New words

14 months
Last week Evan said two new words: dog, and hot.
Every time we give him something that's even the teeniest bit warm, he says, "ot! ot! ot! ot!" over and over again.
The other day he walked outside barefoot while playing with Jerry, and Jerry said, "is the ground hot?" and touched the ground to check. It was only warm. Evan then put his palm on the ground and said, "ot!" This went on for a good 5 minutes or so.
While watching the dog puppet on Baby Einstein, he said, "dog!" I think it was pronounced more like "og." He loves that puppet.
Also, I think he is saying, "nana" for "num num" when he wants to nurse. Nana means both nana (my mom), and num num. I guess we'll know which one he's talking about depending on where he's looking.

New things

14 months

Obsessed with bath products
* During his bath tonight, he really wanted to squirt the shampoo out of the shampoo bottle. I helped him push with one hand, and catch it with his other hand. He then took both his hands and rubbed them on his head. Then he wanted to get more soap, so he grunted and I helped him get more, and he rubbed more suds on his head. This went on for quite awhile until I took away the soap and hid it. I think he has the idea.

* The other day I took a shower with him, and after I washed his head, he started grunting (we're working on the grunting) and reaching for the bar of soap. I moved him toward the soap, and he stuck his thumb on top of the soap, moving it all around, making his thumb nice and sudsy. Then he put his thumb on my cheek and moved it all around. Then stuck his thumb in the soap again, then on my face (dangerously close to my eye). That side of my face was quite dried out later.

* Anytime he sees me brushing my teeth, he goes crazy because he wants to join in. We keep a small baby-sized toothbrush in a mug next to the sink. I usually hand him his toothbrush, and he puts it in his mouth, imitating me. I'll help him brush his front teeth, and he looks very serious about the whole thing, like he's memorizing how to do it.

* Sometimes in the morning, Jerry jumps in the shower right about the time that I'm doing my makeup. So Evan will see me painting my face. (I sit on the floor in front of a mirror.) Evan's latest thing is to put his thumb in my blush, and then wipe it on my cheek. Then he takes the powder puff, rubs it in the powder, and puts it on my cheek. It gives him glee if I let him put his thumb in the moisturizer or foundation. He’s really into using his thumb for everything.

Cat lover
* The other day, Kramer was in the kitchen meowing, and Evan was about to lose his mind with excitement. I was telling him to pet the kitty gently, but he seemed to be sensing that the cat wanted something else, because he walked over to the cabinet where the cat food is kept, pulled out the orange bag of cat food, and dropped the bag on the floor in front of Kramer. I didn't even know Evan knew the food was kept there! I then poured the cat food into a bowl on the floor, and Evan picked up the bowl (which was half full), and carried it to the other room where Kramer usually eats! He knows the drill.

Body parts
* We've been trying to teach Evan his body parts. Tonight I was reading to him, and he desperately wanted his sock off, so I pulled off his sock, and his feet where in between my two big feet. So I pointed out his feet and my feet. Then I counted our feet, "one foot, two feet, three feet, four feet," with great excitement like it was the best thing ever. I did this over and over since it seemed to interest him. Then I went back to reading the book, and there were three monkeys on the page, so I said, "one monkey, two monkeys, three monkeys," and he immediately pushed the book down, looked at our feet, touched my right foot and said, "uhg!" and then touched my other foot and said, "ugh!" He doesn't have the words down yet, but he's gettin it.

Following commands
This morning, Jerry said, “Come give daddy a hug,” and he did! All day today, I’ve been asking him to give me hugs, and he does it, even if I don’t put my arms out for him.

Words
* Today he said dog after seeing the dog puppet on Baby Einstein. He said, "Do! Do! Do! Do!" Pronounced exactly like dog, without the "g."
* I'm pretty sure he said, "hot" today. I gave him hot eggs, and he said, "ot!" after taking a bite. I cooled them down, and he again said, "ot!" I touched them, and they weren't really hot anymore, so I'm not sure if he was telling me that they were warm, or if he just wanted to practice his new word, or if he thinks the word for "egg" is actually "hot." I often blow on his eggs while saying, "hot," so maybe I confused him.
* He's been saying, "Nine!" a lot lately, and we're not really sure what it means. He says it with great passion. I think it means "no." Maybe it's the German coming out in him.
* He says "dadadada" pretty consistently. He also says "mamamama," but not as often. Sometimes I think he calls me "nananana."

Food
* We were eating at nana and papa's last week, and he enjoyed hotdogs, which was his first time eating meat without spitting it out in disgust. Jerry then gave him a bite of sauerkraut mixed with mashed potatoes, and not only did he spit it out, but he cried bitterly.

Sleeping
He slept through the night a couple more times since the last posting, but then last night was bad again. I guess the change won't just happen overnight, so to speak. Over time though, we're seeing progress.

One other thing
He can walk backwards. I think that's important, for some reason.

Where's Evan's....?

After months and months of Andrea and I poking Evan's nose and emphatically saying NOSE and poking mommy's nose and saying NOSE and poking daddy's nose and saying NOSE, I am proud to say that Evan knows exactly where to find his EAR.

Yesterday his nanna asked, "Where's Evan's ear?" and right off the bat the boy gave a sly smile and grabbed his left ear. When I asked, "Where is Evan's nose?" he flat out ignored me and went about playing with his ball thingy.

He's such a smart boy. We pretty much talk to him like a person now and not at all like a little baby. I can say things like, "come lay down with daddy" and he'll come right over and lay down with me. He understands everything we say and does what he pleases. If he's not up to being a show-pony he goes off and plays. We're still trying to figure out where he gets that stubburn streak. So far all fingers point to me, but I refuse to believe it.

Evan the toddler

13 1/2 months
Evan is becoming an active, opinionated, but still very sweet toddler.
Evidence:
* I offered him fresh raspberries today, but he was more interested in opening and closing the plastic container they came in.
* When we go to the park, he doesn't want to ride the swings anymore. He wants to practice going up and down the stairs.
* We go to a cafe almost every day (http://www.suckramento.com/place.asp?search=naked), and he walks up the step onto a platform (the cafe has a platform) and then contorts his body to squeeze through the metal slats, which he fits nicely through. Then he pushes open the door and lets it slam. Then he takes the pounds of coffee and throws them on the floor. Then he goes to other patrons, and stands before them, smiling. I'm sure the management loves us.
* When he wants something, he points and grunts. I'm finding it much easier to know what he wants, even though he's not talking.
* We've caught him looking at books, all by himself, intrigued.
* When he gets excited, he stomps his feet up and down and then sort of loses his balance, sometimes falling over. He dances when he hears music. He staggers like a little drunken man.

Words
He's not really talking. Every now and then, he says a word/words, but then we don't hear them again. For the record: A few weeks ago, I let the cat out, saying, "bye-bye kitty," and he said, "bah bah kieee."

Things he loves:
* His Baby Einstein DVD (Neighborhood Animals), which has shots of cats, dogs, ducks, and frogs doing cute things. His favorite parts involve puppets.
* Balloons
* Stairs (see above)
* Tomatoes
* His "house" (which is a cheap tent with windows in it that we set up in the living room)
* Getting "got" by his daddy (tickled).
* Cuddling.

Sleeping
He slept through the night for a few weeks. First, I weaned him from nighttime breastfeeding. I started by making him wait an extra hour before each feeding (so he went from eating every 3 hours one night to eating every 4 hours the next). One night there'd be progress, and the next night he'd really fight it. Finally I decided to just go cold turkey. I consistently said No all night for one very long night, and the next night he was weaned. He didn't even ask for it once. I think he was too tired, and only feeding out of habit, anyway. We offered him bottles if he wanted them, but now he doesn't eat/drink anything at night. Shortly after weaning him, he started sleeping through the night. Occasionally he'd wake up at 3:00 for just a few seconds and fall back asleep, but I think that's still normal for his age.
Now he's teething again and back to sleeping restlessly. He woke up a few times last night. Oh well.