Jeremiah Update

Activity and Play:
Jeremiah is walking well now and is almost running! His recent achievements are climbing the step ladder (only the first step) and climbing onto his little-boy chair. He also enjoys hammering things with his toy hammer. Other favorite toys include: The dustpan (with a long handle), the plunger (don't worry, it hasn't been used), the rake, his other plastic tools, and his bucket with shapes (and holes for the shapes).
He also loves water. We recently went to a nearby waterfall. He enjoyed playing in the freezing cold water, stripped to the skin. Today we filled our pool and he played in it (also cold, mountain water). One of his favorite games is hide-and-go-seek. I run away saying "Busca Mommy!" (find/get Mommy) Then I run away and he tries to find me. When he finds me he gives me a huge smile.

Learning:
He continues to learn. It's amazing how fast children learn new things. He's learned more signs: hot, baby, and bathroom. When he signs "more" I usually sign back "more what?" by making a "what" gesture. So now he sometimes signs "what" after signing "more" by pressing his elbows into his sides and putting out his hands. It's really cute. Obviousy, he has no idea what "what" means! :) I'm trying to speak to him in mostly Spanish (at least short commands and new words). It's been helping me learn more Spanish too! He understands "sit down, "eat," "thank you," "please," "come," "more," "get," "milk," "water," "hello," "goodbye," and other words in Spanish. We're working on parts of the body and colors (very slowly). He has spoken much lately. He babbles, but still only says "mama" and "dada." A few months ago he could say "Amen" and "Hola" but he stopped a while ago. :(

Food:
Jeremiah loves to eat! And he eats all sorts of things! The other day we had a get together and some JCS staff and one of them brought guacamole (very good, very garlicy!) Jeremiah signed "eat" and I decided to give him some, expecting him to not like it. Instead, he loved it! He kept going up to whoever had it, and eventually we got a spoon to feed it to him. We've been giving him so "new" foods. One night this week we had mashed yuca with chicken soup and noodles (yuck being the new part). He devoured it. He also liked the fried rice we made, and the eggdrop soup with ginger (well, he liked the broth part). Today he ate half of a stuffed bell pepper and a banana for lunch (and that's a small amount for him). Oh, and he liked the rice with sardines we had last night too. I think he had two bowls of it, along with cooked veggies. Crazy child (actually, it's really good and not too fishy tasting). We've been making Dominican food more often, and he likes rice and beans. And, of course, he likes Italian food as well!

So, that's a "brief" update on Jer. :) Pictures will come (eventually...)