New Skills

Gusi is learning so many things each day. Here's a brief list of what he's most into these days.

1. Kicking. Especially soccer balls or things that could be mistaken for a soccer ball, such as a lime.
2. Jumping. If there's a step, he'll try to jump down from it. Ditto if he's on the couch.
3. Counting. This can go along with the jumping on some occasions as he counts to three and then jumps. He also knows his numbers up to 10 in three languages.
4. Singing. Favorites include "Baah, Baah Black Sheep", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "A, B, C", "Frère Jacques", "las Mañanitas" and "Do, Re, Mi".
5. Dancing. He is really into his Baby Loves Jazz music but also rips up the carpet to Johnny Cash, Brazilian samba, Frank Sinatra and African salsa.
6. Saying "No". He's a toddler, it comes with the territory.
7. Climbing. He's gotten particularly adept at getting onto chairs and sofas.
8. Talking on the phone. Real conversations and pretend ones are incredibly interesting.
9. Christmas spirit. There are lots of "ho, ho, ho-s" going around, especially each time we see a Christmas tree in a store window or when I turn on our Christmas lights at home.
10. Slides. For the longest time he just wanted to play on the swings at the play ground, but now he digs the slides.