Just so you know...
Ethan's vocabulary is growing exponentially. He can now say purple, elbow and NO. Not "no" or "naw" or "nuh uh." NO.
And he's very good at impersonations. For instance he can wag his finger and Shhh! at Cody in such a way that people can barely tell the difference between him and me, a differentiation that is further complicated by the fact that he frequently wears my slippers.
Additionally, he does a mean vacuum impression (zzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZ) as well as a heckuva spray bottle (tsst!).
Incidentally, he's learned some body parts and I have no idea how. I mean, I get that he knows chin and eye and ear and mouth, because we've worked on those with him. But knee? Elbow, for gosh sakes? What to Expect the Toddler Years (recently purchased during Sleep Crisis '09) says that by this age he may be able to name one or two body parts. HA! This kid has already named his penis! (Pete.) (No joke.)
Although we're not big television watchers these days, Ethan frequently asks to watch "teetee" for a few minutes, particularly while snuggling up in bed with us. (We have a TV in our room for movies, no cable, so he's watched disjointed snippets of Pride & Prejudice, The American President and A Few Good Men.)
I've learned that he's a creative thinker. He's made a number of rather original interior design and organization decisions around the house, for instance storing two of my nail polishes inside a candle jar (lid closed), putting Noah's sneakers in the hamper (I see his point), and placing our alarm clock inside a guitar case (he really had us stumped on that one, for two whole days we couldn't find the thing even though we could hear it).
Ethan's relationship with Cody has certainly blossomed. More than once I've caught Cody kissing Ethan on the lips, and reciprocally, I've caught Ethan sharing snacks with Cody—both the One for You, One for Me Method as well as the infinitely more unsettling Here Have A Lick of This Lollipop Method. Cody's love for Ethan is further evidenced by his continued habit of crying when Ethan cries (although I'm not convinced they haven't turned it into crying contests to see who can go louder and longer), and he's even let Ethan climb on his back and pretend to trot off into the sunset.
About that Sleep Crisis, we're in full bedtime rebellion mode these days. He was the kind of baby that made other parents despise us, so good was he about putting himself to sleep. I guess this is payback. And by "this" I mean "the screeching and wailing and imploring and avoiding of the bedtime routine."
Yet I recently realized that it's actually harder for me to leave him now than when he was teeny.
Can you blame me?