says: mama, da-dee!, isla (for isla and noah), bus (bu-busssssssss!!), hi, uh-oh, yeah, ball, nana (banana), phshew (airplane), app-app (apple), baaaa (sheep), neigh-neigh (horse), bye, car, caw-caw! (bird), choo-choo, with a little wiggle (train), whoo-whoo (owl), whack-whack (duck), moo (moon)
signs: milk, more, please, airplane, bird, hi (wave), all done, thank you, cold (shiver)
very favorite things: shoes, airplanes, buses, reading books, condiments!, trucks, balls, ice cream, digging in dirt, climbing on anything, fruit, doing things BY HIMSELF, juice
stats: 35 inches tall; 26.5 pounds heavy; curly, red, unruly hair; dimples; big belly; wiggly, chubby cheeks; little feet; tons of teeth.
other:
- is a voracious reader! delivers books to whomever is willing to read. then climbs into that person's lap. says, "OH!" with each page. points to things like airplane or bus. loves books with pics of babies. waves to babies.
- loves, loves, loves shoes. loves to put his own shoes on and take them off. loves to deliver our shoes to us, even (mostly) when we do not need shoes. loves to wear our shoes. and, upon being buckled in his car seat, immediately takes both his shoes and socks off and throws them so it is impossible to find two socks and two shoes when it's time to disembark.
- DESPISES the church nursery.
- DESPISES having his nails cut.
- is really interested in animals. loves to watch the cats that roam the neighborhood, gets right up close to dogs, always spies the white horse on the way to the kids' school. loves animal books too, pointing and identifying them by noise. and LOVES birds!!
- goes down big slides.
- laughs heartily and often.
- sings in the car. "caw-caw-caw, baby, baby, baby!" does funny mouth trills. cracks himself up.
- loves water! bath, kiddie pool, hose.
- goes to get his shoes and coat when we're going outside.
- likes riding the little trike. tries to ride the big kids' scooters and gets frustrated.
- loved picking his own raspberries and strawberries this summer.
- loves balls. is really good at throwing! seriously. he can really do some damage.
- loves bags. carries bags around the house, filling them with random items.
- loves music. will dance, dance, dance when he hears music.
- loves sweeping. carries various brooms around the house all the time and "sweeps".
- saw me look through the peephole of our front door, and then proceeded to get up and go lean his head against the door like i did. and then turn around and look at me as if to say, "why are we doing this?"
- does not ever sit still. (except when reading books.) is desperate to get out of the stroller when he wants something or wants to run off.
- yells! really loud!!! often!! especially at meals!! especially when he wants ketchup!!
- climbs on everything! kitchen table, arms of chairs, stools, giant ladders, anything tall and dangerous.
- loves the telephone. somehow called 911 on his own. (seriously! they called back and asked if i needed help. yes, i said, i need help with my crazy baby!)
- has perfect baseball batting stance.
- sleeps with his special paper airplane blankie, holding onto the tags.
- loves to build and knock down block towers. loves the wooden ring stacker. finally figured out those wooden bead maze things at the library. loves taking duplos apart.
- somehow, amazingly, has become a great sleeper. he goes to bed with the big kids around 8 and even sometimes reads a board book to himself in his crib while they read in their beds for a few minutes before lights out. (so cute!) rarely wakes in the night anymore. and wakes with the big kids around 7. hooray!
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in summary, this kid is lots of fun. i love to hear his laugh, to kiss his rosy cheeks, to watch his excitement at seeing the things he loves.
but also, this kid is super, super exhausting! seriously. SO MUCH ENERGY! so very different from the other two kids. he is clever and naughty and inquisitive and FAST!
maybe it's the red hair. maybe i was like this as a child too? in any case, i am trying to appreciate more deeply his zest for life. ezra, thank you so much for teaching us that there's not a moment to lose. we love you!!
