Ian's talking... a lot

Ian's conversation skills have also picked up quite a bit in all three languages. Sometimes when we are coming home from school, Ian will finish his milk and ask for more. I tell him that I can't because I'm driving (Mommy zai4 kai1 che1) and he usually is reasonable about it. After he did this a couple of times, he asked again one day and I said, "No, Ian." Before I could say anything else, he said, "Mommy zai4 kai1 che1."

Yesterday, on the way home, it was very, very windy and cold, so Ian had his favorite hat on (the green and yellow striped one with the ear flaps). We walked outside and he said, "Hao3 leng3!" And I said, "What, Ian?" and he said, "It's cold outside!" Sometimes Ian has to translate for us less intelligent adults. Halfway home, he asked me "Mommy ne1? Ian ne1?" ("Where's Mommy? Where's Ian?") So I said, "Mommy zai4 kai1 che1. Ian ne1?" ("Mommy's driving. Where's Ian?") He answered, "Ian mei2 you3 kai1 che1. Ian zai4 zhe4 li3!" ("Ian's not driving. Ian's here!") I asked him where Daddy was and he said that Daddy was riding the choo-choo train and driving the "baby che1 zi". I asked where Wai Po was and he said, "Wai Po zai4 Taiwan." And Wai Gong? "Wai Po Wai Gong zai4 Taiwan." I asked him if he wanted Wai Po to come see him and he said, "No, Wai Po zai4 Taiwan!" So then I asked him where Jiu Jiu was. "Jiu Jiu zai4 shang4 ban1." ("Jiu Jiu's at work.") How about Jiu Ma? "Jiu Ma bu2 zai4 shang4 ban1." ("Jiu Ma is not at work.") It's unclear from the follow up exactly where he thought Jiu Ma was, but he was very clear about the fact that she was not at work. When we got home, I realized that the whole game had started because he had pulled the top of his hat down over his eyes and was "hiding" from me.

His favorite game now is to pull a blanket over himself and either Daddy or Mommy and have whoever isn't hiding look for Ian. "Come on, Mommy! Jin4 lai2!" is the typical command. Or "Come in the bankie!" (that's "blankie" to the rest of us). He says it to Jeff in Spanish, but I don't know exactly how to spell that. Then we get under there and he asks, "Shei2 lai2 le? Mei2 you3 ren2!" ("Who's coming? Nobody!") Or if Daddy is there, he says, "Daddy lai2 le!" He really likes to play that just after he's pooped. Which makes it very difficult to stay under the blanket with him for very long.

Speaking of poop, he wanted to take his pants off and sit on the potty this weekend. Diaper stayed on, but it's still a step in the right direction.

We were cleaning up the flooding in the basement and Jeff was down there while I was in the kitchen with Ian. I yelled down, "Do you need some help?" and there was an immediate echo, "Daddy, do you need help?" Then later, Jeff was going upstairs and he shut the kitchen door behind him and we heard a thump, so I yelled, "Jeff, are you ok?" Again, there was a very loud echo of, "Daddy, are you ok?"

Most of his full sentences are preceded by the words "I want" or "I don't want". For example, "Wo3 bu2 yao4 chuan1 zhe4 ge4 yi1 fu2!" ("I don't want to wear this shirt!") and "Wo3 yao4 da4 de nai-nai!" ("I want the big milk!" Which means he wants the Dr. Brown's bottle instead of the Avent bottle.) He's picky about his shirts, his pants, his socks... Especially his socks. He basically refuses to wear white socks. His favorite color seems to be blue -- sky blue or navy blue -- but he also likes his red socks. But just try to put white socks on him. "Bu2 yao4 bai2 de wa4 zi!" or "No medias blancas!" Another example: "I don't want chicken. I want steak!"