Hug-eee!

Alexander's vocabulary has suddenly exploded. For months he's been using a nice comfortable group of a couple of dozen words, but within the last week he has ventured into new territory. It's like he's sifting through the dictionary when we're not looking.

One of the cutest was the other night when we were about to partake in our bath-time/bed-time ritual. (Usually there's some settling down time, a bath, warm milk, a snack, then stories, then sleepy-time). As I was trying to get him to come upstairs for his bath, he stood in the kitchen saying "Hug-eee! Hug-eee!" Since he likes group hugs (being sandwiches between Fran and myself in a family hug), that's what we thought he was saying. So we gave him a group hug. But he then said "Milk" (okay, it was actually "Milke" - I love the way some of his words come off with an "e" sound on the end of them, as if he's speaking some Chaucerian Olde English language) -- it was then we realized he was saying he was hungry. He now uses that word when it's time for lunch, breakfast, supper, or one of the dozens of snacks he has every day.

And yesterday, of course, when we were heading off to vote and I was telling him about the importance of exercising our democratic rights and our civic duties, he kept saying "Vote!" -- of course, in fitting with political gesturing, it was a foggy night, and so he was also saying "Foggy" -- he was most proud of the way in which that word rolled off his tongue.

I'm continuing to look forward to what new batch of words he's saying when I get home from work tonight. Or tonightee, as Alexander would likely say.