What about Piglet?

Most of what I do each day involves my little Piglet, yet I haven't mentioned him much on the 'ol blog lately. Seems like time for an update.

At 14.5 months, the little booger is weighing in at about 24 pounds. That's 24 pound of pure boy. Boys love dogs. Gus is Piglet's best friend. I would not say that the feeling is mutual. He likes to pummel Gus with hugs, balls, toys, and his love. "Love" being indicated by his version of a hug, which is tucking whatever he is loving up into his arm and pulling it up to his ear. We're not sure how he got the idea that this is a hug, but it's what he goes with. Loving Gus involves walking up to him and laying his head on Gus's back, neck, or head and then dropping his full body weight on him until Gus gets annoyed and moves away, leaving Piglet rolling in a fit of giggles on the floor.

Piglet is a good sleeper, but a terrible napper, taking after his daddy. Rumor has it that his daddy was the only kid in preschool who didn't take naps, so he was allowed to read books while the other normal children slept. Piglet seems to be following in these footsteps, much to my chagrin. He dropped his morning nap around 9 or 10 months, and makes do with his hour to hour and a half nap in the afternoon before calling it good. I, on the other hand, am trying to grow a human right now and require far more napping than this. It's causing a mild rift between us. Fortunately, he plays hard all day long and conks out around 7pm and remains conked for at least 12 hours. For this I am eternally grateful, and not at all ashamed to admit that the two days of cry it out has been infinitely worth it for the last 10 months of sleep it got us.

Socially? Piglet is a bit of a ham. He loves to go anywhere in the car and make his car sound when you start the engine or pass a motorcycle or particularly large truck. He is very into vehicles in general. He can make an animal sound for a cow, chicken, monkey, snake, lion, bee, sheep, cat, dog, and duck. He can say such brilliant words as mama, dada, Gus, Roomba, dog, water, ball, bath, bye bye, book, yes, look, burp and bad (usually in reference to Gus). He can sign more, hungry, all done, down, and milk - all words related to eating, his passion. Piglet can show you his hair, head, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tummy, and feet. He gets confused about his hands when trying to point to them.

Lately, he's learned a lot about the word "no". While he doesn't say it, he can shake his head vehemently, which he often does while walking, which can subsequently cause a wipe out. He knows what he's allowed and not allowed to do and enjoys showing you when he makes good choices. This week, this means walking up to the Christmas tree, reaching for a branch, then firmly shaking his head no, as though to remind himself of his boundaries.

He got his first haircut last weekend and now looks like a big boy. He's outgrowing his 12 month clothes and growing a stout little belly, which matches his soft pudgy cheeks. He likes to pretend to brush his hair or talk on the phone and loves to hammer. Piglet is quite serious when naming things, particularly those of a gassy nature. We're not sure the origin, but all forms of bodily gas including gas, burps, or sneezes are all quite stoically called "BOPF." He will look the offender in the eye and say loudly and firmly, "Bopf!" before returning to what he was doing. This includes his own offenses.

Overall, he's a very good boy. He's quite destructive and very messy, but we have just entered a phase of "putting things in things" which is an improvement over the last phase, "taking things out of things." He wants nothing to do with TV, which at times I find vexing. You wouldn't think a teacher would want their child to watch TV, but sometimes 20 minutes of just being still would be nice. He does love books, and will "read" quietly for a good while by himself.

That covers Piglet in a nutshell. Wonder what the next one will bring? They will be 21 months apart. Hopefully, if I can survive the first year, they will then entertain each other.