Stage 2

Every parent goes through the same two stages with their small kids:

Stage 1 - Kid as a pet...
This is the stage where babies and toddlers are just there. They don't talk or have control of their limbs. You pick them up and carry them around. Sometimes they come when you call them and sometimes you can teach them little tricks.

Stage 2 - Kid as a person...
Once the kid learns to talk, everything changes. They lose their pet-status and turn into little humans. It's CRAZY.

At first that is completely fascinating. You watch your little pet turn into a person who can tell you what they think and express themselves and mimic things they've heard you say.

Then the infatuation wears off just a bit, as they lose the ability to be quiet. They just talk and talk and talk. Sometimes I think that Ryker might faint from not taking a breath.

Tonight he was mimicking me as I spelled words for Jack. They he began spelling things himself. Not correctly, of course, but he was trying. Mostly they were real letters, but sometimes he would use the oft-forgotten letter "doe-bay" and string together a series of m's that doesn't naturally occur in English words. Then he started counting. "One, two, fee....seben, eight, nine, ten...wevn, twev, firften..."

I got the camera out but he clammed up. I'll keep trying.