The Latest Gabe-Trends

Other than the multitudes of expressions I get from my son, the defining thing about gabe at this point in time is his non-stop yakking through the day. He was with my in-laws for quite a few days last week, and my fil came back almost "traumatized" by the chattering, which was described as "a non-stop flow from the moment he wakes up".

The ability to communicate also means that gabe requires much action from his care-givers. "Help!" is requested when the tricycle he's pushing in the living room (almost throughout the day) meets with an obstacle, when he needs to bring a large truck down to the floor, when he finds a speck of dirt or a strand of hair and picks it up for your attention, at playtime, to read a book, etc etc etc. "Outside, please mama" happens every time he wakes, is tired of rolling on the bed. "Make milk milk, wahhhhhhhh!!!" happens in the morning when the parents are trying to stall for more sleep-time and in the occasional nights when he wakes in hunger. "Read book", "again", "open the door"...

He's into counting these days. A few days ago, I heard him complete 1 - 10 in English voluntarily, without assistance. Then a couple of days later, I heard him do the Chinese version but like a broken recorder, kept going at 123. Curious, I helped him with the 4 and he completed the series till ten. Today, possibly in attempt to go faster, he will skip numbers just to get to the ten.

He's been trying to play hide and seek with us. One day after dinner, derod and I were still chatting at the dining table when the boy ran to the nearest corner and stooped behind a chair, only to rise a little later, peeked at us and repeated the action. He'd also take the opportunity to hide behind the kitchen door or the shoe cabinet when I make a quick dash into the kitchen. And you can always count on a cheeky face when you "find" him.