“I want” only in make-believe

Previously, the single word “I-did-it” meant “I want to do it” (or sometimes actually “I did it”). For the last few months, Ethan has been saying “aba” for “I want”. For example, “Aba games” can mean he wants me to bring Big Blanky Bun to life to play with him. This works for food too, such as “Aba apple” or the general “Aba hungry.”

This evening Ethan was “reading” a storybook to himself, flipping through the pages, inventing narration for each. He used a voice for Cookie Monster, who was telling about what foods he wanted. Cookie Monster didn’t use the Ethan shorthand, however; Cookie Monster said, “I want apple”, “I want carrot”, etc. Personally, having a fondness for the cuteness of Ethan’s language, I hope Cookie Monster doesn’t teach Ethan grammar lessons too soon.

Another Ethan first: He drew a picture.

Ethan has transitioned from random scribbles to meaningful shapes. His first images were the moon, stars, and a man.

His paintbrush was a water pen. The canvas turns from white to blue as it gets wet (then goes back to white as it dries).

Another Ethan first: He corrected Mommy’s grammar.

Beth was reading Clara Cow Wraps Up Warm to Ethan. On one page, Ethan pointed to two mice. Beth, being cute, said, “Oh look, two mousies.” Ethan said, “No. Uh uh. Mice.”

Another Ethan first: He showed his awareness of style.

Mommy put on Ethan’s shirt, but had to wait for some reason to put his pants on. Ethan’s reaction: “Mommy, doesn’t match!”

Another Ethan first: He put his hands in his pockets.

The early evenings and cool nights of Autumn bring new joys, including the joy of teaching our little one something we take for granted. Ethan and I were walking outside, and as the sun went down, it turned a bit cool while remaining breezy. Ethan had his warm wool coat on, but no mittens. I noticed that I had placed my hands in my coat pockets and thought Ethan might want to as well. I felt Ethan’s hands; they were indeed cool. So I showed him how to slip his hands under the coat pocket flaps and into the pockets. Then I got to watch him run through the leaf piles, hands in pockets. What a cute site!

Later inside, I took him to a dark room to show him the moonlight on the carpet. He touched the carpet to see what it felt like. He also got to see how he and Bunny cast a shadow in the moonlight. Finally I showed him a phenomenon that probably made no sense to him, although he didn’t seem to mind: When we turn on the room light, the moonlight disappears, and when we turn it off, it comes back.

Another Ethan first: He asked to have his picture taken.

As Ethan was jumping in a leaf pile, he must have remembered the all the pictures I took earlier in the season. He said to me, “I want Daddy pictures.” I had to run into the house to get the camera, but he made it worth my while. He started doing all kinds of tricks. After each one, he would run next to me to look at the picture I’d just taken.

Another Ethan first: He slid down a hay bale.