Anyway, this kid is hilarious. And with his verbal skills comes a penchant for handing out nicknames. Sam, Scotty's ex, is loving referred to by Jackson as "Ham." (We think "Ham" might have moved on from Scotty to one of the twins. We're not sure who she fancies, but according to Deana, while Alex is a looker, she'd have more fun with Jackson. I can already see the headline: "Brothers torn apart by one little blond bombshell of a toddler". Oh, the baby drama.)
Back to the point here - Jackson, ever so creative, also now refers to Scotty as "Scotty-bop-bop," mainly b/c Scotty yells/says/mumbles "bop bop!" about every four seconds. Try driving in a construction zone with this child in the backseat. He straining out of his car seat, jabbing his chubby little finger at all of the trucks lined up along the side of the road while shouting "Bop bop! BOP BOP!" over and over again. And sadly, since we are now the proud owners of about 15 books about trucks, I find myself acutally looking at the bop-bops thinking, "Hmm...cement mixer? Dump truck? Is that a skid steer? Why do I know this now?"
And as we approach 20 months, his little personality is really starting to shine through. He is very serious about some things, but then a total goof ball about others. I also like to think he's a loving, sweet child that would do well with a new pet (ahem, Brian) since he's so good at taking care of his stuffed animals. Ever since I taught him to give his little (fake) pet doggy Tucker a bottle, Scotty insists on feeding all of the other animals, too. We have a whole bunch of wooden fruit to play with, and the other day I found him offering an apple to the horse, a strawberry to the bear, and a lemon to the cat. He even gives some of his sippy cup to his doll ("Dow-eeeeell," as he says.) It feels a little like living on a faux farm ("Gotta feed the animals every day..."), but it makes Scotty happy to feed, groom, and arrange his little friends.
But the other morning, I found him doing something that takes the cake. He must be paying attention to all of our cooking lessons, since as I was making breakfast, he very carefully opened the one cabinet that he has access to. I watched him gently remove the small saucepan and drag it over to the fireplace hearth in the living room. (this is a good 20 feet away). He then returned for the lid. I trailed him into the living room where I saw him slowly lift his little stuffed frog blanket into the pot, pretend to stir it, and then put the lid on it. He was even holding the pot by the handle, just like Momma.
::sigh::
Maybe the kid wants frog legs? French cooking? Or just a table at Joel Robucheon? I don't know. Either way, I'm glad he's watching and learning, since Top Chef will be casting for their new show soon.
Editor's note: "The Adventures of Scotty-Bop-Bop" will be a weekly segment on the blog, so be sure to check it out as the little Bear grows. And of course, a percent of future royalties will be mailed to Jackson B, since he came up with the name.