What did he say?

Zander is a master of the mimic. Anything you say, he will repeat it, and with a marked degree of accuracy. The baby-ness is sloughing off him like skin off a snake, revealing a new, shiny Zander underneath and he looks exactly the same but there is nothing the same about him at all.

A few nights ago we were reading Who Loves Baby? which is a cute teeny tiny board book with peekaboo flaps. Zander knew almost all the people in it: Mother, Father, Puppy, Fish, etc. Including Brother - but not Sister. Is this some kind of sign? (No, I am not pregnant, save your breath.) At the end of the book: "Everybody loves baby!" Zander spent a lot of time repeating the word "everybody" - and making me repeat it while he studied my lips - until he had it down pat.

Not that we haven't seen this behavior before, but he is moving on to harder words all the time and he's starting to use complete sentences. Like "Where is my puppy?" Or "I want breakfast." "Where is Tessa?" is a litany I hear daily, which is sad because Tess is in South Carolina for the summer, with her father.

Oh yeah, yesterday he was trying to figure out how to say "Carolina." This was after he worked on "Incredibles" which is a new favorite flick, thankfully dusted off the shelf by Matt when we thought we might go mad from another round of Wallace & Grommit. Love ya, Nick Parks, but even too much of a good thing...well...

Speaking of repetition - Zander has a pretty good selection of books but of course he wants to read the same five over and over again. And on any given night, he will pick one book that he wants read in ceaseless succession. I've decided my limit is 2 times in one sitting and it still depends on my mood and the book and how well he is sitting in my lap. I think I have him hooked on Where the Wild Things Are to expand our repatoire and our imaginations beyond things like Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? and Daddy Kisses

A coup last night! Zander has seriously been tearing up the upstairs out of boredom and protest of being put to bed. We have an evening routine but reading a few books doesn't usually calm him down enough. Well. Last night, Z was a little wiggly so I informed him that his choices were to sit in my lap or lay in bed (he never picks the bed). After reading a bunch of books and fending off multiple recitals, I laid Zander in his bed and sat over him, singing him a lullaby and stroking his hair. He laid there, staring off into space and when I stopped singing, his eyes dropped and within 3 minutes he was asleep! And it was barely 930pm!

I've tried all of these things before but for some reason it was a magical combination last night. His behavior didn't belie any tiredness which is perhaps why I am so astounded. Who knows if this is repeatable and of course Matt and Z need to figure out their routine because we don't want Z to rely on one person to be able to sleep. Actually, we prefer he rely on only himself but that hasn't gone so well of late. Ah, transitions...