and that was enough. But not anymore. Holding up his fingers. Five. Pointing at his toes. Five.
His teacher at school wrote home that when she showed him numerals he recognized 1, 2 and 5. I felt sure he knew 3 and 4 too but just wasn’t saying. That same night he took apart his foam mat and brought me the cut-out 4. “Four! Four! Four! Four!”
That’s right. My little math whiz. Genius baby.
At 17 months Lex started potty training. He wears pull-ups at daycare and gets between 6 and 9 stickers a day for going on the potty. He wakes up dry from naps and has occasionally been dry overnight. He has big boy underwear with thicker training area that we use at home.
Taught him the sign for “toilet” which is “tee-tee” but still working on getting him to tell us before he goes. He is agreeable about going on the potty (1 & 2) if you pop him on there every hour or so, and can go for longer stretches. I think he even holds his urine and hear him say “uh-oh” sometimes if he wets his trainers. But he will still have a BM in his pants and keep playing like nothing happened.
We will just give it some time.
Snapshot: Mayan Ruins
Xunantunich (shoo-NAHN-too-nich) is a Maya archaeological site in western Belize
Cupid was exhausted after a long day of inspiring all that love.
Baby still co-sleeps with us. I curl around him and sniff his sweet head. Smells like warm play-doh. He twitches in his sleep. Small movements that tell his dreams. He feels safe, and that makes him more adventurous. He ranges away from me. Stretches and rolls into his own space. For awhile. Then back again to the reassurance of the noo-noos. I tuck him into a snuggle chicken nest. Rub his cheek with soft brown blanket. Whisper about our adventures together. Hold him tight. Goodnight baby.
My baby might be the smartest baby in the world. Not quite 18 months and he can count to a billion.
We were playing with his abacus this weekend. Counting by ones, then tens, hundreds, thousands. Ten thousands, hundred thousands. Millions. Ten million. One hundred million. One thousand million. Ten to the ninth.
Smart boy.
He is so verbal. Picking up words like crazy. Responds to any challenge. “Can you say the alphabet? A, B, C, D…” He says “Abbis Seedy!” and a little while later, “Lemon happy!”
I wanted to post all the words he knows, but there are too many. Just for starters, here’s the lists I made during our car trip at thanksgiving…
He can either say, sign or make the sound for these animals: Elephant Gorilla Giraffe Snake Monkey Lion Rhino Dog Cat Chicken Pig Horse Cow Goat Sheep Bird Duck Goose Owl Fish Rabbit Squirrel Bear Crab Bug Mouse Butterfly
He says or signs these things: Fire truck Car Airplane Boat Juice Milk Apple Banana Cracker Phone Flower Hat Bubbles Tree Leaf Light Moon Keys Flashlight Balloon Sock Ball Swing Slide Outside Bathtub Shoe Carrot Bread Blueberry Green bean Soup Book Train Poopoo Peepee Potty
He can sign or say these action words: Eat Sleep Kiss Blow kiss Thank you Up Down Gentle Swim Kick Dig Splash Dance Stomp Clap Shake Mix Zerbert Smell Paint Draw Point Pat Peekaboo Wave High five Soft Blow Hot Cold On Off Climb Walk Bring Take
And of course you expect him to know people and body parts like: Momma Daddy Jaja Nana Noo noos Head Eyes Nose Mouth Teeth Tongue Ears Arm Hand Fingers Legs Feet Toes Elbow Knee Tallywacker Belly button
I love him so much. Abbis seedy lemon happy.
He loves to say: Draw, Snowing, Hat, Shoes, Nana, Uncle, Choo-choo, Jaja, and Happy!
His favorite foods are green beans and cous-cous. He understands about opposites. Up, down. Yes, no. He loves cooking, trains, reading and drawing.
When I ask what he will do at school today he makes the sign for cracker because Miss Tasha gives him goldfish when he arrives in the morning.
I love the feel of his warm belly and the clean smell of his sweaty head when he sleeps. I love how excited he is to wake up in the morning. I can’t wait to start another wonderful year.
