Adorable

Ok, I know we spend a lot of time talking about Jack being cute about this, sweet about that, etc etc etc. But, really, we're not making this up. I just don't think I can fully express how adorable he's been this weekend. For starters, he's had a couple of pretty good night's sleep. Friday he slept from 8:30 pm to 8:15 am, only waking once to eat at 6am. I could really get used to that.
Friday night we had a great time at a first birthday party for Jack's friend-from-the-parent-center Dean. Several of the other "regulars" from the parent center were there and the babies were so cute playing together. Lottie, Dean's mom, has two older boys and runs a very laid back, comfy household. Lots of noise and busyness and time to chat with the other grown ups while the kiddos entertained one another. Nice.
Saturday Jack and I took a road trip down to Hiram so I could meet with my reunion planning committee. He was (as he has been every time we've been back to Hiram) an absolute superstar, sitting on my lap for a lot of the time while we planned, flirting like mad with Lisa and Nadia, playing peek around the clock tower mechanism.
We also took a side trip to visit Hattie's. I can't beleive I hadn't visited there since before I was pregnant. I hardly recognized the place, there have been so many renovations. Some nice things, but overall the place is more "sterile" now, I think. :( It was also sad to learn that many of the kiddos that I had known have passed away over the past two years. But-- many of my kiddos were still there and some even seemed to remember me and be happy to see me. That was nice. Jack was polite and quiet and very interested in the wheelchairs. Anything with wheels...
Today we had a very relaxed day around the house, mostly following Jack around and exclaiming about how cute he was. Now that I am writing this, I can't seem to recall exactly what made him so very cute. It was a combination of his very sweet, smiley mood, his enthusiasm for running around the house and being a big boy (drinking milk from non-sippy cups, holding our hand to walk out , and not be carried, to the car) and the way he asks for and interacts with things in his environment now. His communication is so very earnest-- he looks you in the eye and states his word-approximation and waits for your response...
Here are some things he's saying now:
Wadad-- translation: what's that. Said with a little hint of a question
Cheese-- said while signing "please" to mean "please". He always smiles when he says it. We are encouraging him to pair it with his requests for "down" "up" "out" and "coo" (cookie) and he's beginning to comply.
Doos doos-- translation: Blue's clues. He's becoming a TV kid... he can ask for he show he wants by saying "Tee... doos doos/ choo choo" It helps that we really only have two options for him to watch (blue's clues and Thomas the Tank Engine) and therefore ask for...He also says "dee" for DVD.
Hi-- yes, he's said this for a while, but the way he says it now is so sweet. Lots of "H" at the front, lots of expression, lots of affection... "Hiyeeee" like he is just SO happy to see you.
"UH huh"-- his way of saying yes, pairing this with an emphatic nod.
Today he also said "stars" very clearly when he saw the paramount symbol (replete with stars) at the beginning of his DVD.
Of course, the words we hear the most overall continue to be Gruck (truck), Juss (bus), and Ga (car).