20 months

Another month has come and gone. This one is tough. It's like that "2" is a warning that he will actually be TWO in a few short months! How is it possible that this little guy is growing so fast? It's overwhelming now that potty training, "big boy bed," and other big-kid stuff is now in our regular vocabulary. But I love it! He is such a fun little guy!!

Being older is bringing on a new braveness in my always up for a challenge kid. Nothing seems to be too much for him. He wants to investigate it all. If there is something out of his reach, he will figure out a way to get to it (example-getting a chair from the kitchen table and moving it across the house to climb on!! Yikes!). He keeps us on our toes! Though he is very adventurous, he is also very obedient. When he is told that something is off limits, he listens--well, most of the time. If not, a second request usually gets the trick done.

We're outdoors a lot, even though it has been miserably hot already. He LOVES to be outside, and if water is in the mix, it's even better. We have a water table for him at the house, and he can't get enough of the pool at my parents' house. The sprinklers scare him, though. I'm sure it's because of how hard the water is coming out. We'll have to get a sprinkler that attaches to the hose and let him jump through that some here in the near future!

It cracks me up that whenever we go to leave the house, he looks around and will grab something, ANYthing to take with him on the ride. I'm talking from the remote control to "his" phone to a big old push toy that will never fit in his lap in the car. It doesn't matter. He NEEDS to have an item in his hands. And, naturally, he usually has forgotten about the item within minutes of being in the car, chunks it somewhere out of reach, and I wind up with a bunch of miscellaneous toys/household items in my car!

Though rare, the monkey can throw some epic tantrums. It's such a mixture of emotions on my side: sad that he gets so upset, helpless when I don't know how to fix it, and kind of amused to watch (is that bad?!). We usually handle tantrums at home by ignoring him and letting him know when he's through that mommy or daddy will be in the other room waiting. Though they rarely happen in public (THANK GOODNESS!!), it is a different story. He gets a firm warning to knock it off, and he usually gets the point quickly. I praise him all the time for how well behaved he is, and I know that this affirmation is definitely something that helps with our adventures out.

It doesn't seem like much has changed over the past month, and at the same time, so much has changed. He is growing quickly and learning so much each day!