Walking and talking and potty...ing - oh my!

Turtle took to walking as soon as we landed from Paris.  He was experimenting with walking while we were there, but he truly got up on his own and began to trot around the playground as soon as we got back. 

Now my son has the fattest, square feet you've ever encountered.  He's a 6 Extra Wide.  How he balances on those squat things is a mystery.  But it sure is fun to watch him take these little steps.  What I was unaware of was the fact that once upright, crawling is not longer an option.  He just won't do it.  In fact, sitting is not really an option, either.  Give him something to drink, he stands, wobbly, drinking it.  No sitting for this little man.

Talking:  We've gone from the animal noises (dinosaur is the favored sound here) to words like "baby" and "nosenosenose" at which point my son puts his finger into his nose... a new discovery.  Bellybutton is one of the first words he learned and it's currently his favorite.  My niece is visiting and Turtle walked up to her as she slept and lifted her shirt to reveal her belly button... just checking to see if she had one.  "Bebon," he'd say.  Now he checks to make sure it's still there.  He checks his and he checks hers over and over.  He's always been a talker and most of the sounds coming out are just sounds, but if we can identify what he's referring to and give him the word for it, he learns it pretty quickly.  (Read Po Bronson's Nurtureshock for more on how and why this happens.)

And the potty.   We bought Turtle a potty.  The first time we sat him down on it, he used it.  He got a sticker to put up on the wall.   Now I'm not as good as his mother at noticing signs, for example, he uses the sign for "bath" when he needs to be changed.  The wife noticed that...  But he kept pointing to the bathroom the other day and I didn't know why.  About five minutes later it hit me.  Poop.  He started signing "bath" and I realized he knew what the potty was for and he wanted to use it.  I just had to see the sign and put him there.  Now I know.

Big milestones happening in a very short time.