Growth & Appearance: The inevitable has finally taken place. I convinced your Papa to trim your hair. And by trim I mean you no longer have a mullet. It didn’t happen at all how I expected it to. To be honest, I imagined your first haircut to be in a barber shop geared toward kids where you sat in an elevated car and got a sucker of some sort when you were done. Instead, it happened at the kitchen table, during dinner, in the dark. It was dark because we had not yet finished the electrical part of the kitchen. I asked your Papa if I should grab a flashlight or something. He said no. He cut your hair. And that’s the story of your first haircut. The trimmings are in your baby book. You can thank me later for getting rid of what was destined to be a mullet. 

Feeding: I hate this category. I feel like I’m always whining and complaining about what a terror you are to feed. And I don’t really have anything different to report. You’re difficult to feed. You even chew the food you like slow. You do seem to eat better in your car seat or stroller and quite often, as a last resort, we feed you on the way home from wherever we are. You’re just not interested in food, which is clearly why we seem to have to strap you down to get you to eat anything substantial. You eat to live, you certainly don’t live to eat. You’ve recently tried bacon for the first time and you love it. You are a carbon copy of me when it comes to food. You surprisingly, however, do not like pancakes. Scrambled eggs with cheese are still a favorite, along with grilled cheese sandwiches, bagels with cream cheese, yogurt, fruits (specifically berries), mac n’ cheese, ground beef with cheese, chicken with pesto, and chicken nuggets. I’m back to giving you a puree of fruits and veggies mixed with your yogurt because you’ve been such a picky eater as of late. You’re such a typical toddler. 

Talking: Whereas everything was “wewwow” (aka yellow) last month, this month you have added “boo” (aka blue) into your color palette. “Added” is not really the right word because what you’ve done is basically replace “wewwow” with “boo”. In fact, yellow does not even exist anymore. Everything is “boo” (aka blue). When we ask you what your name is, you reply with, “Me”. You’ve caught on to saying “peace” (aka please) when you want something. It’s hard to turn you down when you’re being so polite. Papa has taught you how to say the number “two”, which you pronounce “tchoo” through very pursed lips. Just as any question that begins with “what color…” ends with the answer “boo”, the answer to any questions beginning with “how many…” is now always “tchoo”. It doesn’t matter if we hold up two or five fingers, the answer is “tchoo”. “Hi-yee” and “By-yee” have to be my favorite words of yours.

Sleeping: You are back to your two naps a day schedule and are sleeping perfectly in your double bed. You sleep about 11 hours at night and total anywhere from 4 to even 6 hours of shut eye during the day. We put you in bed around 9:30 pm and you wake sometime around 8:30am. You go back down for a nap around 11am and sleep until 2 or even 3 in the afternoon. Believe it or not, you’ll go down for another nap around 5pm and sleep for another hour in a half or two. If you’re doing the math, that means you are only awake for 8 to 9 hours, but rest assured, you earn your naps in that time span. Of those 8 to 9 hours, probably 4 of them are spent trying to shove food in your mouth. The other day I heard you playing with your monitor after I put you down for a nap. I went in the room to redirect you to sleep and you very endearingly patted the pillow next to you and said, “mama, mama”, directing me to lay down next to you. How could I refuse? We cuddled for about ten minutes, you, me, and little Van swimming around in my belly. I felt whole and complete and so proud to be the one you call mama. You sure are a sweet little boy.

Development: Your game of peek-a-boo has transformed into hide and seek. You’re destined to be the kid reaching into the cookie jar thinking we don’t see you because your eyes are shut. Nothing brings you more joy than popping out from behind a chair or from behind your blanket and unveiling your “hiding” space.

You’ve become a much better listener and are able to hold my hand in public places. It depends, of course, where we are going. If you’re going to be a bull in a China shop, then I still have to put you in the stroller. I brought you into the post office the other day and you stood by my side and held my hand. I’m hoping this good behavior continues.

You can be quite bossy. The other day you ordered me to open the broom cabinet, then you proceeded to take out the broom, bring it over to me and pull my hand to the hallway where you patted the ground instructing me to sweep the floor. You’re very persistent.

We’ve cracked down on hitting. You don’t do it too often, but every now and again you’ll smack Sarah or pinch her fur. Luckily your dog is incredibly loving and patient, but any other dog would snap back in a second. I’ve also witnessed you hit other children from time to time. Usually it’s in a playful way, but not always. We’ve been diligently scolding you, waiting for the day you have enough brain cells to comprehend the fact you can go around smacking animals or people.

Oh yes, and you are able to undo your car seat latch across your chest. We’ve started the “Click it or ticket” campaign to no avail. Screw Graco for making a product a 20 month old can easily manipulate. 

Favorites: You’re still into your playskool giraffe, keys, cars, trucks… things that move or facilitate movement. You’re also still into Yo Gabba Gabba, but the obsession seems to be lessening (my fingers are crossed tightly). You love putting keys into locks and quarters into piggy banks.  You’re also gaining interest in puzzles. We bought you a mini guitar as well, which you thoroughly enjoy. One step closer to being a rock star.

Upcoming: It’s almost big brother time. Time to show Van the ropes. Also, it BIG news, you made a small tinkle on your potty last night. It was your first real attempt. You managed to muster out a small droplet of piss and we celebrated with a cookie. Papa’s now motivated to try it over and over. In fact, he just sat you back down on the potty and you squeezed a fart out. We’re so proud.