Well I've been a neglectful parent when it comes to keeping a virtual paper trail of Jackson's growth and development since he turned a year old so I'm going to try to redeem myself by blogging about 15-month-old Jackson before he becomes 16-month-old Jackson next week. That's fair, right?Hmmm...where to begin?
These days Jackson is hard to keep up with -- both literally AND figuratively. He's growing at a record pace which means he's eating more than Dan and I combined on some days, is sleeping up to 4 hours a day between his 2 naps, and we can barely cram his feet into his shoes anymore (I'm desperately trying to hold out for new shoes from the Stride Rite Outlet when we get back to America).
His vocabulary grows by at least one word per day and includes but is not limited to the following list (in random order): momma, dada, cracker, chicken, coke, more, tunnel, duck, dog, cheese, clothes, bib, bird, truck, car, bottle, buckle, light, milk, nose, eye, yes, no, book, keys, cup, grandma, pizza, banana, ball, spoon, pork, thanks, circle, foot, toe, sock, hat, moon, yuck! uh oh! and ciao (yes, that's Italian which makes him bilingual...right?). And he's 100% boy so of course he likes to say poo-poo, toot, and burp.
There's also the sound effect word substitutes. For instance, water is "Aaahh" (the unmistakable sigh of a thirst that has been quenched) and motos (motorcycles) are "run-nun-nun-nuns." And the binky is still affectionately beckoned by a loud click of the tongue. Oh and I can't forget to mention that he does one heck of a Chewbacca impersonation.
His favorite activities these days are eating gelato, playing peek-a-boo, taking his duck for a walk (see photo below), running after the wheels of his stroller while it's moving, playing ball, splashing in the town fountain, and pointing out while naming the parts of the body, especially the nose...and he has no qualms about pointing to the noses of complete strangers he meets in the local coffee shop. If you get within a 3-foot radius, your nose is fair game.
While we're talking about strangers, I should mention that Jackson doesn't know any. Everyone is his friend and he's always ready to wave "Ciao" to the multitudes as they come and go.
He learned to whistle from his friend Gabriele (who he affectionately calls GaGa -- not to be confused with Lady GaGa). Well, it's not a real whistle but more of a "Hoo! Hoo!" in the shrillest tone his little voice can muster. It's ridiculously cute.
He runs more than walks and runs especially fast just after finishing a gelato cone. With a belly full of gelato, he'll put his arms back and hold his head up and run fancy free with his eyes nearly shut. He's more than once narrowly escaped running into trees and passing tricycles in his post-gelato state of delirium.
He's a likeable fellow, to say the least. He's made friends with the neighbor, the butcher, the baker...and if only we had a candlestick maker he'd be friends with him too! He's befriended the clerks at the supermarket, the owners of the restaurants we frequent, and he's definitely family at the cafe we visit twice a day. One of the other regular customers hit it on the nose when he said that Jackson is their mascot. He makes his rounds waving to the customers as they eat their lunch and he gives a very vigorous "Ciao" wave to everyone who enters or exits the building.
He seems to be on the fast track to potty training. He started a few months ago announcing when he has gone (or is going) poo-poo. And if we're not quick enough with our response, he'll go and get the clean diaper and bring it to us.
He's recently discovered the moon but that's only complicated things. Whenever we're walking and the moon is temporarily hidden by the city skyline, Jackson yells a very concerned "uh oh" and points to the sky saying "moon, moon!" until it's in view again. (This gets old very quickly at times).
Oh, and how can I forget that he's also learned how to blow kisses? As if he weren't already enough of a ladies man! He now has every woman in Italy at his beck and call - hooking them one by one with a big smackeroo to the palm of his little hand! It's insanely cute!
So, basically we're nuts about this kid and we're totally looking forward to each new day with him. We feel incredibly blessed by God each day to be his parents and to call him our son.
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