22 Months

It's time for the long, rambling, bore-you-to-tears monthly update. Feel free to look at the pictures & ignore the words! :)

We're only 2 months away from having a two year old. Unbelievable!

At the same time, we're both starting to think of Alex as two years old already. In the past few months, everything "baby" about Alex has started to fade away. He is all toddler, all boy now! Snuggles are brief. Kisses aren't quite as readily given. He has a mind of his own. He has a sense of humor. His personality is really starting to show. And we LOVE it!

(giggling and quacking with Daddy after his bath)

We miss our baby, don't get me wrong. We just love the little boy that Alex is becoming. He is challenging and frustrating at times, but he's also a JOY to play with, talk with, and observe!

New words are flying out of his mouth every day, and I can't even keep a good list anymore! Alex is putting words together to make "sentences". He answers our questions with "yeah" or "no". He can find a way to communicate just about anything these days...although it's often an amusing process to get it figured out!

"Kecka doh ock key" = I locked Jessica's door, and we had to find a key to get it open.

It took me a few days to get that one right. Alex kept repeating it. I'd take a guess at it, and Alex would always say "noooooooo". Finally, I got it right, and his little face lit up & he said, "Yeah!"

When Alex wants something, he'll ask for it by saying, "Gogo. Gogo. Yeah?!" I'd 'translate' that as "Could I have some yogurt please?" If I tell him no, he'll say, "Gogo. Gogo. No?" It's not just yogurt - it's anything from a toy to reading a story to having a cookie. One day he skipped straight past the yeah part, and he said in a sad voice, "Cooka. Cooka. No?" I'd translate that as, "You're not going to give me a cookie, but I really want one."

All bugs are called "fies".
Alex likes to "frow" balls.

I'm sure there are more new words, but that's all that is coming to mind right now.

He wants to be our little helper. Alex will put things in the recycle bin for me. He'll take disposable diapers to the Diaper Champ. He puts his clothes in his hamper after his bath. He follows commands well, even if I didn't realize he knew the words.

Not surprisingly, he also "helps" in ways we don't expect. Last night, he brought me a mug of Coke that I'd left on the kitchen table after dinner. He carried it (without spilling!) into the living room & handed it to me. Then he said, "Mmmm, Coke. Yeah?" (Nope. Nice try, though!)

(watching a loader across the street)

He still loves tractors, trucks, airplanes, and anything that can "GO!!!!!!" He has memorized each vehicle in his Big Book of Trucks. We can ask him, "Where is the skid steer?" or "Where is the telephone line repair truck?". He'll point right to it.

I'm always pulling out new books that have been stored away with my teaching supplies. Alex has a few new favorite books from that stash. We read these books at least 2 or 3 times every day:

• "Geraldine's Baby Brother"


• "My Name Is Elmo"


• "Corduroy" (a favorite of mine from childhood)


• "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything"

(story time at playgroup)

It just THRILLS me that my little boy loves books! I've read to him since he was tiny, hoping he'd learn to sit still and listen to stories. It's so exciting to see him coming up to me - book in hand, hopeful look on his face - and ask me to read him stories. I may get tired of the same old stories over and over again, but it's soooo worth it! I hope he'll continue to love books as he gets older!

His other great love is Curious George. That's the first thing he wants in the morning. He gets out of bed, calls out "HI-YE! when I open his door, and then makes monkey noises while grabbing the TV remote. We'll snuggle together & watch an episode of George...which only takes about 20 minutes since he insists on skipping the non-cartoon parts. Some days, I'll give in & let him watch a second episode in the afternoon...so we're up to 40 minutes of TV a day, I guess!

It's so funny to watch Alex as he watches George. He will stand still in the middle of the living room & stare at the TV. He doesn't move unless he's flapping his wings like a bird (with George) or making swimming motions when someone/something is in the water. He may smile or laugh, but otherwise Alex is absolutely still. That George has mysterious powers of our rambunctious little boy! ;)

The other day, we did some family shopping. Deb & I were meeting at Costco, and my parents came too. Afterwards, they offered to join me at Meijer and watch the boys while I got groceries. Grandpa took Alex to look at tools. I've heard about it over & over this week - "Papa. Toos. Papa. Toos." He even said that to my dad on the phone yesterday. He wouldn't say hi, but he sure loved reminding Papa about the tools!

We have favorite activities at home - playdoh, puzzles, sound puzzles, latches board, sorting noodles by color, driving/crashing trucks, playing on the big box from our new stroller, covering his face & shirt with stickers, painting with water, reading books, watching ladybugs, riding the firetruck in the garage or driveway, riding the toy train in the house - but it's REALLY hard to keep Alex out of mischief!

(sliding down the box from our new stroller)

I do not believe in entertaining my children every minute of every day. They need to learn to play independently, and I'll often try to get Alex started with a toy so I can work on something else. He's good about it, but there are still moments where he wanders that house as if he's determined to find mischief! How, How, HOW do you experienced mommies keep curious toddlers busy with fun stuff & out of mischief?

Alex loves to play with electronics, gadgets, anything that plugs into the wall. He turns the computer off. He takes the phone off the hook and walks away...or stays on the line long enough to hear the operator's voice. He plays with my pump. (I'll leave it at that...my pump. Or "puhp", as Alex calls it.) He loves to sneak into the master bedroom to play in daddy's nightstand drawer or our bathroom drawers - home to all sorts of cool things like nail clippers, chapstick, shavers, mini shampoo bottles, coins, etc. Now that he can open doors, there's no keeping Alex out!

I try to be on top of things, but the boy still escapes me. And you just never know what he'll get into next! At least he can't climb onto the countertops...YET!

Alex still just adores Max. He won't SAY Max's name, but he adores him. If you ask Alex to say Max, he'll say "baby". He loves to give baby hugs and kisses, loves to hold baby, and it's very obvious that he can't wait until Max is big enough to play with him. While Alex was in the tub last night, I was sitting in the bathroom holding Max. I told Alex, "When Max is a boy boy, he can come in the tub with you." Alex grinned, and he held out his arms for Max. Too cute!

Unfortunately, Alex also loves Max's toys. He still wants to sit in the swing, try out the Bumbo chair, lay under the play gym, etc. I'm so afraid that I'll look away for 10 seconds & find Max smushed under 23 lbs of big brother. It happened once already. (Max survived, in case you wondered...and Alex survived, too, but with a good scolding and a sore tushy!)

Alex still loves food. He can't wait to get in his high chair for mealtime! His new favorite (and mine, too...) is yogurt parfaits. Just like the McDonald's ones, but homemade...yogurt, blueberries, and granola. Alex even licks the bowl clean when he's finished. I'd hazard a guess that Alex's favorite lunch is whole grain chicken nuggets & a yogurt parfait. His favorite breakfast is either "cakes" (pancakes) or "gees" with "chee" (Got that? scrambled eggs with cheese)

I let him have Smarties not too long ago, but that's another thing that will be a rare treat. If he adores fruit leather, raisins, and crackers...why should I give him all the sugary treats? (By the way, THANKS to Aunt Donna & Aunt Deb for finding juice-sweetened fruit roll ups with no processed sugars in BULK at Costco! Much cheaper than regular fruit leather!)

He's doing really well at bedtime...still going through the same routine, and he goes to bed willingly. We might hear him stir during the night, but he rarely cries for us, and he sleeps until 7 or 8 AM. His naps are only an hour long, but we've given up. He goes down for naps willingly, wakes after an hour, and he's rarin' to go. I'm still the mean mom who rarely lets Alex skip a nap...but when he misses a nap, he usually sleeps poorly that evening and takes a few days to get back on track.

I just LOVE praying with Alex. We pray together before bed each night, and he sits so sweetly. When we finish, he says "amy" (amen) and snuggles in my arms. When we pray at mealtimes, we ask Alex to bow his head & close his eyes. He does, but as soon as we have our eyes closed, he pops his head up & sneaks a few bites while we pray. He'll learn in time. For now, we quietly smile at his cuteness. At least he knows how to bow his head.

He's interested in letters and numbers lately. He loves the number 2. He'll say it & hold up one finger on each hand to show that he's 2 years old...even though he's not 2 yet! He loves to watch Wheel of Fortune and call out letters: "D!!!...D!!!...P!!...L!!...Fo!!" (Okay, so "Fo" isn't an alphabet letter, but try telling that to Alex!)

Alex loves church nursery. He loves going to church in general. What a change from a year ago when he screamed at the sight of the nursery! He made his first coloring page in nursery with the Nelsons. He colored Job red. All red. It's lovely. It's hanging on our refrigerator. He also loves the infant nursery, where he plays on Tuesday during Bible study. Ms. Toni has up to 9 kids in the little nursery, and I give her a lot of credit. Alex pretty much just sits in the car-shaped walker and pretends to drive it. Good thing he's a skinny kid!

He still says "No" sometimes, and we're starting to see a few little terrible twos opinions & attitudes creeping in. I'm sure we're in for some challenges in the coming months.

For now, though, we're enjoying our happy, fun, sweet, and (usually) obedient little boy...and we're just LOVING this age!