Carys' Kidisms: Competitive Much? Edition

At some point in the past six years, I somehow got my children signed up to participate in research studies at the language lab of the local state university.  Cora has participated numerous times, and true to character, she enjoys being the center of attention while she is there.  Carys, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild card.  She can be outgoing and loud and silly.  Or, she can be shy and reserved combined with stubborn which makes her lips tighter than Fort Knox.  And, as true to her character, you never can predict which personality will shine through.  So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I attempted to prepare her for her first visit to the lab.  She assured me that she was going to happily participate in the process.  But, you never know...  Fortunately, the toys and the computers and the games won her over.  Today, she decided to be her fun and silly self.

Parents are not allowed in the testing area, but I was able to listen from the ante room while Sister and Bubsy played.  It was hilarious to hear some of her responses.  My favorite response today by far, was when the proctors were using pictures to attempt to get her to identify degrees of adjectives - you know, like hard, harder, hardest.  It sounded a little something like this:
Proctor:  This girl is fast; this girl is ?
Carys:  Faster!
Proctor:  Right, and this girl is ?
Carys:  The winner!!
I was giggling when I heard her say that.  She wasn't exactly wrong in her estimation.  I just love her thought process and the triumph in her voice when she said it.  She is definitely one of a kind!

Eleven

31 days...

Only 31 days until I no longer have a baby at home.

31 days until you are officially classified as a toddler.  Although, with your speed and mobility, I fear I can't classify you as a baby right now anyway. My, my, my!

So, Jackson, what's new?

You are walking everywhere now.  Very rarely do you crawl.  We have even seen you attempt to run.  Like your sisters, you love to be chased.  You will go as fast as your little legs will carry you and then squeal with joy when we catch you.  You also love to climb.  You will climb stairs when you are around them.  We have also had to peel you off of the second rung of the ladder to the loft bed.  It seems that you are all boy!

Since you are walking non-stop, you've slimmed down a bit.  You've definitely grown taller.  You're finally in your 9 month jammies, but it appears to me that you've lost a little bit of your baby pudge.  Your tummy seems slimmer; your thighs seem slimmer. I'm curious to see your measurements when we go to your one year well check.

Even though you seem to be slimming down, you love to eat and continue to be very adventurous.  Tonight you enjoyed chicken broccoli rice casserole.  You also enjoy chili, pizza, bananas, yogurt, black beans, and of course, crackers.  You prefer to eat standing next to my chair.  We prefer you to sit in your high chair, but you have decided that high chairs are not for you.  You demonstrated this by wriggling out of the straps and climbing onto the tray.  You are quite the little Houdini!

Now that you're in your own room, you seem to enjoy being in your own space.  You love to play with your toys.  After you nurse, you will just roll off my lap and head for your toys.  You love the trucks.  In fact, when you decided it was play time last night at 4 am, I finally ended up just putting a truck in your crib with you.  After you played for a bit, you went right back to sleep.  I think the truck may need to live in your crib from now on.

Oddly enough, you seem to have strawberry blonde hair. You are definitely a blondie, but often when I look at your hair, it really seems to have a red tint to it.  If you didn't look almost exactly like your P-pa as a baby, I might begin to question your parentage.  You have a lovely and infectious smile.  And, generally, you have a sweet disposition.  For the most part, you are only irritable when tired or hungry.

We love you very much, little man!  We are so thankful you are part of our family!