One is Fun

Remember when I wrote about how I rejoice when my kids turn one?  It's still true!  The last few months with Thane have been so much fun.  Every day he's learning and growing so much and it's absolutely thrilling to witness.  Here's a sampling of what he's been up too:

*Before we left for Texas, Thane was starting to walk, but while in Texas the combination of traveling and being sick resulted in a progression freeze.  As soon as we returned home it was as if he made up for the two-week stagnation in a single day.  Once he discovered he didn't have to run everywhere, he became much steadier and stopped looking like a drunk man and using his face as a landing pad.  Now that he's mastered walking, he's back to running.

*In addition to physical improvement, Thane has also made amazing strides in his communication skills.  His receptive language is wonderful; he can understand and follow many simple instructions, even if he often chooses to ignore (with a sly smile) instructions he doesn't particularly like.  As an example, the other day I was trying to vacuum my room and Thane kept unplugging the cord.  "No, no, no!" I said.  He laughed and replied, "yeah, yeah, yeah!"

*I know he listens to conversations because anytime he hears the word "downstairs," he immediately runs to the stairs and starts heading down.  When he hears the word "sleep," he starts to fuss.  He still doesn't like to sleep, but his sleeping habits have improved dramatically!

*He is learning new words and signs every day.  Here's a short list of his current vocabulary (the one's with an asterisk indicate that he can sign the word as well):

-Hi*   -hot*   -Bye*  -hat*  -down   -Mom   -Dad   -eat*  -sleep*  -shoe  -all done*   -that   -What's that?  -no   -yeah    -Please*   -dog*  -banana

In addition, he can sign:

-elephant   -milk   -brush teeth   

And he likes to mimic animal sounds.

*One morning a couple days ago, Thane woke up earlier than his siblings.  We went into the living room and he immediately pointed up to a picture on the wall and asked, "wha-zat?"  I responded, and after listening carefully to the answer, he quickly moved on to another item and again asked, "wha-zat?!" For ten minutes, we repeated this process.  I refer to it as our "Helen Keller morning."  I think it clicked in his brain that everything has a name.

*One of Thane's favorite words is "please."  He says and signs it regularly, though it's really less polite manners and more a generic, "I want..." It's so cute, though, that I have a really hard time saying "no."  It's strange that a simple word can evoke such a powerful positive emotional response.  We were at church last week and Thane was playing with a friend.  I turned my head and when I looked back Thane had some food in his hand.  I looked questioningly at the friend's mom and she said, "he asked please! I had to give it to him."

*When we were in Yellowstone I tried to no avail to get Thane to wear a hat to protect his cute head and face.  As soon as we returned home, however, he became obsessed with hats.  He notices anyone in a book or out in public who's wearing a hat and frequently requests to wear hats around the house.  Thane's definition of a hat is a bit more liberal than most... Can a plate be a hat? Yes! Especially when it's lunch-time.  Can dirty clothes be hats?  For sure!  Underwear work best.

*One thing I'm ecstatic to report is that Thane loves books!  Hurrah, we're 3/3!!!  For a long time his "love of books" translated directly into a love of putting books in his mouth.  He hasn't outgrown that type of love yet (Aubree's chapter books apparently taste best), but he will frequently bring me books and crawl up into my lap and actually sit and listen!!  He even has favorite books that he brings over and over (Mice Squeak, We Speak and Fireman Small).  When he's not eating books or being read to, he has a funny habit of opening up a book, laying it on the floor, swinging his leg around and sitting squarely on the middle of it.  

*Often, when I pick Thane up, he pats or rubs my back, or gives me slobbery, open-mouth kisses.  Nothing's better than baby love!

*Of course, it's not all smiles and sunshine with a one year old.  Thane is solidly in his "Destructo" phase.  His favorite destructive outlets include: pulling down all the books on the bookshelf, emptying out the Tupperware cabinet, and knocking down and pulling apart any Duplo creation Aubree or Bryce might try to create.  

*Thane also has an unfortunate drinking problem.  He finds sippy cups irresistible and will consistently drink the water until he pukes.  

*Thane is totally undeterred by obstacles in his path.  He just plows right over or through them, and will persist until he accomplishes or reaches his goal.  If it takes twenty tries to get up, so be it.  If he gets hurt or falls in the course of an endeavor, he'll take a moment to cry, then immediately get back to work.  He'll get in tugging matches with Bryce over a toy and, despite being outmatched in size and strength, often wins simply because he refuses to give up.  I hope his tenacity will serve him well throughout his life.

*Bryce is big into rhyming lately, and he and Aubree got into a bad habit of calling Thane, "Thane the bane."  Certainly they don't know what "bane" means, but I didn't want to name to stick.  As an alternative, they now call him, "Thane the Brain."  Much better!

*This little guy doesn't seem to realize that he's barely out of baby-hood.  He doesn't want to be a big kid, he sincerely thinks he is a big kid and gets offended if he gets treated as a baby or doesn't get to do what his siblings are doing.  

Aubree and Bryce are riding scooters?  When's it my turn?!  

Bryce is jumping off the fireplace?  So will I (never mind that I don't know how to jump yet!)!