All of a sudden...

Jack is acting like a toddler. Overnight, it seems (or at least in just the past week) he is doing so much more, understanding so much more, saying so much more. He is even making more progress towards the actual toddling part of being a toddler, though we aren't there just yet. But today he did take one step and maybe another half step toward me without holding on to anything!
Here are some other new things he is doing. All of a sudden!
* Imitating everything we say-- Today I heard so many "words" come out of this kid's mouth. I won't add them to his "vocabulary" just yet, as I am pretty sure he was just parroting and wouldn't be able to use any of these on his own, but today he said: cup, quarter, dump, poke, coffee cup (OK, that one really sounded more like ca cuh but in the context!), go, purse, wet...
* As for actual vocabulary, he has added "num num" to ask for some boob. It is amazingly cute, the inflection he uses. Num NUM? with a high pitched question at the end. He is so very purposeful in his communication these days. The request for num num is made, recently, as he looks me in the eye and simultaneously yanks at my shirt. Not one for subtlety, is he?
* He continues to enjoy pretending. Today he pretending to drink from his the empty cup he was placing his quarter in, saying "yum!" after each "drink". He also continues to love coins! He can place a coin in his train piggy bank by himself and loves listening to the song it plays. This has become a before-sleeping tradition in the past week. He reaches out for his train as soon as we get done putting pj's on. When he's had his fill of playing with it, he waves goodnight to it...
*He understands so much. I was talking to him about standing up and he went ahead and stood up... he will hand us certain items that we request (provided he doesn't decide he wants to keep them instead)... He knows to how to check out at the store, and how to help put on his coat before we go out....

It's not all wine and roses with a 14 month old-- as he begins to communicate more, he can also communicate what he doesn't want, with great force and certainty. He is becoming more stubborn and more apt to "test" us by trying to put things in his mouth, trying to touch the stove, even right after we tell him "no." He certainly understands no, but he is heading right towards those "terrific" two's already, with his ability to disregard the word just as often as he listens to it...The amazing thing about him is how fast he can swing from being contrary and fussy and frustrating, to being affectionate and charming, flashing smiles and giving hugs and winning our hearts right back...

Today the 14 month old contrarian has a cold. He is doing fine all things considered, with the exception of sleep. (He's woken 2x already tonight in 2 hours since bed.) His cold and his sleep issues led to us returning early from our trip to Pittsburgh to meet his Babyzone buddies-- we have learned that Jack is not ready to spend the night in hotels, at least when he is also coming down with sniffles. We came home late last night after having him cry for an hour and a half with no sleep in sight, missing our chance to hang out with folks today.. sigh. Sometimes it feels that the more things change the more they stay the same, eh?