the skrljacs: May 2013

May 4, 2013 - 20 Months Old
Height: 35"
Weight: 30lbs

What is Jack doing: Like any typical toddler, Jack loves to run and play and get into everything! He is currently obsessed with trash. If he finds anything that might be trash he wants to take it to the trash can. We have to keep the trashcans in our house locked up otherwise he would play with them all day! His second love is still balls. All shapes and sizes. We probably have 10 or 15 balls scattered around our house. We would have more, but our dog Maggie also loves to play ball, and she is always popping them. He can throw balls and recently he has learned to kick as well. Oddly enough, although he appears to be right handed, he kicks with this left foot. Jack continues to build his vocabulary. If he is in the right mood, he can pretty much repeat any word or short phrase you say. His most frequent words are Dada, Mama, trash and ball. His favorite toys are books, barn and animals, music tower, shape sorter, golf clubs, baseball bat, wooden hammer, cars, blocks and yes he has a toy trash can! I bought him some colors and coloring books, but he will only sit still for about 2 minutes, so he doesn't get much coloring done. He does not watch any TV, he has no interest in it.

He is such a big boy now, when it is nap time or bed time I ask him if he is ready to go "night night" and he will repeat it back to me and then go up the stairs. For nap time, I just follow him up the stairs, help him take off his shoes and put him in his crib. That is it! His afternoon nap is anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. At bedtime Ed and I both go upstairs with him and our routine consists of bath time, brushing teeth (he doesn't like that very much) and book time. After the bath he likes to have his hair blow-dried, it is so cute. After we read his chosen bedtime stories we turn out the lights and put him in his crib. He sleeps from 8 PM to about 7:30 AM. I guess I am lucky that he seems to really enjoy his bed and appreciate his sleep! We keep all of the pacifiers (he calls the pacifier his "beesh") in his crib. He always wakes up in a good mood. I know he is up when I hear him upstairs talking to himself. Sometimes in the morning I will let him sit in his crib and talk and play for a bit before I go in, since he seems to be having a good time!

Although he can be a picky eater, he is generally a good eater. Vegetables are still a struggle, but he drinks his green smoothie every morning so I know he is getting them. He calls everything he eats "cheese" which is odd because he doesn't even like cheese. I always correct him and tell him the name of what he is actually eating. He is big enough now to sit at the table with us in a booster seat so it is nice because we can all sit together. He has also started using a fork. We haven't tried the spoon yet, but I guess that will be next. He drinks mostly milk and water and occasionally apple juice.

Jack still goes to Mother's Day Out once a week, as well as swimming lessons and music class. He is doing great at swim class and he really loves the water, although he is a long way from actually swimming on his own. I do think if he fell into a pool he would know to grab onto the side and pull himself out, so I guess that is good progress. It's hard to believe he has been in music class since he was 4 moths old, but we still love it! He loves to dance and play instruments and he is starting to sing some of the songs!

Everyday Ed and I look at Jack and we just can't get over how much we love him and how awesome he is. He really is a good little boy, and he has a very sweet and pleasant demeanor. He is friendly and outgoing. Taking him out to run errands is always a joy because he is happy to be out and about. He is generally an easy going kid. We have never had a schedule, every day is different and he pretty much just goes with the flow!