Pumpkins!

Alex has his first official obsession.  Even as I'm typing this, I think that might be a lie.  Surely, there's been an obsession before this one?  Does his undying devotion to string cheese count as an obsession?  His reflexive habit of emptying buckets and containers so that he can put them on his head like a helmet?  His pushy interest in fisting soggy bits of food and trying to shove them into MY mouth as if commanding, "Here.  If it's so good, then YOU eat it."  No, those aren't quite obsessions.  Not like this one.  Not like his absolute, undeniable fixation with:

Pumpkins.  My pumpkin LOVES pumpkins.

"Pumpkin" (pronounced bpumbum) may even be Alex's first real word after Mama, Dada, Anda, and More.  These are all the words that Alex has, spoken only very sparingly, and I am becoming mildly worried about the whole thing.  "How many words can Alex say?"  the nurse asked at his one year appointment back in June, when I wasn't terribly concerned.  I almost snapped, "None.  BECAUSE HE'S A BABY."  I've become a real know-it-all this second time around. Instead, I replied, politely, "None.  But isn't he cute!"  Fast forward to his fifteen month appointment last week when the same nurse asked,  "How many words can Alex string together?"

What? Excuse me?  We're still working on the question from the twelve month appointment, the one that infers that Alex should know a small handful of words that are most certainly never said together.  See, Alex doesn't talk. And he certainly doesn't STRING WORDS TOGETHER like some kind of college student majoring in linguistics.  Perhaps now I should be concerned?

I asked the doctor when he came in for the actual exam.  "Should I be concerned, perhaps?  My baby, he not so good with the chit chat."

I have a great deal of respect for Alex's doctor, but he's big on the baby talk and a lot of his answers to what I feel are serious questions often come out in a mish mash of babble and cooing. "Aww, little baby boy's kind of quiet, just soaking it in, loving the big brother with his vroom vroom trucks and all the gigglin' and jumpin' and playin' and sometimes the little guys let the big guys do all the talking for them and no, no, no, we don't get worried until eighteen months or so and where's that big smile, look at all those toofers, coming in super duper nice and pointy!  Who's the itty bitty man getting the big ouchie shot today?  You are!  You are!  Peekaboo."

To which I could only reply, "Thank you for your honest medical feedback, doctor."

So, the doctor's not worried that Alex doesn't talk.  The thing is, Alex does try to communicate, but it all comes out in Eh's.  You can tell what Alex is attempting to say by the inflection of his Ehs. Eh Eh Eh EH EH, for instance, means: I want that RIGHT NOW.  Spend enough time accidentally giving this kid pancakes when he prefers Not Pancakes and you start to understand what he's asking for.

Other than not stringing any words together, Alex is developing quite nicely.  He's in the 95th percentile for weight and height which I can only interpret as a good thing otherwise I start worrying that he's eating too many Not Pancakes and heading straight down a path to childhood obesity.  He walks, climbs, stacks blocks, feeds himself with a spoon (wrong end, usually, but let's not get technical), and he loves books and understands jokes.  Or at least understands when he's supposed to laugh, which is basically the same thing.  He is a master at sorting.  We have the sorting bucket with lid that has the different cut-outs for the different shaped blocks to fit through. Andy, back when he was Alex's age, showed zero interest in sorting and would solve the sorting bucket by tearing off the lid and just throwing the blocks in, shapes and differences be damned. Alex, on the other hand, sits quietly and works on it, carefully fitting the blocks into their correct holes.  This to me demonstrates two kinds of intelligence.  Andy, with the brain that gets quickly to the solution and isn't afraid to take a short cut and Alex, with the brain that understands that things are to be done a certain way and I WILL STAY HERE ALL NIGHT IF I HAVE TO AND TAKING THE LID OFF WOULD JUST BE THE EASY WAY OUT AND THAT'S NOT HOW WE DO THINGS AROUND HERE.

Sorry to break it to you, Alex, but that's totally how we do things around here.  Especially me, I half ass everything. Ever seen me wrap a gift?  It's a travesty.

Alex really enjoys sorting.  He always puts like with like.  He's already good at puzzles and when there's two of something (such as in a pair of socks), he will always be sure to find both components of the pair.  It really is intriguing to watch since Andy was never interested in any of that.

And while Andy had dogs and buses and balloons at this young age, Alex's first obsession is turning out to be pumpkins.  I think this is an adorable obsession.  Alex goes nuts when he sees pumpkins. He wants to hold them, hug them, lick them.  He points excitedly at pumpkins that are halfway down the block, demonstrating not only the extent of his obsession but also high levels of vision.  If the CIA is looking for a baby who can focus on a pumpkin recouping project, Alex is their guy.  He will find those bpumbums quickly and expertly and without the aid of binoculars.  Although, when he reports back to his boss about the project, his narratives will be a little unclear.  Eh eh eh EH EH eh eh EH eh Eh bpumbums. EH.

At some point, I'm sure he will string together two actual words.  Until then, I assume my little pumpkin is just working up to it.