Snapshot of Walter, 21 months

Tonight's bedtime exchange involving a dustpan was so representative of what Walter is like at 21 months ... it must be recorded, verbatim-style.

SEAN:  Aggggghhh, so much sand in your clothes.  I've got to get a dustpan.
WALTER: (Following Sean, wearing just a diaper, crying a little and rubbing his eyes.)
SEAN: You OK, buddy?  Do you want to watch me use this dustpan?
WALTER: JA!! (totally over-the-top delighted.) (pause.) MY dustpan. (getting petulant, threatening to meltdown.)
(Sean cleans up the sand on the changing table, showing Walter all the steps and including him in the process. Walter periodically interjects:)
WALTER: MY dustpan.  My dustPAN. My DUSTpan!!!
SEAN: Would you like to use the dustpan?
WALTER: JA!!! (totally delighted again.) (begins to sweep his bed with the very sandy brush.)
SEAN: Not the bed, please. How about the floor?
WALTER: How 'bout floor? (Sits down on the floor, happily sweeps for awhile.) Garbage! (Gets up and takes the pan and brush out to the kitchen, opens the garbage can and empties the pan into the garbage.
SEAN: Now let's put it away in the closet.
WALTER: Put it away! (On encountering Hank lying down in his path to the closet. Very politely:) 'Scuz me, Hankee.

That's the snapshot!  Walter is always just right on the edge of a meltdown at any moment, and it doesn't take much to push him over that edge.  But he's also capable of a great deal of spontaneous wonderfulness, too. And he's very polite to his dog.