Break On Through

Declan decided he'd like to send you all a message.  Here it is: #=Olp=[]\;p_.  That kid is obsessed with the computer.  Whenever he sees it, he'll zoom across the room and pop right up to where it is.  My very generous sister gave me her old iBook, and on first look Declan was in love.  He often accosts Rich's work laptop.  And by accost, I mean he rips the keys out, locks it, tries to pull the screen off, pretty much anything that could irreparably damage it.  So you can imagine his frustration when he tried the same thing with the iBook.  The keys didn't budge.  And Declan got his little nails right in there and worked feverishly.  After that, the luster seemed to have vanished and he moved on to eating my wrapping paper and trying to knock over my coffee.  

As you all know from the videos I posted about a couple of weeks ago, Dec has started walking.  We were told that as soon as a week after he started he'd be tearing through the house.  Not yet.  He's slowly becoming more proficient, but he's more likely to stop and drop than wobble and fall.  I'm telling you, that kid is just like his daddy.  It's all about calculated risk.  I'm convinced that Declan learned how to slowly lower himself to the ground before he'd risk standing for long periods of time, and mastered standing up on his own before he'd try to wobble around.  Our poor next kid will probably be like me and split its head open daily by just going for it.  

But I haven't even gotten to our latest breakthrough, or should I say break down?  The story starts out happy.  My mom and I were at lunch yesterday when Declan started saying "muh".  Now this is a big deal.  Every time we've tried to get Dec to say Mama, he stares intently and "baba" comes out.  That kid cannot get past the Bs.  But yesterday was the breakthrough!  After a few "muhs", a completely clear "Mama" came out.  Oh we cheered.  Finally!  After enduring the "Juh Juh" and "Baba", Mama was finally getting some love.  Except he seemed to be moving through the alphabet because right after Mama came the N sound.  And then it happened:  as I brought the spoon to his mouth, Declan turned his head and said "nuh".  I didn't think anything of it until there were a series of "nuhs" and they happened every time he didn't want something.  Seriously?  Is my kid learning "no" already?  So I kept testing it out.  I'd take away something he was playing with and "nuh, nuh, nuh".  Not that I'm claiming he's got "no" already, but it's the beginning.  And it makes its point.  

So, it's been a whole day, and no more "Mama".  Not even an M sound at all.  But "nuh, nuh" has stayed.  I have a feeling it's not going anywhere.