Good-bye Baby. Hello Toddler.

Just a little update on the youngest member of the family. He is so, not a baby anymore! He has learned to snatch his siblings' pencils/pens/markers to use as a drawing instrument on the walls. He seats himself in his highchair when he wants to eat, by climbing onto the table, walking across the table, and then climbing in his seat. He has learned that Mom hides things (like pencils) in drawers, and has now grown tall enough to open the top drawers, and reach in to grab hold of all the treasures there. He has a mind of his own, and he hides his face so that he can't see us seeing him doing what he shouldn't be doing (usually has something to do with a pencil). He is using utensils now when he eats, and has become very good at using his fork to feed himself (then he scratches it on the kitchen table to get my attention, to tell me that he's done. That part is not as cute.) He can communicate quite effectively. He really doesn't say that many words, not because he doesn't know any, but because he is trying to say them correctly. He's working hard on saying the first sound of words. For instance, Mmmm now means "more." And the one word that means everything is "Mum! Mum! Mum!" Probably his two favorite words are "Whoa" and "Wow!" which he often says when he hands us things. He can communicate quite well without saying anything at all. He points when we're carrying him to tell us where to go. Just last night, Rebekah found him at the top of the stairs holding his green blanket up above his head; the message was clear, "I'm tired, and I'm ready to go to bed now." Life is pretty comical to him, and he has this great car-sputtering laugh that he does all the time; this helps him to join in the family dinner discussions. Somehow he knows right when to laugh. No one can deny his sporty take on life. He can't help but kick the ball around in front of him, just like he's in a real soccer game, and he has a hard time keeping from throwing anything he finds in his hand. The other day I found him with his soft basketball, targeting all the pictures on the wall. He would take aim, and then would nail the desired target each time. Then he would move on to the next picture. He was delighted with his little sport until he knocked down the family picture on the entryway table; then he began to whine and point. He wasn't upset that he knocked down the picture frame, it was that he knocked down his Dad! Jalen Andrew is really helpful around the house too. Though he won't ever talk to his Dad on the phone (just listens, and then kind of acts confused about why he can't see Dad) he did pick up the ringing phone the other day and said, "Hi. Hi. Hi." over and over again to the telemarketer. And then today while I was dusting with a rag in the family room, he went into the bathroom, retrieved one of the kids' sock from the hamper and began to dust as well. His specialty is sweeping though, and knocking all the walls with the long handle of the broom as he carries it through the house. He is such a cheerful little guy, and is relatively content and mellow. He smiles a lot, showing off his pearly whites, and he laughs even more. What a sweet boy he is! Oh, how we love our Jalen Andrew!!!