lessons in language

breaking the language barrier with little c has been both a rewarding and frightening experience. he repeats nearly everything and doesn't hesitate to dish out some requests of his own. just in the last few weeks we are actually noticing he's entered a stag that generally starts at the age of two or three, or more commonly starts when children are around other children: "mine, mine, mine!" i noticed it a few weeks ago, but chose to ignore it in hopes i was hearing incorrectly. but last week he began an insistent repetition of 'mine!' and i know now he's starting to identify with other children and the want for things (toys, his drink, snacks, me..) to be only his own. being that he's never been really made to share, we didn't think that he would become so 'me-centric' at only  fourteen months of age, but spending more time interacting with other children has a way of bringing that out in almost all little ones. so we are now trying to focus his 'mine-ness' into 'our-ness' in hopes that the phase will be outgrown shortly.

next in his early identifying is knowing what we mean by 'no' or 'stop' and choosing to directly ignore it. or, in more recent cases, repeating it like a mockingbird back to us. just yesterday he was pulling papers off my desk and reciting 'no, no, no-no, no no no...' as he strew them about the floor. trying not to laugh, i just responded with 'that's right, those aren't for playing...' and picked them up, moving them out of his reach. later he discovered he can climb into the berkline rocking chair all on his own. not a big deal, save for the need to then stand in said chair, which i quickly had to push against the wall to prevent from rocking and launching my wee boy headlong to the floor. once the rocking had ceased, he resorted to standing on the arm of the chair to see the 'fisssss' in the fish tank. after a chorus of 'caleb, please sit. caleb... please sit in the chair... okay, caleb... you need to get down, please.' he then looked me square in the face, yelled 'down!' sat for a brief moment, then sprung back up to put his foot on the arm of the chair, yelling 'down!' and taking his foot back off. this continued for a minute or two before i swiftly removed him from the chair. i was, however, quite unsuccessful in keeping his out of the chair the rest of the day and it only began anew this morning. to this i recite to myself a mother's mantra of 'patience. just breathe. i must have patience.'

the one thing beaz will not repeat, at least to me, is 'please.' naturally he will say it for his grandparents, and even e gets him to utter it quietly, but for me... no. i get a prize-winning tantrum, gritted teeth, a crooked jaw, furrowed brows, and many tears before that word gets uttered. and i'll be honest, a weak mother's moment has me not standing my ground enough to get a 'please' at all before i hand over a cracker or toy. yup, i truly am guilty of a weak constitution in a moment of shear mental anguish when i just want the screaming to stop.

walking. oh that's next, yes? we have finally moved out of crawling phase (okay, "finally" may be a bit over-stated as it certainly has not brought relief) and into running phase. our rocket powered hands-and-knees boy has become a jet fueled, two legged escape artist. not only can he scoot from room to room in near silence and manage to, i dunno, take a bath in the dog's water bowl the moment my back is turned, but he has learned that our baby gate at the bottom of the stairs has never latched tightly. yes, that means that our curious beaz now pushes that gate open and climbs the stairs to explore the bedrooms upstairs. a few heart-stopping moments have come to call as a result. no tumbles, yet, and hopefully with our plan to revise our childproofing, we will have none to follow.

with all of that said, mistake me not for an exasperated mother at the end of her apron stings. these new discoveries about himself has had our little c entertaining his buns off and causing a great deal of laughter and praise in our household. the incredible charm and humor of this dear boy can cause even the worst of days to fade into the happiest. we are so very lucky to be graced with such a wonderful boy in our lives.