Hot tea and other conversations

Walking is old hat now - Jake walks everywhere and even sometimes runs a little bit. He has also discovered climbing. Climbing on the sofa. Climbing on a chair. Climbing on a stool. Climbing up a step ladder. Climbing up onto the windowsill! Climbing back down usually happens fairly incident-free, but of course we have the odd tumble to contend with. He has also mastered climbing up the steps of his slide and sliding back down, rather than climbing up the slide and clambering down the steps, which is what he used to do! A lot of people say I won't have a moment's peace now that he's walking, but it has actually made life a lot easier. He can walk to and from the car by himself, so I can carry the groceries without the added weight of Jake. If R and I are feeling lazy we even get him to bring things to us.

Another change that has made life easier is that he understands a lot. If we say "Take this to mummy/daddy" he knows exactly who to go to. If he's playing with his food, I'll say "Yum, for Jakey" and he'll put it in his mouth. He also understands the word 'no' although this doesn't always have the desired effect! He's developing quite a stubborn streak along with everything else and he can be quite defiant when the mood takes him. We're trying to be strict and teach him clearly where the limit lies, but sometimes it's very hard to suppress our laughter!

When I'm feeding him and the bowl is empty, I will always show him the empty bowl and say "All done!" as I put my hands up in the air. A few weeks ago I had finished feeding him and he peered in his empty bowl. He threw his chubby little arms up in the air and cried out "Oh-da!" Now he says it all the time and not only for food, but also if we've finished reading a book or a song ends. His other favourite word is "Opa" (Dutch for grandpa). He adores my dad and will constantly call out "Opa!" when he's at their house and my dad is out of sight. When I drive over there and pull up in the driveway, he will look out of the window and say "Opa!" with a big smile on his face. Of course he can do no wrong when he's with my dad!

A couple of days ago I was drinking a mug of tea and he always wants to see what I'm drinking. I let him look in the mug and I said "Tea. It's hot" and I blew on it. He looked at me, touched the mug and said questioningly "Tea? Ot." and blew on his fingers. It's moments like those that make me swell with motherly pride!

I speak English to him and R speaks Dutch to him so we're hoping he will be entirely bilingual, which would be great. Even with his extremely limited vocabulary at the moment, he can make so much clear to us and with every day that passes, life with Jake is becoming less of a guessing game.