Jack's 20 Month Update

I know I say this every month, and will probably continue to say this until he is a grown-up man, but I absolutely CANNOT believe how much Jack is growing up. My little baby is now a little boy and he will be 2 years old in 4 months. As fun as it is to watch him change, grow and learn news things each day, it makes me sad to think of how fast these precious toddler days are going and that I will never get them back. Don't get me wrong, the days can seem never ending and Jack, being one of the busiest toddlers I know, is constantly getting into some sort of trouble and keeping me on my toes. However,  I don't necessarily look at this is a bad thing, rather I embrace it. The way I see it, his extreme curiosity for the world and everything it has to offer will only benefit him in the future and it teaches him cause and effect skills that he can only retain from real life situations. This past month his development skyrocketed. He now comprehends most of what I am telling him, as long as I keep it short and sweet and because of this, I am able to do more structured activities with him, such as simple art projects, fine motor and sensory activities. We are doing the kind of stuff that I imagined and dreamed about doing with him before I became a parent and it's so much fun for me. I realize most mothers think this of their children, but I really do believe that Jack is extremely bright and gifted. When I set out to teach him something new, he catches on fairly quick. He is mechanical, assertive, strong willed, and ambitious, yet sweet, sensitive, kindhearted and thoughtful all at the same time.I think these are all great qualities to possess and I can see great things in his future.

At 20 Months Old Jack Can...

- Name and and distinguish all three of the primary colors and some of the intermediate colors. He shows me this being naming and pointing to the colors in his tent, through stacking and sorting activities, and also when we are coloring together.

- Get all of his shapes into his shape sorter without assistance.

- Can walk up the stairs holding my hand, but has also shown signs that he can do it independently.

- Go poop and pee on the potty, though we are just introducing and familiarizing him to the world of potty training. At times he has been able to tell me when he has to poop, by fanning his hand in front of his nose and saying the word poop. When he is successful at utilizing the potty, we let him dump it into the toilet and flush all on his own, wash hands with "ope," which he loves to do, and reward him with 3 chocolate chips. Sometimes we examine and talk about his poop and pee together. As of late, he brings his baby to use the potty as well. Being that he is only 20 months old we are not pressuring him and if he chooses not to go, we don't force him and simply tell him we will try again later.

- Sequence certain things, such as, getting undressed before getting into the tub at night. He will point out what comes next. The shirt is always first and the socks are always last. There have been times where I have forgotten to take his socks off and he reminds me.

- locate where pieces go on a puzzle and put them in the right way. He is most successful at large knob puzzles, but he has been able to do chunky and small knob puzzles as well.

- Sit through "longer" books and is starting to prefer them over his smaller, more "babyish" books.

- Take and twist lids on and off of things. He especially loves doing this with my make-up and soaps in the bathroom, because of this I purchased a stackable medicine holder at the dollar store as a safer way for him to practice. I encourage this kind of play because it's great for fine motor, dexterity, and wrist rotation, all of which will help him when it comes time to write. 

- spin, roll over, stomp his feet, go on tip toe, kick, throw, and catch a ball. he is also in the beginning stages of jumping, but still is not able to get his feet of the floor. His teachers at the little gym remind parents that this skill usually isn't acquired until age two, but I have a feeling he will get the hang of it before then, since he is so close now.

- Say 20 or more words, though I have quit keeping count. These past few days he has been in full "parrot" mode, so I'm expecting his language skills to continue to progress in the months to come. Some of the more difficult words he can say are careful, tickle, cracker, purple, tricycle, chicken, and tractor. I do have to say that unless you know him really well or pay extra attention it may be difficult to comprehend what he is saying at times. Though I am not concerned about this, as the more he repeats the word, the more clear it becomes.

- Drink from an adult cup and eat with both a fork and spoon, though half of the time still chooses to use his fingers.

- Stack several blocks. He can usually get to six or seven before he decides to knock them over.  I'm sure he could do more if he wanted to.

- Point to most, if not all of his body parts.

- Name and distinguish a few shapes, such as circle and oval.

- Efficiently pour water, rice, beans, and other sensory objects from cup to cup.

Sleep Habits...

- Jack goes to bed at 7pm and usually wakes up for the day at 6am. From 8-16 months of age he was sleeping through the night, however in the past four months he has been experiencing sleep regression and wakes up as many as 3 times a night, but sometimes will only wake up once.  It is basically a toss up at this point and we are taking it night by night. When he does wake up and is unsuccessful at settling himself back to sleep, we will wait 1-2 minutes before rushing into his room and when we do go in there we keep it short and boring by simply telling him it's not time to wake up, give him "gaga" and usually he will flop back down to sleep.

- On a good day Jack will nap from 12:30-2:30, and sometimes even til 3; however, on a bad day he will only sleep for 30 minutes. It all depends on what kind of day he is having and how well he slept the night prior. We have found that the better he sleeps at night, the longer he naps.

Favorite Foods...

- Yogurt
- Frozen Blueberries
- Goldfish Crackers
- Guacamole
- Peas
- Chocolate Chips

Stats...

-  He comes in at a whopping 35 pounds.

- He is tall for his age and has always been in the high 90's. I'm not really sure of his exact height. I will measure tomorrow and update then.

- 2T, boarder line 3T

- Size 7 shoe

Extra Curricular Activities...

Jack goes to "The Little Gym" every Tuesday and Play group at the library on Fridays. He will also start going to the "Child Watch" program at the Y whenever we go to work out. 

Other...

- Jack loves to help us with various household chores, such as doing the dishes, throwing diapers and wrappers into the garbage, vacuuming the floor, feeding and giving treats to the dogs, turning on and off the lights and wiping up spills (that he usually makes).

- Jack is getting very into dramatic play. He has absolutely been loving the play kitchen we got him for Christmas. It's fun to see him stir things in a pot and put things into the microwave and oven. He also loves "talking" on the phone, "fixing" the doors and vents with his tools and feeding his baby and stuffed animals.

We are loving this particular puzzle right now because not only is it good for fine motor, but it has also helped him learn colors and shapes.

Watching a little "Daniel Tiger" while sitting on the pot.

Bathroom Literature

Twisting the cap on and off stackable medicine container from the Dollar Tree. Again, this "toy" serves as double duty, as it's also teaching him colors.