Fletcher Augustus DeRouen

A diary for our son, by Joe and Andrea DeRouen

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Time flies when you are watching a baby. Fletcher practically runs now, especially when he's playing his favorite game of chase. He wants us to chase him, he chases the cats. He is obsessed with going out on the patio and running around. He is starting to make good attempts at speech. For a few days he was calling the cats "dat" but last night he distinctly pointed at Gabriel and said "cat." He also seems to attempt to say Gabriel's name, which comes out something like "Ga-ree-el."

He loves animals and fish and we can always calm him by showing him the fish channel on TV. He gets very excited and points and then calls the fish "dog." He is playing by himself so much now. He loves stacking things, and putting things inside other things.

.: posted by Andee 8:44 AM

Thursday, January 09, 2003

Fletcher is always so much fun to watch. He walks most of the time, but is still a little wobbly. If he trips and falls, he just stands right back up. Lately, and I'm sure it's for fun since he can walk, he's been crawling backwards. He seems to get a kick out of this. He is also playing so much more. He sits and focuses on his barn, or he looks through a book on his own. He still brings us what seems like a hundred books a day to read to him. We get tired of repeatedly saying "By the big red barn, in the great green field," but we never begrudge him a book.

He's not using words much but makes a little "gimme" motion with his hand and points with his index finger at things he wants. He waves and claps on command and whenever he sees people waving and clapping. I think he's storing up all the books we read him and everything he hears and one day, he will just speak in sentences. He knows he can get us to do things by pointing and grunting, so that works so far. He understands what we say to him and will retrieve items, and take things to either of us.

Most of the day he smiles and no one can help but be happy when he does.