Mimicry

This week Munch will be ten months old; he has now spent more time with us than he spent in the womb, fancy that.  These past few weeks we have been subject to the ever increasing sounds that he adds to his babble and we listen as he starts to string them together.  Munch chatters non-stop; just like his Mum according to his Dad.  *scoffs*

As soon as that first bleary eyed morning feed is out the way Munch and I lie with our heads on the pillow, look at one another and the talking begins.  These first few minutes of our day make me smile no matter how tired my body tells me it feels.  He will adjust his head on said pillow until he is comfy; this in itself makes me want to squeeze him forever and then he tells me about his night.  I ask him questions, he babbles away in the pauses and we carry on talking.  Yes, I know I'm really talking to myself as I have no idea what he is babbling about, but we continue until he starts letting me know that it's time for breakfast.

When Munch is hungry you will find he goes silent, but only until the edge has been taken off.  Then he babbles looking at his food; looking at us and generally talks and talks and talks.  This past week he has been watching our lips more intently and has started to mimic sounds/words.  It started with Grandma clapping her hands and saying, "Yay, yay, yay."  She finished and in the next moment Munch repeated it.  He has never been one to copy anything we do, not even sticking out his tongue in days gone by so it has come as a bit of a surprise.  I can say "Hi" and he will do the same.  Sprout and I have been careful in what we say around him but with this mimicry we need to be even more aware of ourselves.  We don't particularly want his first word to be 'freak' now do we?  We are always calling each other freaks in a loving way of course but even so.

Posing for the camera

 
When we point a camera or our phones in his direction and call his name, he now looks straight into the lens and holds his pose for a few seconds to allow us to take his picture.  Munch is understanding more and more.  The rate at which he demonstrates this understanding is scary indeed! The other night I balanced a toy on Munch's head and asked him not to move so that it wouldn't fall off.  The concentration on his face was impressive.  It was the first time I'd told him not to move yet somehow he seemed to understand.  We did it again, and again he held still.  Now who taught him to do that????  Sprout and I were very confused as to where he got it from and I'll bet it won't be the last thing he'll pick up from someone or somewhere.  We went to a soft play centre recently and there was a little girl shrieking, he watched with interest and when she stopped he started shrieking in response.

So, we are now in this exciting place in his development where we are acutely aware of everything that he comes into contact with, all the more so as he is starting to show an understanding too.  We may walk past each other and give an affection grope of the bottom but I don't want Munch doing that to someone at nursery when he starts there do I?  It's not that we weren't aware previously but with his imitating others things get more complicated don't they?

Did your son/daughter mimic something where you wanted the ground to swallow you up?  Did they come home one day and do something that made you wonder who taught you that?