So, we got home and Ian was fine for a bit. At some point I think it sinks in that he can’t ask anyone for a boat ride, that he’s down to just his parents — and they are watching his behavior very closely. He got in a bit of a funk, and I admit I did as well.

At dinner, he blew a fit. He did not want black beans and rice, which is one of the first “real food” meals that he fell in love with, and subsequently somehow began to dislike. We explained to him that this was the stuff he loved, that this is the stuff he eats by the greedy handful at Taco Bell but that perhaps has a few more spices in it. He was just not happy with anything. I thought for a minute and grabbed his plate. Added a packet of Taco Bell taco sauce from a meal long ago, and mixed it up with the rice. He still wouldn’t try it at first, but you could kind of see reason catching up with him. He suddenly said “I try it… I LIKE it!” (Hard to say for sure, but I think he might have been sort of imitating the little skit that Melissa and I sometimes put on for Ian to make it look like I tried something and like it…) In this case, it actually worked; he tried it and really DID like it. Ate a whole plate and asked for more!

Here’s an audio clip of a bed-time story Melissa read to Ian one of the nights during the Fawn Island trip. Melissa does a nice job of repeating what he says, so you should be able to figure it out… but the short of it is, he’s getting smarter and his communication becomes clearer every day. This book is called No No Yes Yes. Things to listen for:

“Dumpin food on hi’ hed!”
Shortly after he says the above, he says “No, No” and you can hear an emphasis that is different from the others. It is the emphasis of an adult — sounds like his mommy’s.
“Drawing on the wall.”
“Drawing on the paper.”
“No no no, picking onna nose, onna tissue.” (Don’t pick your nose use a tissue) This is particularly awesome, because without any help other than the drawing, he supplies what the child SHOULD do, on his own.
Remember, his Fs come out as Ps sometimes. So “doggy’s pood” is “doggy’s food.”
There’s a large discussion trying to determine if the baby’s mother is in a few drawings.
“Is this his mommy?”
“This is his mommy.”
“Pet the kitty! Luv the kitty!”
“Kitty go to sleep and get a popsicle.”
“Read the bunny book.”

The clip weighs in at 6.1MB, so you might want to shy away from this one if you have a really slow connection. Click here to hear it!