Hippopotamus

This is Tristram saying his favorite word. If you ask him what his favorite animal is, he will do this to say "hippopotamus." If you ask him, "Is your favorite animal a hippopotamus?" he will say no. He has entered the stage of automatically saying no to yes or no questions. Well, actually, he's kind of passed that stage, because he soon realized that if he said no when we asked if wanted food, and he was in fact hungry, the result would not be entirely satisfactory. Still, it's best to avoid a yes or no question whenever possible. He also has taken to stomping and screaming when he doesn't get his way, though he really only does it when he's tired or hungry, and it doesn't last long.

He does actually give considered answers to some questions. The other day he climbed up into the canvas director's chair that came with the apartment, and swung his leg over one arm to try to go down the side. I asked him, "Tristram, do you think that is advisable?" and he shook his head no. I asked him, "What could you do that would work better?" and he paused for a few moments, then swung his leg back over and climbed off the front.

Yesterday he learned how to throw a tennis ball for a dog. We met a big, shaggy collie/border collie mix in the park, and he threw a ball for Monkey (pronounced like Manquis) at least a dozen times. He didn't throw it very far, but he was getting the hang of it. He loves dogs, but is still a little shy when he's right next to one. He's not quite sure how to interact with them.

It is good that he is learning to play with dogs, because we've decided not to take him to the playground when other people are there. We don't like other people anymore. Wednesday Jonathan took him for a while, and a mom decided for some reason that it was awful for him to hold a stick, so she instructed her daughter to take his stick away and throw it in the trash. What kind of mom makes her child steal a baby's toy and make him scream? Then, that afternoon, he climbed a little too high on a piece of play equipment that was designed for older kids, and got himself into a precarious position (on top of table on a platform next to the top of a slide) that was really terrifying to me and I had to climb up and get him. I got all kinds of nasty looks from French parents--I recall Marianne's comment a few months ago that they are extremely judgmental. But what 15-month-old worth his salt doesn't push thing a little far once in a while? Anyway, he is not allowed to climb on that structure at all anymore, and I don't want to go to the playground when other people are there if they are going to look at me like I'm dirt anytime my toddler demonstrates that he has more strength than wisdom. They give you dirty looks if your kid does anything they don't let theirs do, and after the moms I've seen shrieking in horror because their child stuck one finger into the stream at the park, I get the impression they don't let their kids do much. Plus, most kids his age just seem dumb and pathologically passive compared to him; they don't even walk around on their own, they don't play or talk to other kids, and that's really disappointing for Trist. And older kids are usually really snotty about a baby coming up to them and mock him for being little. Though once in a while someone is nice, on the whole going to the playground has gotten to be really unpleasant when there are other people there.

He is able to do more every day; he helps us put his socks on now. We hear a lot of "I do," and when he is successful a lot of "I did it!" He also gives kisses, and yells "Daddy!" and runs to see him when Jonathan comes home.