Time for a little braggin'

Our sweet LG is almost 16 months old. He is ... and I sat here for several minutes trying to describe his awesomeness. I have no words to describe the feeling.


By our count, he knows 19-21 words. Here they are, somewhat in the order he said them:

uh-oh
all done (sound like "ah-da" with the American sign language sign)
outside ("ah-shide," usually said while standing at the front door)
dada
bye-bye
puppy
baby
kitty
cheese ("sheese")
mama
Maddie ("ma-enn")
hi
whoa!
Ry-guy (This is his daycare nickname. The older kids in his class call him this. When he says it, it sounds like "guy-guy.")
ball
night-night ("nigh-nigh")
Mimi
Poppy

He's working on "bath" and "car." And Hunter and I are pretty sure he says "oh, shit" but we ignore the heck out of that one. (Sorry, I know this is a family blog but hey, it's true, I cuss. Breaking news! I work in a newsroom! And I'm a Cooper! I am trying to stop, though. Or at least go into the garage.)


Other signs he's going to Harvard:

When prompted, he can point to his nose, head, ear, feet and belly. He's working on the rest. He knows his socks go on before his shoes, and he plays a little game each time: I take one sock and put it on, and he takes the other. I ask him, "Where does that go?" and he puts it in his mouth, grinning wildly while I say in a mock serious tone, "No-o-o-, it doesn't go in there." High-larious, I know, especially to y'all who don't have young kids. (Quick! Let's talk geopolitics. Can Britain's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition possibly hold? Discuss.)

Ryan asks to read "The Pokey Little Puppy" by saying "puppy?" He sings -- somewhat in tune -- "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and can do some of the hand motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

He's now trying to run, hence his prize-fighting face. The day-care workers called me one day and said they just wanted to let me know that he was falling down a lot that day. It wasn't the shoes, and he wasn't sick -- he was just trying to keep up with the older kids. Here's a shot from that week: Two forehead bruises and a busted lip.


Ryan's rough and tumble, but he's also a little lover. He hugs and kisses all the time, which is why we've been sick for about two months straight. (It's been rough but I can't say no to his kisses.)

For the past week, when Hunter, Maddie or I say "I love you," he blows a kiss.

We'll take a video just as soon as we can.