William at 20 Months

  William has reached the big 20 (months that is)! As of this morning, William now weighs 25.4 lbs, has a head circumference of 19" and is 34.5" tall. He is wearing size 6 in shoes.

 I have to say that I just love this kid! This is the best age right now. He is comprehending more than ever, can follow multi-step directions, wants to be read to constantly, will hold our hands and in general, is my little buddy. Especially since Michael is in the midst of his busy season at work, its often just Will and I bumming around together, trying to keep his little mind and body busy. Now I am at the point where if I go anywhere alone, it feels so weird! I truly enjoy having his little company! He is just so cute and inquisitive, that I love showing him the mysteries of the world (which at this point are pretty basic things) and how things work.

New and cute things from this month include: 

• He will now kiss and hug us voluntarily, which is exceedingly adorable. When we ask him for a hug, he will drop everything and come running at full speed into your arms and lay his head on your shoulder, and when I ask him for kisses he will pucker up and lay one on me. 
•  The stranger danger phase has once again passed, and Will is super friendly to anyone and everyone. The other day he ran and gave our neighbor a hug, when just a few months ago he slapped her as she approached. 
• William is a jabberer. He will come up to you and tell you this long, convoluted story (none of which is intelligible by the way), with a very serious expression on his face. For a while I was the only recipient of these stories, but now he tells them to everyone from friends who come over, to strangers at the park. People keep asking me what he is saying, and I am slightly ashamed to admit that I have no freaking clue! I have a feeling that in a year or two, he will be the kid that will want to tell me stories all day long, and will get offended if he doesn't have my full, rapt attention 100% of the time while he does so. God help me!  
• When I tell him the name of something, he lets out a vigorous, "OH!" 
• He HATES having his hands dirty, and if he gets something on them, he will hold them out to me so that I can clean them off. If I don't wipe them off right away, he will wipe them on his belly or in his hair. I suppose its good that he likes to stay clean. Relatively. 
• We have this book of songs that has a keyboard attached to it and I often sing the book to him. The other day I started signing one of the songs, and he had to run and grab the book so that I could sing the rest of the songs to him. It was cute to see the recognition going on in his mind.
• Finally, he is starting to mimic actions and words, and that has been the source of many interactive games between us every day. For example, his new favorite game is to alternate whispering and yelling. I taught him the difference between whispering and yelling the other day, and now he goes around alternating both constantly. He thinks its especially hilarious to let out a loud yell right after a soft whisper. Its pretty cute now. I doubt I will think its so cute once the baby comes! 
• He takes after his dad in the art department. While every other kid his age is into some form of art, be it stickers, paints, crayons/coloring, play dough, etc, William doesn't care for any of it in the slightest. Whenever an art project is going on, he will briefly inspect the proceedings, then turn around and go play elsewhere. I was so hoping that he would be a fan, but at least for the moment, that is not to be. Maybe when he is older he will develop an appreciation. I can always hope, right?
• Before every nap and bedtime, I always brush his teeth. I keep his toothbrush and toothpaste on his dresser for convenience, and it is in plain sight of his crib. For the past month, he has been obsessed with both of these items. He asks to hold them (with a series of squeals, pleading sounds and gestures) first thing every morning, and often before every diaper change. He must always have both, not one or the other. He grips the toothbrush tightly in his right hand, and the the toothpaste in the left, and suddenly everything is right with the world. It cracks me up!
• When he wants me to read him a story, he will walk over to his bookshelf, select a book and then start walking back to me (usually I am seated cross legged on the floor). Once he gets about 2-3 feet from my lap, he will turn around and walk backwards until his legs hit my lap, then plop down into my lap to be read to.
• He is starting to reach the age of understanding bribery. I've gotten him to come inside from playing in the yard, by telling him he can have a snack if he does. I have gotten him to sit still during diaper changes by promising that he could play outside if he did, and I recently got him to sit still during a hair cut, by promising him a bath afterwards. I am careful not to promise something that I can't or wont provide, and I do try to make good on the promise as soon as I can. Bribery is my most favorite parenting tool thus far I must say!

I thought I would report back on our little sleep training re-visitation from the end of last month. We started once I was sure he wasn't sick anymore. The first night he fussed for around 45 minutes, fell asleep, and then was up again an hour later. Both times I didn't go in (I would have rocked him before this). The second night he fussed for about 15 minutes and didn't get up again the rest of the night. The last two nights hes gone to sleep pretty much immediately without a peep and slept through the night . So I will call that a success. Its so hard to listen to your little guy cry! But its so nice (and makes it worth it) to hear the silence of slumber! Of course, recently he has had another round of  multiple wakings in the night, so our quality of sleep (including naps) these past few months leaves much to be desired.

Speaking of naps, his have improved since last month's illness wrecked them, but still have not recovered to their previous lengths. Instead of sleeping from 1-4 every day, now its more like 1-3/3:30. Which is fine. These days, any nap that goes past 2:30 is a win in my book! Plus on days that he gets up early, its a guaranteed early bedtime (my two favorite words!). 

The toddler tantrums are still going strong most days, but lately I have found some great coping mechanisms to both ease his frustrations and make it easier for me to bear. A lot of times I find that simply offering to give him a hug is all he needs. Other times acknowledging why he is upset, in an understanding way really calms him down as well. Most times the tantrums are fairly predictable, so I can prepare my strategy before they even begin. Sometimes however, Will starts crying and has a tantrum over something completely mysterious, and there is nothing I can do really! Like the other day after nap, I dared to offer him a pear and he cried and screamed for 30 minutes straight. I was kind and understanding for the first 10 minutes, then I left the room. Eventually he composed himself, ate the pear I originally offered, and came and joined me in the other room. Goodness child!

Finally, the last big change that I have noticed this month, is William's social skills and awareness. As mentioned above, he is suddenly way more friendly to other adults, and is more aware of other kids. In particular I have noticed that he understands concepts like sharing and taking turns, and does so without making a fuss 90% of the time. He also understands boundaries, and when another child lays claim to something, he immediately backs off and finds something else to play with. He is past that phase where he just plays independently next to other kids and instead, genuinely wants to play and interact with them. His favorite thing to do is play chase (which makes sense since we play that game with him a lot at home too). He is obsessed with older children and always wants to run, jump and play with 4-6 year olds (which terrifies me as he could easily get steamrolled by them). He is most disappointed when I have to remove him from the path of a running older child. All in all, he seems like a very sociable fellow and eager to please and get along with others. Of course he is very young and this could all change with time, but I hope that these traits stick with him as they are good ones to have in any social situation throughout life.