The Language of Leo

Leo has been pretty adorable lately and doing all kinds of wonderful things, like hiding in our blankets :) He's starting to talk more (and even sing!) but can be very shy in front of others. He really enjoys mimicking animal sounds, as the short clip below gives a hint of. He can say "nay nay" for what a horse says, moo, "baa" for a sheep, woof, meow, roar, and "ooh ooh ah ah" for a monkey. He has also been clearly saying "da da" and can also say "bubble," "dump," and "na na," for knock-knock. He has been acting like my little Prince Charming by coming over to me with a high-heeled shoe he got from my bedroom and tries to put it on my foot. That explains why the other day I was wearing a robe and high-heels at 10AM :) LOL.

Also, it's official. Leo has discovered girls. Leo and I go to a music and movement class for toddlers every week. A new girl named Audrey has attended the last 2 classes. She's an "older woman," probably 23 or 24 months old, has brown pigtails, and is taller than Leo. At the end of the class, during the last song, Audrey's mom and I noticed that Leo seemed to be taking an interest in Audrey and standing rather close to her. Then he reached in with his arms and the mom said, "I think he's trying to hug her!" and sure enough he did hug her, while Audrey stood there rather stoically. So Leo, emboldened, slowly walked toward her again and gave Audrey a little kiss on the cheek. At this point, all the moms in the class let out a collective "Awwwww." Enjoying the audience and the success of his first 2 endeavors, Leo walked toward Audrey once again and gave her a tiny kiss on the lips!!! At this point, I picked him up, saying, "Leo!" in a joking voice, and as we left the class Leo stared at Audrey the whole way. Too cute for words. My little affectionate Leo. I said to Audrey's mom, "She'll never remember who gave her her first kiss!" Her loss - hahaha. Leo, you charmer!

I am so overwhelmed with love for Leo, I enjoy him so much as a person and as a child that it occasionally surprises me that there's a chance Leo might feel like he wasn't fully wanted, or was a second choice, or something else related to being adopted. The truth is I feel like I am the luckiest parent in the whole world and I couldn't imagine being more in love with my child. I am so proud to be his mommy! I mean, just watch how he points to his chin in the video below - just precious. And that smile...