“I do!”

Apparently Walker is really talking now. He’s not just saying words when he sees something he recognizes. He’s actually having conversations. He was playing… and I could tell he was filling his diaper. It wasn’t just that he stopped and bent over a bit but I also got a whiff. “Who needs a diaper change?” I asked. To my surprise, Walker raised his little hand and said loudly, “I do!”

No kidding.

Larry and I have spent the weekend asking him questions in the hope that he says, “I do!” It’s just too darn cute. He’s also started straddling the chair arm and riding it like a horse and singing “Dum de dum dum. Dum dee dee dumm dumm.” Oh, and he’s putting words together. He waved and said “Bye Bye Da da” when we went off to Sofiya’s on Friday. Good weekend.

Yesterday was a long day. We took a day trip to Santa Rosa and visited the Charles M. Schultz Museum. It was one of those infrequent intersections of Larry / Mimi passions. I’m a big fan of the Peanuts and, of course, Larry is a space geek. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission (I was born right in the middle of it) and the ships were nicknamed “Snoopy” and “Charlie Brown.” The museum has an exhibit celebrating the mission and Snoopy’s support of NASA’s space program and yesterday was opening day. Two of the Apollo 10 astronauts were there to kick it off. Walker and I bumped into Gene Cernan, Apollo 10 astronaut and last man on the moon. Very cool. He’s a well-dressed man.

It’s also cool that one of our friends collects space artifacts and he loaned them to the museum for the exhibit — pieces of the actual NASA Mission Control panels and a page from a flown Flight Manual signed by Buzz Aldrin (with an associated letter showing provenance). Walker had a great time and we took lots and lots of photos of him in his Charlie Brown shirt.

I also had to bring my Snoopy for the festivities. He’s 32 years old and has been through a lot. He even went into surgery with me when I got my tonsils out. The doctors were so impressed he was wearing his surgeon’s scrubs that they let me have him until I couldn’t count backwards any more.

The little man has also decided he knows the best way to show affection. He gives lots and lots of kisses… but everyone does that. He’s decided he’s going to bite my nose. (Did I mention he’s got 18 teeth now? His canines are in now so he’s just missing just his last four molars.) When he’s really feeling punchy after a bath, he opens wide and leans in. He goes in for the bite. Chomp! He locks on to my nose and giggles and giggles. Periodically he decides to mix it up and he dodges to one side. Mouth wide, he gets a vacuum on my cheek and blows making farty noises. He’s such a boy.

He’s also learned a new page in his “Big and Little” book. Not only does he read the pages that say “ooops,” “uh oh” and he hides his eyes on the “I can’t look” pages, but now he very clearly says, “Oh My!” I’ll tell you I was more than shocked when he did it the first time. He’s trying to read the “Splash” and “Tah Da!” pages. He kinda voices the inflection rather than the words. He does this with “thank you” as well. Larry and I are the only ones who can tell that’s what he’s saying but as far as I’m concerned, it counts.

Global warming is a terrible thing but we’re trying to enjoy the by-product — a warm and clear winter making for lots of fun on the beach and incredible sunsets.

Walker thinks he’s a big person. He’s very into shoes. He has me put his shoes on over his jammies on the weekend as soon as he gets up. He often likes to put on my sneakers. But it’s really funny when he tries to put on my boots or even funnier when he goes into his Daddy’s closet and finds all the wonders in there. He especially likes the white patent leather Storm Trooper boots. We thankfully caught a photo of him working hard to walk down the hall. (Note: This picture is a few weeks old. He’s still not asking for his pacifier so we’re hoping all future photos will show his cute little mouth.)