Sweet Boy

It's been almost five months since my last post, mostly because mom life has been keeping me busy! Or, rather, mom life during a pandemic has been keeping me especially busy (see my pandemic blog for details). My work has closed and reopened, so I've been balancing remote days with in-person schedules. My husband and I are now vaccinated, and so are our parents and most of our siblings, which means just a little more freedom and activity out in the world (I had a Starbucks date with my son! We invited two vaccinated friends over for pizza!). And Baby has been growing and learning more and more each day. At 21 months, most people would probably call him a toddler, and he certainly toddles and walks and runs enough for me to see that I can't really call him "Baby" for much longer. He also has yet to reach those "terrible two" tantrums I've heard so much about. I know he will soon be wanting more independence and having more and more big feelings. But for now, I'm just enjoying the gift that is my sweet boy.

Because, while I've written in the past about ages that have been fun, my son continues to be more fun than trouble. Sure, we have to watch him like a hawk so he doesn't climb dangerous steps or grab dangerous objects. But he doesn't get upset when we redirect him. And while he's still not talking, he's able to communicate so well that he rarely gets frustrated about not being understood.

I have noticed a few small tantrums in the past few days, but it's usually a sudden crying and going "boneless" on the floor because he didn't get to do something he wanted to. This is usually limited to: 1) Playing with Mom's phone (though sometimes he's perfectly fine giving it up). 2) Playing with his remote controlled car (that one we did have to box up again until he's old enough to stop playing without crying). 3) Coming in from playing outside (with the promise of snacks we can usually get him to finally stop playing). 4) When he wanted to see a car (are you sensing a theme?), 5) When he wants to cling to Mommy. Most of these rare mini tantrums seem to coincide with being especially tired or grumpy because he needs to poop or hasn't seen Mommy for hours during work.

When he doesn't want to eat something we feed him he just spits it out. When he doesn't want to brush his teeth, he just moves away from the toothbrush. But he doesn't really fuss unless he's getting dressed or diapered and he doesn't really tantrum except occasionally in the situations listed above. He has very strong interests (cars, balls, walking outside, dancing, skin moles, outlets, letters and numbers), but he's very much a "go with the flow" kind of baby. And even as he enters his cautious, "stranger danger" months, he will usually warm up to new people after spending a little time with them.

Maybe I feel like he's an especially sweet baby because he doesn't talk back yet. The one thing that hasn't happened much yet is regular talking. And while speech therapy may have to be an option if he's not talking by two, we are actively working on learning words through music, practice, and gestures. In the process, Baby has gotten very good at sign language! He can sign "more," "all done," and "thank you." He uses his hands to ask for things and to play songs such as "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Baby Shark." or the quacking in "Five Little Ducks." He holds up his fingers and counts them individually. He knows at least 20 gestures from waving hello and goodbye to clapping at the end of songs to blowing kisses. He can even do "duck lips" on command. And he uses his pointing power to not only point out the things he recognizes but to answer questions. At this age, he not only successfully points to all his body parts, but he knows where "things go." If I ask him where hats go, he points to his head. Where do shoes go? Feet. He even knows where you put on a jacket. If asked where an object goes, he will put it away....

He recognizes numbers, shapes, colors, letters with a fantastic memory. He's not talking, but he knows so much! He's getting more teeth and has even been through FOUR home haircuts since we gave him his first at age one. Here are some of the recaps from the past few months:

November: At 17 months, though I continue to breastfeed, menstruation returned. Baby had 12 teeth, reached 30 inches tall, and knew how to follow basic commands. Favorite book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Favorite pastime: watching cars and playing in them!

December: Baby was pretty much a master at using a spoon, fork, and cup. He could also twist caps to bottles. He loved to learn shapes and letters with his puzzles and books. Letters he recognized: O, P, and B. He mastered all the shapes, however, with triangle being his favorite. Neighborhood walks were a fun pastime either in his stroller or on foot. In addition to kisses, blowing kisses, clapping, spinning, and pointing to all body parts correctly, he also loved to dance a happy feet jig! He became super proud of the mole on his elbow and would pat his chest if he coughed too much drinking water. Baby also loved to decorate the Christmas tree with fake flowers and try to smell them!

January: With a new year, and tons of new toy cars for Christmas, Baby started playing more independently with said cars and also loved reading books in Mommy's lap. Still working on mastering colors at this age (19 months), but knew almost everything else. When he couldn't find something, he will say "Hmmm" as he looked for it. He was very good at finding other people's moles! He would help clean and put away his toys, but loved getting them out--especially balls to bounce outside. He pointed to himself when Mommy asked who's the baby, but also pointed to himself when Mommy asked who's a little boy?

February: Baby loved everything from remote control cars to opening the pantry door himself to grab another graham cracker. He closed any doors or dishwashers Mommy and Daddy left open too. At this age, Baby picked out his own clothes when he wanted to go outside, and remembered where our Christmas tree used to be when he saw a tree in a book. If he bumped his head he started rushing to the freezer for his owl-shaped ice pack--even if the "owie" didn't hurt. Favorite toys for independent play: toy bus, cars, shapes puzzles, and toy coffee maker. He just started learning the dances to "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Words like "Ewww" were especially hilarious. Baby was also excellent at stealing Mommy's phone and opening her Starbucks app. With 16 teeth, Baby is getting better at brushing though Mommy still helps.

March: Baby is learning to walk upstairs (not crawl, actually walk upright with support), though we never let him walk alone. New favorite book is Pigsty and he recognizes the word "Wendell" (the main character) and "all." He can text with a fancy "echo" effect and points to himself when we ask "Who's cute?" He loves seeing the Recycling truck on weekends and drinking smoothies and milk from a straw. When he fights sleep, Mommy gets him down by singing the lullaby from Frozen II and it's the sweetest moment ever. He's always listening--when awake, he'll clap at the end of a song playing the background, and will even kiss Mommy at the end of some songs. He's definitely a sweet boy who gives out kisses, shares bites of food (with his mouth open wide as he shoves food into your mouth) and applauds when we sing too!

Parenting at this age is a lot of fun too. Baby has chosen not to sit in a high chair anymore, so he eats at his own little kids' table (usually standing up). I can lay out food in front of him and (when he's not feeling clingy) eat my breakfast as he eats his. With a new car seat as of the end of December, Baby can now sit upright and eat snacks in the backseat. He usually, however, just snuggles a blanket or holds onto his "emotional support Piglet" toy, since he's still not a huge car seat fan. We haven't transitioned to a toddler bed in his own room yet, but will probably start that process when he gets a little older or if a new baby comes in the future. For now, though, he generally sleeps through the night in our bedroom, so why change what works?

Our routine is pretty much the same right now. He comes with me to my mom's house during the week so I can work from home or be watched by my parents when I go to work in person on Thursday and Friday. On weekends we go out for smoothies or play cars and take walks and take naps, and then visit Hubby's family. As the pandemic world starts to slowly become more safe, we will slowly start considering other activities and visits.

For example, for the first time in over a year, we had actual friends in our house for a pizza visit. Baby was a bit skeptical--though he's generally a social boy, this was definitely a new experience. He did better when our guests read to him, played cars with him, or went walking with him (our attempts to watch a TV show together did not go over as well). But even when Baby has his occasional tantrum of tears, he's getting pretty good at using deep breathing to regulate his emotions. I breathe with him, bounce him to the rhythm, and change his environment as needed in order to calm him down.

Of course, as he gets older, finding new things he wants to do that he can't, and more and more big feelings, I know it's going to be hard to consider him "sweet" all the time. His "sour" moods have made the occasional preview already when he starts to cry over oatmeal breakfast for no reason (he loves oatmeal and I let him help make it himself). He's just starting to make messes on purpose instead of accident (it's fun to just shake your open water bottle everywhere!). And he is grabbing more and more breakable objects as he gets taller, forcing us to move things higher and higher.

But, really, none of that matters. None of it is a huge deal. I get to comfort my son or watch him grow or learn from him. He is still a delight, so easy to make laugh or dancing to no music with a song in his heart. I have yet to see an age on my son that I haven't completely loved. Every age is great when you have a truly sweet boy, inside and out.