Interpreter at your disposal

If I ever lose my ability to speak English, I know I am in good hands with Sasha, because he will just translate it for me.

For the past month - month and a half, Sasha has been extending his greetings not to just people who visit us, but to anyone within a couple of feet from him. People on the elevator, in the grocery store, on the bus, etc. If he is really in the mood for it, he will even waive and greet people across the street, as I am pushing him in the stroller. Now, he is also willing to greet others on my cue. If I ask him in Russian: "Скажи им привет-привет!" ("Say hi-hi to them!"), he smiles, waves and says: "Hi!" Please note that my request was in Russian and he translates it into English.

He does it with some other words, too. If he hears me using the word мультики (cartoons), he gets really excited and keeps repeating: "Cah-too! Cah-too!", full of anticipation.

I decided to use this new trait for some fun and taught him that his Hawaiian t-shirt with the silhouette of the islands, as well as the abbreviation used for 50th state, says привет! And he happily started repeating hi, which is exactly what it says on the shirt. So, now if I ask him: "Что у тебя на рубашке написано?" ("What does your shirt say?"), he responds: "Hi!" right away. In other words, he can read! Just kidding...