No, I am not.

The Nugget likes to answer questions in the negative. "No, I am not." Do you want to play with puzzles? "No, I am not." Do you need to sit on the potty? "No, I am not."

The Nugget is very interested in plurals. Lately, he's taken to singing the alphabet song in plural: "As, Bs, Cs, Ds, Ee-ses, Fs, Gee-ses..." L and M have entirely fallen out of favor and he refuses to mention them.

We are entirely thankful for the use of pretend play. The Nugget is really using his imagination a little more every day. The sight of a motionless digger truck used to cause a full-blown tantrum, "Mommy, moving that digger truck please!", now we hear this monologue:

"That digger truck moving please? No...it's not moving. Digger truck is resting. Night night, digger truck." In the same line of thought, he used to chase airplanes, trying to board them and would fall down in tears when they went out of view. Now he still runs after spotting one, but with arms outstretched, "I a plane, Mom. I going to Chicago."

The Nugget continues to enjoy his puzzles and given enough time with a 12 piece set, will emerge victorious. I love hearing him mutter to himself, "This piece goes this piece, and this piece goes this piece...no, it doesn't fit. Eh, eh, eh (trying to force it in)...not quite."

Bossiness has definitely taken hold, as an inevitable first-born trait. I'm quite sure that in his mind, he is master of the universe, and the rest of us are just living in it. Lately, he'll tell his playmates that they need to sit down and finish their lunches, or that they must climb into his wagon so he can pull them around the yard. We're also starting to teach him to respect his friends' space when they decline one of his hugs. A little sad, because he looks so crestfallen when rejected, but an important early lesson that, "No means no!"

The Nugget continues to be very interested in ASL, and so we keep a couple Signing Time dvds from the library at all times. He picks up new signs quickly, and he will even teach them to Daddy and his friends. "Sign color on chin, then sign write...crayon." He's not fluent by any means, but I love that he's getting this head start on a second language. Both his Tummy Mummy and myself fell in love with ASL when we were children, so it's a meaningful language that connects us.

Speaking of connections, the Nugget's Tummy Mummy just posted a picture of Baby Cupcake in a full giraffe costume, for no particular reason or holiday. Is there any question that we were meant to be family?! (see above)