You’re officially 21 months today…or 1 and three quarters as this mama is savoring every bit of babyhood before you hit two!
We kicked off the last month with a trip to Omaha over Labor Day weekend. We spent the night and split our time between the Children’s Museum one day, and the Zoo the other. You had a blast at both, but as parents I think we enjoyed the zoo the most — a bit calmer experience 😉
The “ball room” at the museum was a huge hit — it was constant joy dumping the balls in, watching them shoot out and trying to track where they were all going. The ginormous water table station was a favorite spot as well!
You loved seeing all the animals at the zoo — the bears and tigers were favorites, and it was a really cool moment to take in the elephants. It was tricky to get many photos, but the aquarium was an adventure all in itself — watching sharks and fish swim all around us as we walked through was beyond cool and you were entranced. It’s always an adventure to travel and do things out of your “norm”, but I’m so glad we made this trip and all these memories.
You’ve been putting together all kinds of short sentences now for a few weeks. “Dada go bye bye big truck?” “Digger all done dig hole” “Milk all gone, more?” You also are VERY into the succession of phrases, “Help mama/dada…over there…hand?” going for whoever will stop to pay attention first, and dragging us by the hand to what you want to do (often go outside or play with the DVD player). You’re also referring to yourself by name now…it was kind of a trip the first couple times we heard you say your own name!
You continue to love school and even the couple of mom drop-offs (as opposed to Dad, who normally does) have gone great. You LOVE your teachers and greet them with big hugs, and instantly scan the room for your favorite buddies. Knox is far and away your favorite friend! Starting this month, I’ve opted to bump up my work schedule a little to three days every week, as opposed to alternating two and three. It provides way more consistency for everyone and I have no doubt you’ll love getting to see all your friends Monday through Wednesday each week! (Below was “all about me” week wearing your favorite (or Dad’s favorite?) Masters hat, and then “pets” week where you were feeding the puppies treats…you LOVE dogs!)
The love affair with work vehicles continues — we saw a digger up the street on a home construction site ONE day and for weeks after you must’ve asked about going to see it ten times a day. I can’t believe the specific vehicles you can name (accurately!) — steam roller, combine, digger, bulldozer, cement truck, garbage truck…the list goes on and on. Mom is going to have to study to keep up!
I settled on a Halloween costume idea for you a couple weeks ago, but it hinges heavily on your love for your pacifier. Of course now that I’ve started to gather things to put it together, you’re all anti-paci. I shouldn’t fight this but the costume idea is so damn cute! I may need a plan B and we’ll see what you end up going as, come end of October. 🙂
You don’t like your hands to be sticky, wet, or dirty — at least once mid-meal now you ask me to wipe them off and say either “all wet!” or “mess! hand!”. Glazed donuts are oh-so-good but you’ve developed a love-hate relationship for this reason!
You continue to LOVE swimming lessons and your teacher, Chase. Because of the time, Dad has been able to meet us for a couple of them, so we’ve all gotten to take part and observe. You are still fearless in the water — all the more reason to keep you in lessons!
Hands down, your current favorite activity is brushing your teeth. We’ve accumulated a whole assortment of toothpastes and brushes — I have to hide it all every day or you wouldn’t have any gums left and when I do take the brush/paste away, it’s one of the few things you throw an all out tantrum for. I suppose it’s better than NOT wanting to brush?
You’re trying so hard to blow bubbles…but hold the wand at arms’ length, then wonder why nothing happens. 😉 We’re working on it!
You want to “help” with everything we’re doing and mimic so much of what Dad does. The other day he climbed on a ladder to change a light bulb and you were on that ladder so fast once he was done, reaching up high like you were going to change the bulb as well. Whatever he’s up to, working on, playing with…you want to do the same. When Dad had a friend over to watch the Ryder Cup, you were mimicking all their cheers and watching the TV as intensely as they were!
Under the weather buddy today. #selfdiagnosing #crewyeartwo A photo posted by Liz Smith (@lizblogphotog) on
In not-so-exciting news, we kicked another round of Hand Foot Mouth this month. I can’t decide if it was better, worse, or equally as awful as when you had it about this time last year as a nine-month-old. The sores were more in your mouth and diaper area this time around, making for a very miserable few days where you would cry for food and drink, but then cry when either hit your poor blistered mouth. Seriously, where is the vaccine for this? I’d take chicken pox ALL DAY LONG over HFM.
Friday morning routine with my mini man. #crewyeartwo #tothelibrary
A photo posted by Liz Smith (@lizblogphotog) on
We headed out for your first apple orchard experience — I was hoping for a little more tractor action, but you were plenty entertained with picking and carrying around the apples.
Life is crazy and busy but oh-so-fun with you right now. It’s so awesome to see what each new month holds for you — and us! Love you lots, little man!
XOXO
Mom
20 months…
We’re winding down your second summer as you roll into the 20s — 20 months old! Moment of truth — I’m already giving some thought to your second birthday bash! We didn’t do much last year, but I did quickly learn that everything closes (bakeries, Etsy shops, etc) over the holidays, leaving me in a bit of a lurch for a January 5 fiesta, so I’m trying to think ahead a little this year.
Until then, we’re relishing where you are, right now: More running than walking, in a major mom-cling mode the past couple weeks, and growing like a weed — in particular your hair and feet ha — nearly every month, we are getting your hair cut and purchasing the next size up in shoes! You’re still a good napper but are starting to understand how bedtime works and fight it a bit more!
Your obsession with all trucks continues, but you’ve developed a bit of a fear of them up close in real life. You are locked on them the whole time, but scramble to be held if they get too close. Other faves continue to be Elmo (who was wearing his raincoat in an episode one day, so you, too, had to get yours out – below), you love to get the mail — it’s a whole thing to cross the street and use the key to open the box, shut the box, etc.), and you’ve become a pretty big fan of play-doh.
You’ve made big strides in shapes and colors. You can’t name them all, but if we ask you to find a shape in your puzzle, you can locate it. You can correctly name yellow, blue, and purple most of the time, otherwise when you don’t know, you default to everything being “blue”. 🙂
You love to pour and sort stuff — muffin tins, mixing bowls, cups, ladles, and anything you can dump between it all (rice, dry pasta, pom poms, anything) is a bit hit that will keep you occupied for tens of minutes at a time. (Woot!) We’ve also made up a game at home with flashcards that have letters and illustrations on them. We spread them all over the floor and ask you to find an object — just another way I see your vocab growing! You’re continuing to add to your arsenal of animal noises — the horse neighing and the cat meowing (hilarious — you must only encounter loud, mean cats!) are a couple of your newest skills.
Your response to anything we say or ask right now is an upbeat “yeah!”. You must say it fifty times a day. You’re in a pickier phase again with eating — you no longer eat cheese (how are you my child?!) or the veggie nuggets I was relying on for getting you your broccoli. If you had it your way, it would be hot dogs, yogurt, and applesauce for every meal. You’ve discovered sugar is pretty damn good — vanilla soft serve, mini M&Ms, and chocolate chip cookies are never turned down!
The Olympics were a big hit with you! You particularly liked watching the swimmers and the gymnasts. Both would prompt you to sprint and try to somersault, or to lay on the carpet and pretend to swim. There was lots of kicking and scooping and bubble blowing in the bath, too! You started a round of swim lessons again this month and we’re planning to put you in a tot gymnastics class this winter to burn off some energy!
We took you to your first Iowa State Fair this month. You loved the cherry lemonade and seeing the animals! You ended up going back with me the next day for a client’s photo session, and we made a stop at the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit — you didn’t totally get it, but loved collecting things in your bucket, and riding the toy tractors, as you went through the course!
We wrapped up the month with an overnight trip to Omaha, but I’ll save those pics for the next month’s post. I can’t believe we are in the “20s” and on the home stretch to two. So looking forward to a new season and all of the fall activities you can participate in more this year!
19 months…
Nineteen months. So much happens in thirty days and while you’re always the same crazy soul, you grow and change so much that in some ways you’re a totally different kid from one month to the next.
A video posted by Liz Smith (@lizblogphotog) on Aug 5, 2016 at 10:47am PDT
Suddenly it’s all about basketball (between a Sesame Street episode where Elmo plays it, and watching the neighbor kids play, you’re a bit obsessed, so much so that we bought you a hoop!).
You continue to LOVE. TO. READ. You’ll look at books on your own but much prefer to sit in our laps and be read to. You frequently get to the end and ask to read it “again” — often more than once.
You want ALL. THE. PEANUT BUTTER. On crackers, on waffles, in granola bars. You’ll take it all — sometimes just straight up with a spoon. You’d eat hot dogs for every meal if we let you, and you continue to love the pouches of fruit/veggie blends. Still won’t touch noodles (except a couple magical times at school) but you will down quinoa.
You’ve developed a love for Elmo. You still tune into a couple of the more sophisticated Baby Einstein videos, but for the most part it’s all about Sesame Street now — but only the Elmo-heavy episodes. We keep the same faves on DVR on repeat. You love the music, the kids, the puppets, and when a funny antic happens, you laugh and point and look at us until we acknowledge with you just how hil.ar.i.ous. that Sesame gang is.
You’re putting together lots of two-word phrases. “Oh man”, “big truck”, (big anything really), and “bye (whomever)” are the most frequently used.
I’ve noticed more frustration and less patience this month when it comes to toys and other objects — you want things to fit a certain way, bear more weight than they should, function more quickly, etc. You’re getting much better about saying “help” rather than getting so frustrated!
It’s scary how proficient you’re becoming on phones and the ipad (both of which you can ask for by name) — you know how to tap the app you want and navigate through it. You love to FaceTime and watch videos of yourself and your buddy, Tatum. In general, you’re becoming more interested in friends and playing somewhat together as opposed to side by side.
Hitting seems to have subsided as quickly as it started (thank goodness). You are a big hugger – sometimes more than your buddies would like to partake in ha!
We continue to be so happy with the switch to your new school and you clearly love your time there. It’s great to receive photos of what you’re up to all day! I notice little things at home that are definitely rooted in school routines — for one, you actively start cleaning up if you notice me picking up (without me even asking), and you are much more interested in all of us sitting down together to eat — so in recent weeks we’ve been giving a booster seat at the table a go (“big sit!” as you call it).
You are very good at playing on your own for several minutes at a time, although just in the past few days, you’ve started to hold out your hand, or to come grab ours, to pull us to where you want us to play with you. Similarly, you no longer want to go up or down stairs on all fours, you want to walk, which means if we’re nearby, you’ll reach up for our hand to hold. I have noticed if I’m NOT right there, you are getting pretty smooth at holding onto the rails and stepping down yourself!
You clocked in at 23 pounds exactly and just shy of 32″ tall at your 18-month checkup. You gained only a couple ounces in weight, but nearly two inches in height since your last visit three months ago! You’re wearing 18 mo/18-24 in most tops and 12-18/18 mo in most bottoms. You went from wearing size 4 shoes in May to a quick pair of 5s in June, and are now into 6s already. It’s the little things that make me realize you’re getting bigger, but after checkups only two and three months apart since birth, we now don’t go back until you turn TWO!
You’re really interested in babies. You want to hug them and point out where their eyes/mouth/nose are…none of which you do gently, so we have to run interference when we’re around any. It’s a different story when Mom gets to hold any of them…you quickly swoop in for a spot in my lap the second they’ve been handed back. You love to watch repeatedly an episode of Sesame Street that is all about babies and study how the older kids interact with them. If we ask you “how do you play with a baby, Crew?” you do the gestures and say “peek-a-boo!”. No, that’s not an allusion to a future sibling!
We surprised Dad with your newest trick — to “show us your muscles”. You do a half-“Grr” and hold up your little arms. I die. You’re starting to want to help in the kitchen more — sometimes I let you help stir something for real, or dump in an ingredient, but mostly for my own sanity, I just set you up with your own bowls and pans and utensils and let you pretend. You LOVE the toaster and mimicking the “pop” of whatever is inside. We got you a toy version that has been a big hit. You’re starting to get the idea of pretend — we play that we are eating pretend fruits and veggies, and you pretend to drive a car around the house.
Your dad went on a guys trip this month for several days and you missed him– you wouldn’t really mention him and you were in good spirits the nine days he was gone….but then it would come out of nowhere. Twice when you got upset about something unrelated, you started crying hard for him and again once after we hung up the phone talking to him asking for “more dada” 🙁 Break my heart! For a couple nights after he got back, you’d wake in the night and we could hear you asking on the monitor for him by name. We’re both glad he’s home!
You are suddenly super interested in the potty from a functional standpoint. Let’s just say I’ve had a very attentive audience when I need to use it, and you occasionally want to sit on it. Nothing happens and I’m certainly not pushing potty training yet, but I also want to encourage any interest, so we’ve added a seat in your bathroom to try here and there. It feels so big kid!
Comments (1)
Love every one of these pictures. We can’t wait to hear all of those new words and sentences.
Hugs,
Mimi