My little copycat...

Everything I do is imitated by a 1 year old. I think that it is just the curse of being a parent, but it is almost like having a little parrot following behind you all day every day. For example, Fuss picked up one of his many baseball caps today and placed it on his head. I said, "You got your hat?" (I know, great English right!) He replied with a nod of his head and said, "Hat." Then he continued to repeat the word over and over and over and over until he found a new object to be obsessed with. It is so fun to have my baby talking and being able to understand more of what he is saying. He has been blabbering on like we know what he is talking about for months, so to actually be able to understand a few words is incredibly exciting. (I know again, my life is so mundane that this really is the most exciting thing in it!) 

Anyway, I started to notice more of his repeating what he sees and hears last week while he was in the bathtub. As I have mentioned before, Fuss is a climber. When I see him on a counter or table that he shouldn't be on, instead of scolding him so that he stops, I play a game with him which I am sure just encourages him to climb even more. I really need to think about things before I do them. Regardless, when I find Fuss on top of something he shouldn't be on, I stick my arms out in front of me and say, "1, 2, 3, Jump!" and he falls into my arms. So, the other day Fuss was sitting in the bathtub and I was standing by the counter watching him. He placed his rubber duck on the edge of the tub, then said (for the first time ever) "1, 2, 3, Jump!" at which time he pushed the duck from the edge of the tub into the water and shouted, "Yeah!" It honestly was one of the funniest things to see. And I am sure something that everyone reading this is thinking, "So what" about, but most of you are mothers, aunts, or big sisters so you can understand. The greatest part is that now I can tell everyone that my 1 year old can count to 3! Who cares if it is always followed by the word "jump?" Jump could be a number in some language somewhere, I guess...

The other newest trick of my little Fuss that I am sure he had to have learned by mimicking someone else, is whispering. I have no idea how or when he learned this, but he totally has the concept down! It was about 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. Fuss had been crying in his crib and refused to settle down and go back to sleep. So, I had picked him up and brought him in to lay with D and I in our bed. He had been there just a few minutes when he cuddled up to me and in his normal volumed voice said, "Mom." I immediately put my arms around him and said, "Shhh, Daddy is sleeping." To which he responded by whispering, "Mom." I was so caught off guard by his response that I started laughing, which only brought on another half hour of my name being whispered over and over again. 

The scary thing is that I am so seeing myself and my actions in him. Even when he throws a fit, he reminds me of me when I am angry...not a great thing to have to recognize. There is some good coming from his repetition of others though. When someone is crying, he immediately wants to hug them. When we pray he folds his arms and bows his head. When it is time for bed he has to hug and kiss everyone before he goes to sleep. When people are leaving he has to hug them and stand on the porch and wave (or on the couch and wave through the window on cold mornings when Daddy is leaving for work). And when we read stories that have touch and feel pages, he grabs my hand and makes me feel everything on each page just like I used to do to him before he got the concept. I am thinking that tomorrow I will see if he can copy me in taking out the trash. It really would be nice for that to be his job!