Ch-ch-CHANGES

Rusty is changing, changing, changing! He is becoming such a little boy these days. I love seeing the changes in him, and am especially thankful for all of the videos and pictures we have taken of him in the last year or so. It's really neat to look back on those videos and see how much he has changed. It's so easy to get all caught up in the moment or stage that we are in, and forget what he was like even just a few weeks ago!

He now loves to watch videos of himself and watching them with him has been a lot of fun for us. It really reminds me that each moment is precious and special, and to definitely enjoy the time that we are in and not constantly be looking for the next step!

Rusty's vocabulary is expanding these days. He now can say several different words, as well as animal sounds. He can communicate really well with us, but there are still those moments of frustration when Mom and Dad aren't understanding what he is expressing very well.

Right now he says "Mama," "Dada," "Nana," "Buppa,"-his word for Papa-and yesterday added "Ball" which sounds more like "Bbaaa." He also says "nigh nigh" for night, night. His animal noises are "Baaaa" for the sheep, "BRroooO" for an elephant, "Wof Wof" for a dog, "NEEayyy" for a horse, "Mmmooaa" for a cow, and "ggrrr" for a tiger. The tiger growl is always accompanied with the shaking of his head!

Our friend Tara watches him for us often, and she has taught him to "smell the flower." It is so adorable! He wrinkles up his nose and sniffs and shakes his head back and forth. What a joy! It's such an adorable face!

The latest additions are No and Yes. They are a bit different though. No is more like "Naaahhhh" although last night he said "No!" VERY clearly! He also now says yes in a way when we ask him something. It is SO cute! He says "Uh HUH!" I am trying to capture it on video. Today I said, "Rusty, do you want to go to the park?" and he said, "Uh HUH!" and went to get his shoes.

This week I have been without work, and it hasn't been a hardship! I love spending so much time with my little man! He's so funny and so sweet. Hugs and kisses abound. He laughs and makes ME laugh all day long. He has all of his little routines that must be followed. I love this little guy!