Linguist, lexicographer, radio host, public speaker

Guthrie is 13 months old today.

Guthrie is 13 months old today.

He has dozens more words, including “cracker” and “baboon,” (acquired after a trip the zoo). We were there again today. He says “baboon!” “BABOON!” when he sees them. And when he sees meerkats. The meerkats don’t mind.

The visit to the petting farm was also a big hit. The first time he went, last week, he seemed amazed that THERE ARE REAL LIVE SHEEP, JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS. Today, he was less surprised. But he still kept shouting “baaaaaa!” in a stacatto voice, not a bad impression of a sheep at all. He even got fierce about it when one sheep did not seem to recognize his communication in a common language.

He loves to chase birds and always points at them. He likes dogs, too, and barks at them.

Let’s see, what else? More teeth are coming in to go with the eight he already has. We’re hoping the molars will come in soon. He needs them because his taste for food that requires grinding is something that is hard to deny, except that, you know, he might choke on the entire pear he is trying to stuff into his fat cheeks.

He’s also in that transition stage where he does not want to be spoon-fed, yet is not quite capable of feeding himself. So finger food it is. He seems to like fruit, vegetables, and bread. He does not seem to have much of a sweet-tooth—he doesn’t really get all worked up over ice cream, but you should see him cry when you take a pear from him.

He likes to get his teeth brushed. If you ask him, “Do you want your teeth brushed?” he starts brushing his teeth with his finger. He still loves his baths, too.

Since he kept stealing all the toy strollers at the playground, we got him one of his own (in manly colors). They are about $15 for the very cheapest ones. It behooves the parents of the palooka—that would be us—to keep him satisfied with his own things so he does not have to go about pushing other children aside and taking their toys. We are constantly urging him to be gentle, nice, careful, and polite, but he does not seem to be getting the message quite yet.

He also doesn’t really understand “that’s not yours” (for, of course, as far as he is concerned, everything is his), though he does seem to understand “don’t touch that, that’s Papa’s.” He avoids much grief by avoiding a lot of the no-no stuff, but we’re pretty sure it’s only a matter of time before all the no-nos have to be relearned.

One lesson that is kind of sticking is “yech!” We use this around trash cans and the diaper pail, towards which we make a disdainful wave as we say the word. He stays away from them. That’s one lesson we hope will last for a long time.

Oh, and he’s still the cutest boy in the world. 🙂

This picture is the boy frolicking naked on the bed with a Milton Berle joke book, a temporary playtoy. Little boy nether regions need to air out once in a while, so after his bath we’ll let him run hither and yon, dangling here and there, with his little pink butt scooting about.

This is a play center. You can pay $10 per family and enjoy tons of toys that you don’t have at home. A friend’s cutie-pie two-year-old daughter was having a Jewish naming ceremony there, and we were invited.

The boy loves finger food like blueberries.

Below is Guthrie making the American Sign Language gesture for “more,” the only sign we taught him. He wanted more blueberries! When he does the gesture, he says a little plaintive “moooore,” too, with a descending tone. It’s very sweet. He learned quite a while back to generalize it so he’ll do it when he wants more food or more fun.

Papa and the boy eat a cupcake together at the group birthday party for 30 one-year-olds we went to a couple weeks ago. That’s right, 30 one-year-olds plus parents and siblings all in one big room together with food, toys, and balloons. You can imagine the scene.

Guthrie with hat hair and the new hand-clapping toy he got as a party favor from the above-mentioned party.

The koi pond in the Japanese section of the botanical garden. You have to point at the fish every time you see one. There are lots of fish.

Watching the sea lions getting fed at the zoo.

Dirt! Let’s rub it all around!

He went “baaaaaa!” to the alpacas, too, but they didn’t respond.

We all rode the carousel in the park. The boy cried when it was over—he wanted more.

author avatar
Grant Barrett