buggee!

Gotta love the baby talk! The past few days have been filled with constant chatter and babbling-- mostly variations on the word "bug-gee" (with the emphasis on the second syllable). Sometimes it sounds like the Cadbury Bunny (Bug-gaw), sometimes it sounds like "Boogie". There isn't a specific person, place or thing that elicits one or the other, it just seems to be his favorite thing to say.
He has been practicing walking on his own (self-initiated) for the past 2 days... standing up from a sitting position, finding his balance (often with a piece of clothing or a toy snagged from the diaper bag or his bottom drawer), and toddling for 3 or 4 steps. Fall down. Repeat. Over and over and over...
It's amazing that he never gets frustrated with the process of falling down and getting back up. It's just sheer determination and the joy of experimentation I guess. He's had some close calls with banging his head, but so far no bruises.
Yesterday we spent a long time sitting outside on the front steps, playing in the dirt and watching the cars, trucks, and busses "vrooooom" by... another obsession (the vrooming sound). He gets so excited every time one passes, and his focus is so intense.
Last night while dave was stir-frying some chicken at the stove, Christian pointed to him from his high chair. I told him Daddy was cooking... and a moment later he tried to say it: "cuk-ka". It was so adorable, and we thought it was just a simple mimicking moment... until this morning when i was loading the dishwasher as he sat eating his breakfast. He pointed at me and said "cuk-ka" -- and I realized what he was declaring. I guess the sounds were already in his brain from saying "cracker" (basically the same pronunciation), but the fact that he recalled on his own through observation totally astounded me.
Some other cute recognitions: this morning I was singing "Maresy-Dotes and Doesy-Dotes" to him while changing his diaper to try to get him to hold still. As I sang, I wondered if I should be singing something with more "real" words in it... but all of a sudden he grabbed his ears (which he's been learning the word for), and I had to stop and realize that I'd just sung ..."if the words seem strange, and funny to your ears..." I'd sung it so fast, I didn't even know I'd said anything worthy of comprehending... but apparently my little budding genius did!
One of the things he's not allowed to touch is the bathroom trashcan. I have told him a few times that it's a "no touch", and it's "dirty", but not too often since he's not often tempted by it. This morning I was in the bathroom and he crawled in, pulled himself up using my pant leg, pointed to the trashcan, looked at me, and said, "HOT!" I find this not only hilarious, but completely fascinating-- seeing as he doesn't even know what "hot" is, he just knows it's the reason he can't touch the fireplace. . .
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!