Signs: His newest sign is "grape." We're trying to move from signs to WORDS, but of course Dexter just thinks you're playing some goofy game when you try to teach him words. Which brings us to...
Words: Not much progress on words. "Duck" has been upgraded from "maybe," though - he does sometimes say "duck." (Or, more accurately, "Du." Similarly, "mop" is really "mah." We're working on the ending consonants.)
Teeth: We're up to 12! Numbers 9 and 10 (top molars) have broken through all the way and are still coming down. Tooth #11 (bottom right molar) was first spotted on January 18 (15m, 2w), and #12 (bottom left molar) was just a few days behind. He is handling it pretty well but does chew on his fingers quite a bit. (We've offered more appropriate teethers, but I think it's hard to get some of those back to the molars.)
Sleep: Dexter has started fighting bedtime. He'll stall and stall and stall, pretend like he wants to read more books, or play in the bathroom, or ask you to sing the ABCs to him again and again and again. I'd be willing to shift bedtime a little later, but he's still SO exhausted in the morning that I don't think we can do that. He is still a horrible napper. He still pretty much sleeps through the night, though (with the occasional brief and self-resolved wake-up), so overall I don't think we can complain.
Food: Dexter is still a big eater. (A few nights ago for dinner he had a banana, about 1/2 cup of grapes, another 1-1.5 cups of rice, a veggie burger pattie, and 6 ounces of yogurt. Really, that's more than I eat for most meals.) We've recently institued a "one banana per meal" rule; otherwise, I think he would be happy eating only bananas all the time. Grapes are still a favorite. And yogurt (which we feed to him unless we're really prepared for a big mess). He likes rice, too (also messy, but not as bad as yogurt).
Things he knows: He's getting better and better at following commands and has pretty much mastered compound commands ("get the toy AND give it to Dad"). When asked, he can point to his tummy, feet, nose, ears, eyes, mouth, and head. He can also point to your tummy, nose, ears, eyes, and head, too. He knows where the trash can is, too, and will slide things in there (whether he's supposed to or not). The other night, Dennis asked him to put a small piece of cardboard in the trash, but Dexter couldn't get it in because the tupperware lids he put in there earlier were in the way. Doh!
Games: Chase is still right up there. Peek-a-boo is still a favorite, often manifested as hiding in the pantry and opening and closing the door. Another one I've neglected to mention before is "Dexter Pinball," in which he will come up to you wherever you stand and put his head between your knees. You are then supposed to sortof bounce his head back and forth like a pinball. He giggles and runs off. It's great.
Big Brotherhood: Dexter is an AWESOME big brother! More on that later, but he really likes Desmond, is curious about him, wants to help when he cries - it's great.
