Continually Amazed

We had a busy day again today. We were just playing, playing, and playing. I continue to be amazed by this little boy of mine, watching him grow and learn. Sometimes he does things and I don't even have a clue where he picked them up.

Yesterday we stopped by a friend's house for a few minutes. We chatted, we played with doggies, and Marcus broke something. (Elizabeth, tell your mom again how sorry I am about that!) Then I said, "I guess we better hit the road soon." Marcus started waving good-bye to everyone instantly. At what point did he learn what "hit the road" means? I could see if maybe I said something about going in the car or even leaving, but hit the road.

Then there are his shoes. "Shoes" is one of his most used words. Tonight I put socks on him after his bath and asked him what came next. I was expecting him to make the sign for "eat" since we always eat after we put pj's on. Nope, he said, "Shoes." Anytime he trips and falls because he is not used to walking in his big boy shoes he tells us, "Shoes," which of course translates to, "These stupid annoying shoes made me fall AGAIN!"

Today we spent a lot of time playing out in the yard. We have a terraced back yard and even though the upper part is the largest part of the yard, we don't spend too much time up there. We played up there for quite a bit today. Marcus was playing stick with the pooch, throwing the stick for her. He also was just running around, enjoying the open space. I almost forgot that he just learned to walk a few weeks ago! It was getting a little warm out so I told him I was going to take his coat off. He stopped, pulled on his coat, and was ready for me to remove it. I didn't know that he knew what a coat was.

Later this evening we went to the playground. This was the first time that we went there that Marcus really made the most of it, climbing and crawling and walking and sliding and swinging. He even let us know when he was ready to quit sliding and head over to the swings. He must have been getting warm because suddenly he grabbed at his coat and repeated a few times, "Off." He had to repeat it a few times because Greg and I had no idea what he was saying. He has never said that word before. Off came his coat and he was ready to play again.

Of course, there are times when I remember that he is still just a little toddler and has a lot of learning to do. I got really tired of him making this annoying "EH!" sound every time he needed my help with something. So I started making the sign for help and saying, "Mama, help." So now anytime he needs help he makes the sign for help and says, "Mama!" It really makes no difference if I am even around or not. Help=Mama! He also seems slightly confused about his self-identity. Every time he looks in the mirror he gets all excited, points, and says, "Dada!!"


All this cool fall weather is really getting me excited for the changing of the seasons. Today I got to thinking about how great it will be to get to do all the fall stuff with Marcus this year. I called up my mom and we are hoping to arrange a time when we can join my sister and her kids and go for a hay ride and pick out pumpkins. I'm excited! I haven't gotten to do that since I was a kid! I am keeping my fingers crossed for a miracle and maybe William will be able to join us too.