Ok, you may notice that I missed this by over 2 weeks. I'll try and think back. I know I haven't taken any pictures since then, so at least those are legitimate!
Robby still loves to "help", but it's more on his time frame. Picking up toys? No. Not unless there are some stern words. Sweeping the wall? Sure. It's a bit variable, but he does like to do things for himself. At dinner tonight he insisted on wiping up the yogurt he got on the table. That sort of thing is still happening. Oh, and one I LOVE, is at the pool, I can ask him to throw away his swim diaper while I'm getting changed and he does that very nicely, even though the can's a good 20 feet away.
He also loves to explore and see how much he can do on his own. Note the child standing on the couch so that he could look out the window at our neighbor's bike. Sigh. He hasn't fallen from there, but he does it a lot. He has fallen of the seat of the couch fairly recently because he was jumping around like a lunatic, but that didn't cause any injuries.
He certainly understands feeling "proud" of himself. He grins the biggest grin or claps or says "yay" if he figures something out, or thinks he's done something right.
See above. Little man is spending a lot of time pants-less because of potty training. I know this is more recent than 20 months, but we've gotten BOTH kinds in the potty AND he went 3 times at daycare today. Progressing quite nicely. He's still absolutely getting wet diapers, though, too. And still performing his little stunt of getting diaper-less, then peeing on the floor. So, we're working on it.
Robby LOVES snow. Which is difficult, because he says it as "No". And I end up getting frustrated because I don't understand what he's telling me "No" about. When really he just wants to go outside and play. He both loves shoveling and riding down our little hill in our back yard on his sled. Which he refers to as his "boat". His dad may have confused him on that one.
These chair pictures are not going so well anymore. Guess that's ok since he's almost 2 (!) and I think I'll, if not eliminate monthly posts, change their format. HE IS SO BUSY. And yet when I talk to daycare, they continue to say that he is the quietest, most well behaved child. I had approached them asking what they were doing about his bullying. We had multiple play dates where he had hit, stolen toys, pushed, etc... His teacher continues to claim that he does not do it there, and in fact is the one the other kids pick on because he's so quiet. I don't know what to think, quite honestly.
He is far from quiet at home. His language continues to improve, and he definitely says at least 2 word phrases quite often. Most of the time I can get answers to why he's upset or what he wants, which is helpful. I mean, it's not much detail, but I can get "hurt", "drink", "eat", "Harper off", "dirty", etc... You know, the frequent culprits. And then the crazy toddler reasons like "Harper rug" (the dog moved the rug), "OH NO. Box" (there is a piece of recycling on the counter), "AAAApple. Cup. NO." (there was milk in his cup instead of apple juice). You get the idea.
He's not eating particularly well at the moment. We keep thinking that his 2 year molars must be coming in, but I don't see them yet. He does try and hold out for junk food, though. He LOVES chocolate, cereal bars, fruit "flats" (dehydrated?), GUMMIES, cookies, pretzels...pretty much anything we shouldn't be feeding him. Healthier things he likes: "daddy's" yogurt (strawberry Activia), Total, strawberries, bananas, grilled cheese, green beans. Um...that might be it. There's not a lot of variety right now. We try to feed him everything, but it doesn't necessarily go well. I'm a little worried that while I'm gone he's going to entirely subsist on hot dogs and mac n cheese, but we shall see.
We are seeing more of the "terrible twos". It's not so bad, but you do have to account for the time to deal with melt downs. Multiple times per whatever you're doing. I have found success in letting him make more decisions, usually giving him two options that I want equally. Such as, "Do you want to wear the truck shirt or the dog shirt?" or "Do you want an egg or a yogurt for breakfast?" That sort of thing. He's still very cuddly and loving, and is starting to vocalize it a little. He'll now answer the question, "Who do you love?" Usually, it's very sweet. Tonight? It was "God". Followed by "Bus". Followed by "Elmo". Mmm. Ok. You must understand that it's a little unusual that he'd choose "God". We have not been particularly good about exposing him to religion or church. Though I do at least daily read what the cross on his wall says to him. "God hold me in your arms with love." So, pretty sure that's why he always answers that he loves God first.
There's my precocious little man. Love him to bits. Going to miss him terribly. All 27 pounds and 32 1/2" of him. Even if HE now whines "HEAVY" the entire time I'm holding him. Maybe I say it too much. ;) Apologies for the rambling nature of this post, but I had to get it out.
