17 - 21 Month Update

Ahhhh....where has the time gone? It's amazing how much C has changed these last several months. It's hard to believe that it won't be long before its time to celebrate his second birthday (Note to self: plan birthday party)! Since learning to crawl and walk, he has become much more active...and always seems to be getting into something he shouldn't be. Surprising? No. Frustrating? Big time!

18 Months



19 Months



20 Months



21 Months

SEVENTEEN - TWENTY-ONE MONTH FAVORITES

Blankets

Grapes, blueberries & mandarin oranges

Bath time

Reading
Playing at the park (fall) & sledding (winter)

Being chased

Going out to eat - such a great eater, and loves to people watch!

Playing with kitchen utensils, spice jars & mixing bowls
Flushing the toilet
Unrolling toilet paper

Throwing his sippy cup on the floor or down the stairs
Emptying wipes containers while Mom's not watching

Opening & closing the bar fridge and freezer drawer

Overall...Getting into trouble!

LEAST FAVORITES

Meat

Sleeping in his own bed while traveling

Letting Dad help with bath time or bedtime 

MEMORIES & MILESTONES

C has become an official tummy sleeper. I continue to lay him down on his back, but after leaving his room, he immediately flips over to his tummy for the rest of the night. He has also decided that he needs to have not one, but two blankets in his crib most nights...along with an occasional stuffed animal. When he is tired, he will pull a blanket off the couch or chair, find a comfortable spot on the floor to snuggle up, and start in with the 'ga-ga-ga's' while sucking his thumb. The best part is, no matter the time of day, if I'm in a cuddling mood and go find a soft blanket and lay on the floor, C will drop everything and crawl right over to roll in for the snuggle. It is honestly one of my favorite memories of C at this age, and I wish I could bottle up this snuggle time with C to keep forever. Ahhh...if only he'd stay so little and snuggly!

Speaking of other adorable antics, C has taken to blowing kisses at bedtime. I should back up and say that when he gets tired in the evening and knows it is bedtime, he has a habit of waving 'night-night' to T and any other visitors we have as I take him in to bed. He has also gotten particularly good at turning on the crocodile tears whenever we have other family members around at bedtime and he is sad to say 'night-night'. After bath time, brushing teeth, PJs, story time, and laying C down in his crib, he blows kisses, and sometimes if I'm lucky, he'll pat my hand or mouth to make sure I got the kiss. He's a boy after his mama's heart, that's for sure!

First overnight away from Mom & Dad...Oct. 24, 2015. The stars aligned, A.K.A. I had a baby shower to attend on the opposite side of the state, and T was on call all weekend, and therefore unable to control if he would be able to attend C 100% of the time. Luckily enough, Grandpa T & Grandma J were more than happy to have C for his very first sleepover away from Mom & Dad. After keeping me up most of the night on Friday before my statewide trek (he heard me come into the bedroom, and was not about to be left in the Pack & Play after spotting me in bed), Saturday morning arrived bright and early and I was on the road, Grandma & Grandpa left to fend for themselves until Sunday night. I'd like to report that C cried the entire time from missing T & I, but that's just not the case. He was so busy riding in tractors, exploring state parks, and playing with his grandparents, aunt & uncles, and cousin J, that I don't think he even realized I wasn't there until Sunday night when I showed up to take him home.

Trick or Treat! C got to spend Halloween 2015 at Grandpa and Grandma's house in my hometown. I had surprised T with a getaway to Minneapolis for his birthday, and C stayed behind to carve pumpkins with Cousin J and Uncle T. After making what was likely a huge mess in Grandma J's kitchen, and going on a night walk while all the other little kids were out trick-or-treating, it was time to light up the jack-o-lantern. As you can tell, C was absolutely fascinated!

C loves playing with Cousin J. The two little rascals have recently figured out how to team up to push the couch out of the way so they can access the stairs and cause trouble on both floors of G & G's home!

Speaking of trouble-making...this kid doesn't look like he could ever get into any mischief right?

Over the past couple of months, C has been transitioning to one nap per day. I am not sure this is because he truly only wants/needs one nap per day, but nevertheless, two-a-day naps may soon be a thing of the past. We have been so busy during the mornings lately that C has been going down for his morning nap after eating lunch...sometime around 11:30a.m.-12p.m., and sleeping until 2-2:30p.m.. On a day that we are at home during the morning, he is usually still ready for nap time at 10:30a.m., and will sleep until sometime between 12:30-1:30pm. Regardless of what our morning looks like, C has not been taking an afternoon nap on the reg unless we have lots of active playtime that wears him out. As far as bedtime goes, we've adjusted to 7p.m. most nights for lights out now that it gets dark earlier and C isn't napping as much during the day. We've found that regardless of what time he goes to bed, he typically still gets up at the same time of day...usually between 7:45-8:30a.m., so pushing up bedtime by an hour was essential so he could remain as well rested as possible. I'll be honest, we don't always hit the 7p.m. bedtime, but we have been making a conscious effort to get as close to it as possible. It's been good for C, who is usually rubbing his eyes and getting crabby by then anyways, but it also means more planning on my part to have dinner ready earlier, blocking out enough time to give C a bath afterwards, and still having time for bedtime stories before bed. Unfortunately for T, earlier bedtime also means less father-son bonding time on weeknights, but overall, earlier bedtime is a positive change for C, and T & I will just learn to adjust.





Around 17 months, C finally started 'real' crawling instead of 'army' crawling! He really hadn't ever been around other kids who were crawling before since his main partner in crime, Cousin J, pretty much went from birth to run and skipped right over the crawling bit. When he first picked it up, he was relatively slow, and so when he wanted to get somewhere fast he would revert back to 'army' crawling...which as we all know is much more difficult! He's got amazing upper body strength though, and has no problem pulling T's 25 lb weights across the floor! I have a little two pound weight set that he has been enjoying using to 'lift' while T is lifting at night so he can be just like dad.

Last fall, I started taking C to Time-Out-Nursery on Tuesday mornings. Time-Out is a free or donation-based 'daycare' service offered to mothers who need a time-out to do things like get groceries, clean the house, hit the gym, go to an appointment, take a shower, etc. It goes from 8:30-11:30a.m., and has a been a great opportunity for C to play with some other kiddos close to his age while getting some social interaction with someone other than family. It is based on a first come first serve basis, and they only accept a set number of kiddos per week, so C doesn't always have the opportunity to attend, but when he does, he sure has fun!

About midway thru month 18, C started having mini-tantrums...AKA...when he doesn't get his way, he throws his whole body on the floor and whines. This is usually caused by an impending bedtime, or when I refuse to pick him up. He's also learned to arch his back and make his arms go limp which makes it especially frustrating to pick him up when we need to go somewhere. Most of the time, he is a perfectly willing little spirit, and loves to go on an adventure, but when hunger strikes or nap/bedtime is looming...watch out!

After many months of walking holding onto someone's hand, C took his first unassisted steps on Jan. 1, 2016 at 19 months. He has been on the move ever since, and getting into more trouble than ever. Did I mention his favorite cupboards and drawers are the ones holding trash and silverware? Safe. Every time I turn around he seems to have found some kind of new mischief to get into!















Over the winter...pretty much any chance we had that wasn't -20 degrees or super windy, we went on outdoor adventures and took C sledding. He loves to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, and while the weather is cold, we've been making the most of it. Can't wait for sunny and 75!