Dexter is becoming more of a little boy everyday. He calls other kids "baby" even if they are older than him. I keep telling him he's a toddler, so maybe that's why! :) He plays for long periods by himself. Sometimes, I can actually do some cleaning without having him underfoot. Then again, some days he just wants me to pick him up and carry him around all the time. He'll stand in front of me and say "up" until I pick him up.
He loves cars. I think that is an innate boy thing. He loves spinning the wheels and getting down on the floor and rolling it over everything within reach. He also loves music. He dances and plays his guitar. He says "strum" when he hits the strings. His favorite song at the moment is "Cum On Feel the Noiz" by Slade (or Quiet Riot). His musical taste is swaying towards hair metal of the 80s. I'm really not sure what the allure of that music is, but he dances and sings "wild… wild… wild…" every morning. We play the video on You Tube for him. I even learned the words to the chorus. That's just how much I love him.
Dexter can run, climb up furniture, jump, and has been trying for months to do somersaults without success. He's developing a very vibrant personality. He sometimes gets so rambunctious that he scares other kids by screeching and lunging. I'm positive he got his sense of volume from Squee because he's pretty loud. On the other end of the spectrum, he's also very lovable. He gives me big hugs all the time and he sits on my lap while we read books together. I try to cuddle with him as much as I can because I know someday he won't want to do that anymore.
Which brings me to his next amazing feat, he's learning the alphabet already. I got a set of alphabet magnets for the fridge for Christmas. At first, he just liked to move them around. I started showing him a couple letters and telling him what they were. I didn't expect it to stick, it was just fun. He likes to name off everything he sees that he has words for, so this was an easy progression. He learned H first, though he forgot that one. The next one was E and that one stuck. He then learned O. I didn't push him at all to learn them, I just pointed it out and then asked him where the E was. Then he started seeing those letters in signs on labels and in books. Of course, he'd sometimes get it wrong, so I'd tell him what the letter actually was. By doing that, he learned there were more letters. Now he's picking up new letters everyday. I've tried to stay away from all 26 because that's just overwhelming for a little brain to remember, but he re-discovered his LeapFrog Alphabet Pal toy he got for his birthday. Now, he'll repeat the letter after the caterpillar and he's been pointing out letters I may have pointed out once or twice, like M. I don't know if this is normal behavior for a 17 month old, but it makes me really proud while completely blowing my mind.
