The past few months have just been a frenzy of
development where I feel like he really crossed the wake from baby to boy. But
now that we are here I think he’s leveling off a little bit.
Favorite Book: Honestly, I don’t
think I could narrow it down to just one. Books are absolutely his favorite
thing in the world (be still my heart) but he’s not the kind who wants to read
one book over and over, but rather he wants to read every single book that he
owns in succession. He does start out every morning asking for 'Moon Book' so I guess I'd give the official award to Goodnight Moon.
 |
| He is an equal opportunity book lover and will even read chick lit about princesses. |
Favorite Food: Yogurt for sure. Boy loves smoothies
too, probably because I put yogurt in them...
Words: Forest is still picking up about 1-2 new words per day, some days as many as 6. He is
saying several phrases and up to 4 words together. He sings snippets of his
favorite songs like E-I-E-I-O, all through the town, and A-B-C-D.
I’m trying to keep track of new words he says but it’s getting really hard. Partly because he acquires so many new words all the time and partly because he is a parrot. He will repeat everything we say but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has a good understanding of a word. I try to wait until he uses a word spontaneously before I mark it down on the list.
In the past month I have counted about 60 new words, which brings his total up to about 170ish. Some new words are: Table, Baby, Potty, Yogurt, Park, Samson (soooo cute!), Oops, Don’t, Boat, Train, Bread, Away (as in ‘put it away’), basket, pancake, Frog, Head, Pig, Spoon, Zoom, Bike, Turtle. Turtle is probably the cutest because he enunciates it so slowly and clearly.
Ah I love toddler-speak! So stinkin cute.
His favorite phrase is 'Oh no!' but he has also started saying 'right back', 'put it away', 'thank you', 'eat it' and a few others. The main difference is he is actively trying to communicate and we understand about 70% of his speech, whereas before he seemed to have a secret language with the occasional recognizable word.
He will clearly ask for milk when he is thirsty or for trains when he wants his track out, or Sesame Street all day long. While this is exciting it definitely makes things more complicated! He has asked for pancakes and sausage every morning this week! At first it was so cute that I couldn't refuse but now I'm wishing he would learn the phrase 'instant oatmeal' because that sure does make breakfast easier to prepare.
New skills: Nothing really, but I feel like he is super close to riding his tricycle. He puts his feet on the pedals and pushes but can’t quite muster the strength to bring the pedals all the way around. Also, he will tidy up his toys without prompting so woohoo for that!
We are also working on the alphabet and letter identification but just having fun with it at this point. Most of the time he knows A is for Apple, E is for Elephant and Z is for Zoooooom, but the only letter he can identify most of the time is A and occasionally S.
If you have a pre-reader working on the alphabet I recommend the book Alphablock. Really cool, simple, manipulative book with great illustrations.
We are trying to teach him to take his pants off as a pre-potty-training skill but are having no luck so far. He's a pro at taking his shirt off though, which is why he's constantly topless.
Other Observations:
He is bossy! If it’s time for a walk he will herd us all out of the door saying ‘go! Go! Walk!’ And if Samson doesn’t come to the door he will find him and say ‘Samson! Go!’ and Samson will scoot his little booty out the door. Also if anyone is breaking a rule he will yell ‘HEY!’ (which is generally our first line of defense when he’s doing something naughty).
He LOVES animals. Anytime we come across a furry little animal in a book he will stop and give it a kiss. He also brings his stuffed animals over for me to smooch as well, and he always has a stuffed animal nearby.
When he's reluctant to go down for a nap, I will ask 'Do you want to take a nap with lambie and rabbit?' and he will then race to his room for naptime. So adorable.
He is a textbook introvert but still very social. At the park, if someone new walks up he will say ‘HI!’
and he says hi and bye to anyone walking laps around the park. Same story at
the grocery store. Anyone we pass gets a hi and a bye from Forest. He has also started
saying ‘Thank you!’ when we check out at a store- I guess because I say this.
Unfortunately
the embarrassment over what my toddler says in public has already started! At
the grocery store last week a man belched (which- gross!) but Forest said
‘whoa! Excuse you!’ which is what we say to him when he burps or toots. Hahaha.
He will call you out!
I re-enrolled him in a short Music Together session over the summer since he seems to be really into music these days. The class is small with only 3 kids who are all around 20 months. And one of the other kids is even a good buddy of his that we hang out with all the time.
I figured this would be a good environment for Forest to get a lot out of it, but nope. He just sits by the window or in my lap and watches the entire class.
The only
time he participates is when the drums come out or when it’s time to put the
instruments away. Otherwise he is a bump on a log. It’s just so funny because
at home he is a silly rambunctious boy (who loves music!) but in music he is totally wigged out
and in his shell.
It's so bizarre because he really does love music. He enjoys playing with his musical instruments at home and gets fussy in his stroller unless I put on some tunes to listen to while we walk. Anytime a song ends he will say 'yay! and clap his hands. He also treats me like a jukebox and will request that I sing certain songs like Old Macdonald or the ABCs. And the only way to get him to sit still for a diaper change is to sing to him.
Schedule: Same story here. He’s in a routine/schedule but his sleeping times are still inconsistent. He wakes anywhere from 6:15-7:15 AM. He has breakfast around 7:30 and then we read, get dressed, and usually do an outing. This summer he has music on Monday mornings, play dates on Tuesday/Wednesday mornings and Swimming on Thursday mornings. He eats a lite lunch at 11ish and naps around 12:30. His naps average about 1.5 hours, but sometimes are only 45 minutes and sometimes are 3 hours. It’s really a grab bag and totally random!
After his nap, he has a second lunch
around 2:30. The afternoons are when we run errands or go to the gym. He
usually gets TV time at 5 while I prepare dinner, which we eat at 5:30. After
dinner we walk to the park, he has a bath at 6:40 and is in bed by 7/7:15.
My struggles: My number one struggle is Forest’s running away. Anytime we go to the park he will try to escape and run off.
This has been going on for months
despite our strict enforcement of: ‘stay in the park or we go home’ rule. It’s
tough because a lot of times my mommy friends want to meet at the park vs
hosting at their house or everyone paying for an indoor playground. It makes
sense. Only their toddlers seem content to actually play on the playground
whereas mine wants to roam.
We’ve tested the theory that he just wants us to chase him and if we don’t oblige than he will come back on his own. False. We’ve tested the theory that if we hide from view he will get freaked out and come searching for us. False. We’ve tested the theory that if we are clear with our instructions to stay in the park and consistent with the consequences that he will have to leave if he disobeys than he will start staying within the set boundaries. Ridiculously false!
So for now we are sticking with confined spaces and only taking him to the park when we can give him our undivided attention. It’s frustrating and embarrassing but we are trudging on with being consistent and hoping that this is a phase he will eventually grow out of. Any wisdom?
Other than that, I feel like things are getting easier. Forest is really independent and easily entertains himself for longer and longer blocks of time. I am happy to facilitate story time or art projects but independent play is also a hugely important skill that I want to foster. Luckily, I have an introvert so he willingly obliges with self-enforced quiet and alone time.
It’s just an incredible
feeling to get to sit down and have a cup of tea or flip through a book while
he plays independently. Some days he’s certainly clingier than others but the
current trend is that he doesn’t mind doing his own thing.
Alright, that’s about the jist of it these days. I hope y’all all have a fabulous 4th of July weekend! We are heading to Tahoe with friends and can’t wait for some lake time and Forest’s first time on a boat! I wonder what our water baby will think of that?? Stay tuned.
I’m trying to keep track of new words he says but it’s getting really hard. Partly because he acquires so many new words all the time and partly because he is a parrot. He will repeat everything we say but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has a good understanding of a word. I try to wait until he uses a word spontaneously before I mark it down on the list.
In the past month I have counted about 60 new words, which brings his total up to about 170ish. Some new words are: Table, Baby, Potty, Yogurt, Park, Samson (soooo cute!), Oops, Don’t, Boat, Train, Bread, Away (as in ‘put it away’), basket, pancake, Frog, Head, Pig, Spoon, Zoom, Bike, Turtle. Turtle is probably the cutest because he enunciates it so slowly and clearly.
His favorite phrase is 'Oh no!' but he has also started saying 'right back', 'put it away', 'thank you', 'eat it' and a few others. The main difference is he is actively trying to communicate and we understand about 70% of his speech, whereas before he seemed to have a secret language with the occasional recognizable word.
He will clearly ask for milk when he is thirsty or for trains when he wants his track out, or Sesame Street all day long. While this is exciting it definitely makes things more complicated! He has asked for pancakes and sausage every morning this week! At first it was so cute that I couldn't refuse but now I'm wishing he would learn the phrase 'instant oatmeal' because that sure does make breakfast easier to prepare.
New skills: Nothing really, but I feel like he is super close to riding his tricycle. He puts his feet on the pedals and pushes but can’t quite muster the strength to bring the pedals all the way around. Also, he will tidy up his toys without prompting so woohoo for that!
We are also working on the alphabet and letter identification but just having fun with it at this point. Most of the time he knows A is for Apple, E is for Elephant and Z is for Zoooooom, but the only letter he can identify most of the time is A and occasionally S.
We are trying to teach him to take his pants off as a pre-potty-training skill but are having no luck so far. He's a pro at taking his shirt off though, which is why he's constantly topless.
He is bossy! If it’s time for a walk he will herd us all out of the door saying ‘go! Go! Walk!’ And if Samson doesn’t come to the door he will find him and say ‘Samson! Go!’ and Samson will scoot his little booty out the door. Also if anyone is breaking a rule he will yell ‘HEY!’ (which is generally our first line of defense when he’s doing something naughty).
He LOVES animals. Anytime we come across a furry little animal in a book he will stop and give it a kiss. He also brings his stuffed animals over for me to smooch as well, and he always has a stuffed animal nearby.
I re-enrolled him in a short Music Together session over the summer since he seems to be really into music these days. The class is small with only 3 kids who are all around 20 months. And one of the other kids is even a good buddy of his that we hang out with all the time.
I figured this would be a good environment for Forest to get a lot out of it, but nope. He just sits by the window or in my lap and watches the entire class.
It's so bizarre because he really does love music. He enjoys playing with his musical instruments at home and gets fussy in his stroller unless I put on some tunes to listen to while we walk. Anytime a song ends he will say 'yay! and clap his hands. He also treats me like a jukebox and will request that I sing certain songs like Old Macdonald or the ABCs. And the only way to get him to sit still for a diaper change is to sing to him.
Schedule: Same story here. He’s in a routine/schedule but his sleeping times are still inconsistent. He wakes anywhere from 6:15-7:15 AM. He has breakfast around 7:30 and then we read, get dressed, and usually do an outing. This summer he has music on Monday mornings, play dates on Tuesday/Wednesday mornings and Swimming on Thursday mornings. He eats a lite lunch at 11ish and naps around 12:30. His naps average about 1.5 hours, but sometimes are only 45 minutes and sometimes are 3 hours. It’s really a grab bag and totally random!
My struggles: My number one struggle is Forest’s running away. Anytime we go to the park he will try to escape and run off.
 |
| Can you spot him? |
We’ve tested the theory that he just wants us to chase him and if we don’t oblige than he will come back on his own. False. We’ve tested the theory that if we hide from view he will get freaked out and come searching for us. False. We’ve tested the theory that if we are clear with our instructions to stay in the park and consistent with the consequences that he will have to leave if he disobeys than he will start staying within the set boundaries. Ridiculously false!
So for now we are sticking with confined spaces and only taking him to the park when we can give him our undivided attention. It’s frustrating and embarrassing but we are trudging on with being consistent and hoping that this is a phase he will eventually grow out of. Any wisdom?
Other than that, I feel like things are getting easier. Forest is really independent and easily entertains himself for longer and longer blocks of time. I am happy to facilitate story time or art projects but independent play is also a hugely important skill that I want to foster. Luckily, I have an introvert so he willingly obliges with self-enforced quiet and alone time.
Alright, that’s about the jist of it these days. I hope y’all all have a fabulous 4th of July weekend! We are heading to Tahoe with friends and can’t wait for some lake time and Forest’s first time on a boat! I wonder what our water baby will think of that?? Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment