Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It seems like Nikos has really hit a developmental spurt in the past few weeks! There are probably too many new "tricks" to describe, and I will surely forget some of them, but here is my attempt! For one, he finally started clapping not long ago. He claps for a few seconds, then throws his hands high in the air (think: "touchdown!"). He thinks it's hilarious to watch every adult in sight copy him (I don't blame him... what power he has over the big people!). He's also started tickling peoples' feet. He'll crawl over to where I'm sitting, look right in my eyes (while trying to contain giggles), and then ever-so-gently touch my foot. When I kick my foot and laugh, he thinks it is absolutely hysterical! And the sometimes, while he's playing on the floor, he'll put his head down and pretend to go to sleep for a minute... only to burst into giggles. His sense of humor cracks me up! He also knows that his Little People belong in their cars, and he will usually put them in there (properly!) before pushing the cars around on the floor (and making accompanying noises). He is beyond adorable!

And then there's the talking. Many of his words are still difficult to understand, but we are realizing that he DOES have more words than we previously thought. His clearest ones are still "mama," "daddy," and "uh-oh," but we think he's got a bunch more. He definitely says "doggy" (his obsession), "baba" (bottle), "duh" (done), "no" (complete with shaking his head), "kaka" (cracker), and he has a funny little fake phone conversation that includes two words that sound sort of like "hi" and "bye-bye." He also says something whenever he sees Charlie, but I'm not quite sure if it's his version of saying "Charlie" or "kitty." In addition to all that, he understands quite a bit! If you ask him what a duck says, he will sometimes say "cack, cack, cack." And, according to him, a doggy says "ar, ar, ar!" And if you ask him about doggies while he's eating a meal, he'll turn and point to the little picture of a dog that's printed on his headrest! I just can't believe how much is going on inside that little head of his! He learns something new every single day!

As for the physical stuff, he is taking his sweet time. He can stand alone for a second or two, tops, but could go a lot longer if he wasn't so wiggly (he is SUPER wiggly and energetic). Pulling up and cruising is second nature to him, though, so I'm sure that walking can't be too far down the line. Gus told me that he didn't start walking until he was 15 months, so maybe Nikos takes after his daddy! It's fine, anyway... Everyone keeps telling us to enjoy this time, because once he starts walking, he'll learn to RUN... and then we'll be running, too! :)

And then, of course, there is sweet baby #2 cooking away in my belly. There have been a few times at night recently when I have really been able to feel him/her. I know that the baby is still pretty small, and maybe it's due to where he/she is positioned in there, but I swore I could feel a little arm or leg last night. It was poking out, and it was tiny, but it was definitely not a normal part of my belly. And then it moved. I haven't been able to show Gus yet, but it's so cool! This is a lot earlier than I ever felt Nikos move. I also had a dream last night that this baby was a boy, which was sort of odd. Everyone thinks it's a girl this time, including me, so we will see who's right (me vs. my subconscious). We should know in 17 more days!! :) I can't wait-- either way!!!

P.S. Last night, Nikos turned on the stereo, switched it over to CD mode, and hit play-- all by himself! Gus was watching him when it happened, and couldn't believe it. He turned on the Christmas music for us, hehe!!!