Oh, The Wonderful Things He Can Do...

First an apology... I know the blog has been silent for almost two weeks. My excuses are not that original: I've been up to my eyeballs with work (yes, the madness continues), I've still been trying to cook Dashy all fresh food and keep the household running (laundry, bills, etc.), catch up a little on my sleep (I'm currently running at a huge deficit) and....I've been trying to turn this...




























Into this...




























And then into this...




























...in time for Dashy's first birthday party. We still have a little ways to go, but we have a week and half. I'm hoping that's enough time!

One of my director's once said that I thrive on chaos and I'm beginning to think that there might be some truth in there. Unfortunately I think that I like to keep heaping it on until I can't shout "Uncle" because I'm being crushed under the weight of my projects! Arg! Maybe therapy is the answer.

Anywho, moving onto more interesting subjects...

Dashy has come up with his own verbal language lately. I haven't been able to determine which country I think the dialect is from. At first it sounded Swedish (I tried to get this on video but failed unfortunately. Trust me it was amazing sounding!) And now it's transitioned to something else. Take a listen...


I'm thinking Seussian. What do you think?

Dashy does have a new favorite book, "Go Dogs Go". And the reading of it has become an interactive experience...


He's getting pretty good with sign language too. When we are outside playing he will point out all the planes passing overhead by using his "up" sign everytime he hears one. (Our house is in a flight path in the mornings, so this goes on for quite a while but it is so cute the charm hasn't worn off yet!)

He has also learned to model the sign for "eat". If you ask him if he wants "Yum, Yum" (don't ask; it's a long story) he will model the sign for "eat" if he is hungry. And when Patricia told him that Arlo, our dog, needed to eat his lunch the other day, Dash modeled the "eat" sign for Arlo too.

And just so you don't think that all we do around here is converse, here's Dash breakin' out some of his new moves...


He just loves music and uses almost any excuse (his own singing, a rhythmic tapping he hears in the distance, etc.) to get his groove on!

He is also very into "feats of strength" these days. He is always trying to find the heaviest object he can lift. Lately one of his favorite "toys" is a rubber mallet...



















Well, that's about it for now. I will leave you with this delightful sign-off from Dash...