Sunday, October 25, 2009

Petit Basque

Santi, Santi, Santi ... what has he been up to?

He talks and talks and talks. As an editor's note, his first word was NOT "papa" but "awa" (agua = water). He says "Ma" for Mati, "mama" for mommy (although rarely), "ba ba" for bye bye, a sort of "ai" for hi. And he imitates the sounds from the following animals: dogs, ducks, cows and when he's in the mood that of a rooster and cat. He's getting the hang of a donkey's bray and of a bird's chirp.

He also points - he points for his stuffed animal; only one, his sheep, which brings him intense joy whenever he sees him or gets him. You should see the smile on his face! Pure joy!! Or he'll point for whatever he wants: he's VERY assertive.

He walks, yes, but not on his own. He rarely ventures out to take steps unassisted, although when he sees Mati running, he also wants to take off. I've been taking him out more and more on walks around the neighborhood and in the parks. He has a good resistance, just like his brother had at this age. He'll stop every three or four steps because something, anything, caught his eye: a construction site, a leaf of the ground, a bird that flew by. It's a real change of pace for me to go so slow and appreciate what surrounds us.

He loves to swim and splash in his bath, wake his brother up by yelling, "MA!!" and giving him little pats on the chest. He's an adorable dancer, he'll bounce up and down and if he's sitting, he'll move his trunk up and down or move his arms up and down. He's also starting to imitate hand gestures to songs, like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Wheels on the Bus"; although, his real love is for techno, just like his parents.

And like a good Bossut, this child LOVES to eat. He'll eat and eat and eat until you tell him all gone. If he was eating something he loves, like raspberries, he'll melt down and start crying ... for 10 seconds, and then he'll stop (DRAMA QUEEN!!!!). But really, he eats just about the same quantity as his brother!!! Just this past weekend, he had a good size bowl of cherry tomatoes, followed by edamame, a rice cracker, blueberry cheerios and water. Then he saw my coconut chicken soup and he started pointed and protesting that he wanted some of it. Naturally, he liked it and demanded more ... and more. Then I had to share my mango and passion fruit smoothie with him as well!!! With all he eats, he hasn't gained any significant weight since his last checkup when he was one; he's a mere 10.4kg (although it certainly feels heavy on the arms!!).

But he's also getting very spoiled. If he's sitting on his highchair and he's not happy that he ran out of milk, he'll throw the bottle on the floor. Or if you don't do what he wants, he'll throw himself on the floor. Funny thing is that, if no one is around him, he'll throw himself very gently on the floor so he doesn't hurt his head. And if you still don't pay attention, he'll stop "crying" after, like, 3 seconds. He's big in dramatic arts!!!

So Nico thinks I'm writing a novel here. If you want further updates on Santi, make sure you email him directly.

Do I look like Mamounette or what????

Merci Tata Nabou et Tonton Vincent

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