Another Ethan first: He said “Mama”.

Inspired by Ethan’s baby words, I’ve been asking him at bedtime for weeks now if he could talk. Every night, I ask with pronounced articulation, “Can you say Mommy, and Daddy, and Ethan, and Buo?” (Buo is Ethan’s nickname; it’s pronounced like boo and is short for buoy.) He knows that along with “Buo” comes a barrage of kisses and tickles. He responds with anticipatory giggles and subsequent laughter, but no answer to my question. In contrast, Mommy’s been taking a simpler approach, and now when we ask, “Can you say Mama?”, he says “Mama” back, especially when it’s the Mama who’s asking.

Another Ethan first: He engaged Daddy in monkey talk.

Ethan is a fountain of sound. He giggles, coos, squeals, and grunts. He makes raspberries and is forming words. Some of his sounds defy description, and most are beyond me to imitate. One that I can, however, is his monkey sounds. Before bedtime he made a monkey noise, and I monkeyed back at him. He laughed and replied in kind, and we carried on the conversation for a couple minutes.

Another Ethan first: He waved goodnight.

For weeks now, the final part of Ethan’s bedtime ritual has been throwing a rabbit out of his crib and me throwing it back in. After a couple volleys, he would usually dive onto the stuffed bun and directly proceed to sucka and slumberland. Lately however, he’s mostly stopped falling for that charade. Tonight, I came to the point where I just had to wave goodnight—only to my surprise, he waved back! He wasn’t happy when I left the room, but about a second later the crying stopped, giving way to the peaceful sounds of sucka.

Another Ethan first: He hid his face.

Ethan happened to have a bib on during a diaper change, so to keep him entertained, I flipped it up over his face and asked, “Where’s Ethan? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? …” Then I pulled the bib down and answered, “There he is!” He giggled with excitement, as he has countless times when we’ve played the game. But this time, he took hold of the bib and hid his face from me all by himself. I filled in the vocal part; he did the peek-a-booing, half a dozen times or so. He was giggling away, while I was trying not to look to stunned from witnessing another wondrous surprise.

Another Ethan first: He completed a lap around the house.

Starting from the family room, he crawled to the music room and then proceeded to the front foyer. Next, he passed through the dining room. As we saw him coming around the kitchen corner, we realized his plan. He headed for the dinette, and ended up back where he started in the family room—a full circuit.

Another Ethan first: He drank on his own in his high chair.

Ethan has been holding his bottle while in our arms for a couple weeks now. When he was in his high chair, Beth gave him some juice in his BPA-free plastic bottle. He took it by the handles and drank it all. Beth just provided the refills.

The good news is that even though he knows he can drink on his own, he doesn’t mind still being held—because we’re not ready to give that up.

Another Ethan first: He felt all the animals in his book.

Until now, Ethan has not shown much interest in his bedtime books, other than as something to eat. This evening, while Beth rehearsed with her violin duo, I read Ethan a book with tactile pictures of farm animals. He was patient and still, and carefully felt each animal. He didn’t seem disappointed that the book had no bunnies or kitties; he already knows what they feel like.