Dear Fans of the now 20-month-old Nicky,
We're sorry for having been "offline" for over two months! Nicky's mommy has been, er, a bit busy/crazy with her dissertation, and has put the blog on the back burner. However, an update is more than overdue.
Nicholas has changed a lot in the past months. He has learned many new words in Portuguese and in English (though mostly Portuguese), developed an obsession with Elmo, is learning to jump, decided to stop nursing (finally), listens to and occasionally heeds our requests, usually sleeps through the night in his own bed, can draw a circle, walks the dog, adds "sound effects" to his physical movements (i.e. "Boom!" as he jumps), is a wild splashing swimmer, enjoys digging in dirt and rocks, brings lots of flowers to Mommy, spits his toothpaste out as he rinses his mouth, cut one set of second molars and is working on the next, has a slightly obsessive sense of order and hygiene, and continues to eat like a champ.
His phrases are usually 2 words long now, which is par for the course... sometimes he says 3 word phrases, although I think this is mostly imitation-- such as "Tem que lavar" (It needs to be washed) and "I don't know". He will also say, for example, "I don't know ball?" meaning, "where is the ball?" or "I can't find the ball..." Now he says things like "feed Inca" "cooking" "trator papai dirigir" (roughly translated, "Daddy drove the car away"). He says "please" and "por favor", complete with mineiro "r" (very, very exaggerated). He also says thank you, often unprompted, but "obrigado" is much harder. He says mommy's real name, "Lilia", and is usually calling me Mamãe, but sometimes "Mamoo". It really shocked me when he said my name! In any case, he is very talkative and communicates his needs and desires clearly.
"Abrir" is probably his favorite verb, which really means "to open", but he uses it for lots of things, like to break, to take off, and to take out. He will also say "open" if asked-- we are trying to help him distinguish better between Portuguese and English. To be fair, many English verbs have mandatory prepositions and objects that make it harder for him (most likely) to figure out which sounds corresponds to the verb. He also likes "botar", a kind of slangy verb which can mean to put away or put somewhere. After he is done communing with Elmo, he orders us to "botar 'tador" which in Nicky speak, means "put away computer" (computador). Sometimes, he adds a "please", if we ask him too!
The electronic obsession shows no sign of abating, as this past month he discovered the iPod Touch, which he can turn on, unlock, and choose his favorite game from-- scary. He does, however, still adore reading, especially books about cats (Mimi is the name of EVERY cat now!). He enjoys watching a "show" now and again. It doesn't seem to affect him negatively, except when he whines to see a particular video. (He has gotten much whinier, alas). He is learning the alphabet in English right now, and can recognize almost all the letters, though a few he is reluctant to say, and he has his favorites. He also knows the numbers 2, 3, and 4. He has added "Daddy" to complement his now properly pronounced "Papai". This list could go on and on for some time, as his development has really taken off.
But what really strikes Bruno and me is that Nicky is no longer a baby. He is, without a doubt, a toddler, a little boy, and though he still looks somewhat baby-like in his diaper, I think his baby-days are gone. I am experiencing a bit of sadness, as if my role as mother has really changed now, and Nicky no longer "needs" his mommy in the same fashion. But I am also thrilled that he has grown up to be so strong and healthy, so lively and bright, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Nicky's mom is aiming to have her dissertation defense the first week or two of May, right after she and Nicky return to the US, and so is on a very strict schedule! Lots of work to do. I will put up some pictures of Nicky, hopefully later tonight.
