Signs of the time and other firsts

After nearly 15 months, Mal is finally getting that signs can be used to communicate!

His first regularly-used sign was "more." I mean, he uses that appropriately for "more," but also for "help" or "get me some of that." Anyway, when you ask, "Do you want more?" he'll sign if he does.

About a week later, he started signing "all done" or "finished." This one he uses regularly but less frequently.

A third sign he uses multiple times daily is "diaper." It's the funniest thing: When he's pooped, he will sign "diaper." So I'll ask, "Do we need to change your diaper?" Then he never wants to. He HATES diaper changes. But it's almost like he has a compulsion to tell me, now that he can, when his "diaper" is dirty.

Sometimes he does like to role-play diaper changing. He'll pull out the pad and sit on it. Real changes he hates.

Yesterday we had an important first: While Mal was home AND awake, I took a full-length (read: I didn't rush) shower while James played with Mal. Not once did that child wander off to see where I was and what I was doing, much less did he stand at the tub and cry until I got out. It was so super freeing. Hoping that thing lasts!

Then today, well, it was a good morning. I've been making cookies for... it seems like ever. Mal has started "helping" me in the kitchen. He climbs up on the two-step ladder and watches. He tries to "help" by sticking measuring cups into the mixer (while it's running), and taste-testing dough throughout the process. There is a lot of my having to move things (all of the small appliances are unplugged because he plays with the knobs, and between the Griddler and James' grandma's ancient toaster oven, he'd burn this apartment down), and telling him, "Not now; it's too hot" or "That will hurt you" or "It's not good yet" or "It's not for us," but it's so much better than him running around at my legs crying. He's very interested and very keen to participate.

I was able to prepare and bake the genoise for my buche de Noel under his watchful eye, and also bake the cookies for our ReWork cookie exchange.

We have a pretty full (for us) schedule this weekend, but it's getting easier to tote Mal to multiple places and have him happily participate.

Oh, earlier this week, I read an article about how the "average" adult awakes between six and twenty times per night, whether they become fully conscious or not. So I decided to count how many times Mal woke up to nurse each night for a week. Sunday night, he woke up basically 8 times: twice before I went to sleep, 5 times between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM, and then the time he woke up for the morning. That actually felt like a good night's sleep. Monday night, I lost track at 10, because sometimes he'd seem to doze off, then want to change sides and I wasn't sure whether that counted as one or two wake-ups because he had fallen to sleep a bit, but I hadn't. Anyway, it was at least 15. The next night, I just couldn't think, and then I gave up because I decided we're "normal" and the only difference is that I'm fully aware of wakening.

Every time we wake up, I kiss Mal and tell him I love him. I really do, too, and maybe I'll miss this when/if he outgrows it. I can't imagine that, but I just might.

Finally, Mal eats like a freaking champ. He takes after his sister that way. This week, he's eaten veggie pizza, spinach and artichoke-stuffed mushrooms, my own Malt-o-Meal concoction, tomato basil crackers with cheese, steak, enough blackberries to warrant a bath, enough cantaloupe that the day after I regretted it, and a ton of food in addition to his fruit/veggie pouches and snacks. He has recently gotten one molar, and that's probably helping him process solid food better. Also, he's gotten taller. He's grown over an inch since his birthday in September!