IJG is 22 months old!

(just found out he's gonna be a big brother and NOT happy about it [joking])
5/6/11

IJG can recognize a few letters, especially D and M since he likes us to write Mama and Dada on paper or with the fridge magnets. He has never caught on to learning colors, but suddenly this month started saying “white” and pointing out white things. Then tried to tell me everything was white if I asked the color. Then everything became red. I don’t quite get it but he obviously doesn’t either. He is good with shapes and can identify all the common ones. He says “oval” in a very cute way. He will have long gibberish conversations with himself or others and he also sings to himself now. He likes to say “no” but would never say “yes” even though he knew how. This month I started requiring a “yes” before I gave him things and he started saying it a bit and has just recently in the last week started saying it without my pushing (asking for a yes or no). All the words he says sound like the proper word except for “open.” For some reason he pronounces it “ah doe”…not sure why. I’ve also worked on him saying “help” when he wants help completing a task. Since there is not much hope of him saying his name any time soon we taught him to say “me” when asked who he is. He figured out how to open all the cabinets with child locks so we added a second lock to the bottom of each cabinet, which is working for now.

He loves if we sing to him and between every verse he says “more more.” He likes EIEIO and says that part frequently. He loves Wheels On The Bus, the Welcome Song (____ is here today, _____ is here today, I’m so glad that _____ is here, lets all shout hurray!). He also loves Row Row Row your Boat and they taught him at school to sit across from another kid, hold hands and row back and forth. He calls this “row row.” He is obsessed with babies, calls most children his age and younger a baby and points to himself and says baby also. IJG loves his uncle Mikey who he calls “Mii eee” and just begun asking for him/mentioning him when not around him and not initiated by others. He loves to have dip for his food (and has for several months). He calls it “DD” trying to say dip dip. He loves to hug and kiss everything, especially every dog he meets. He kisses at people and his classmates a lot. He learned the concept of “night night” this month and will say it, drop to the ground anywhere and put his thumb in his mouth. He loves to lay on our bed and get under the covers to demonstrate "night night" also. When I pick him up from school he likes to go around to any of the kids still asleep, pat their backs and say “night night.” He likes fire trucks and calls them "nee naa" because he has a book that says they make that sound. He received a grocery cart as a Hanukkah present and we’ve just now padded it for indoor use and let him have it in his room. Apparently the newness of walking has worn off because he frequently refuses to walk and wants to be carried. He still loves water and to play with water hoses and at spray parks. I caught him breastfeeding his bath duck (pictured above) last night. That was a first for him.

He got his first short haircut this month. Previously I would cut most of it short but leave longer hair in the front, but this time I cut it the same length all over. We also switched him to a new car seat this month. He is now in a seat that sits rear facing for up to 40 pounds and forward facing till 65. He was at the height limit for the infant seat he was in.

IJG shows very little aggression towards other kids now and has been playing and sharing very nicely. He absolutely loves going to school now and loves his teachers and has been gentle with everyone. He says one of his classmates names (Maya).

I’ve been working on potty learning this month. I first introduced the potty around 17 months and he had no interest and I have only tried a few times since. Now he knows exactly what he is supposed to do, but he doesn’t want to do it. I’ve successfully gotten him to pee once in the potty. Otherwise, he holds it until we have to put a diaper on him. He does sometimes pee a bit on the floor, but if I then put him on the potty he won’t pee. He loves sitting on it and saying “pee pee” and pretending to use it but not really using it.

IJG’s sleeping schedule has improved and he isn’t waking during the night at all and typically sleeping from 8 pm-7 am. He does resist napping sometimes (although never at school) but typically sleeps from about 1 pm-2:30/3:00 pm. He is breastfeeding 3 times a day (morning, pre-nap, pre-night). He has begun occasionally talking while sleeping and I have heard him repeat “more” “no” and “open” all while asleep. He had a stuffy nose for a few days this month but only once.