22 Months Old

Nathan,
You are 22 months old. I was thinking the other day that it's time to start thinking about your 2nd birthday party! You have the best personality, and your Daddy and I just think you are the best little boy in the whole world.

You say "Hold you, hold you" when you want to be held. We are trying to correct you and say, "Hold me." You also say it whenever you are holding something and don't want to put it down. You say "mine" all the time too when you have something you don't want to give up.

When we ask you to point to something, you'll point to it and say "right there"

Anytime we leave the house, you like to take toys with you. You'll grab a book or a stuffed animal or a car or train, sometimes all of the above and carry them all to the car. It's the same when I put you to bed. You like to take a book or toy with you, and when I go to get you up, you fill your arms with everything you can hold in your crib- several paci's, blankets, stuffed animals, books. It takes awhile for you to grab everything you need without dropping things.

The other day, you found a belt in your closet and you thought it was a dog collar. You ran to find me, yelling "puppy" and I got your stuffed dog out of your crib. Then you grabbed my hand and led me to the laundry room to get Rhapsy's leash. I put the collar around the dog and attached the leash, and you drug it all over the house, saying "Walk, walk." It was so cute, I love your imagination.

You can count to five when prompted, or at least you will repeat the numbers as I say them. You try to hold your fingers up too as you count, but you're not quite coordinated enough.

You are also working on learning your colors. You usually say anything is blue if we ask you what color it is, and we have to correct you, but when you feel like cooperating you can identify your colors.

We've made some major progress in potty training this month. I'm sill not pushing you or putting too much effort into training you, since I know there will be a few weeks after Samuel's born when I won't have the time or energy to work with you consistently, but I really think you are close to being ready. You pee pee on the potty several times a day. Unless you have just gone in your diaper, you almost always will pee pee when you sit on the potty. You have mastered the skill of "going on cue." Stickers are a huge motivation for you. You love your "choo choo" and Cars stickers and get one of each, each time you go on the potty. Now we just have to get you to figure out how to hold it until you are sitting on the potty. Somehow I think that will be harder, but I do think you'll be potty trained in the next few months. Your daddy and I are certainly excited about that!

When I ask you to say Nathan, you point to yourself and say, "Me, me." You won't ever say Nathan though. If I ask you what your name is, you say, "Papa." You are a silly little boy. I also ask you want to do sometimes and you will almost always say "papa." Sometimes you'll say "slide" when I ask you what you want to do.

We have started singing Jesus Loves Me every night before bed. Hearing you sing is the sweetest thing in the whole world. Most of the time you're just humming along with me, but I can make out you saying, "Yes," "me," and "Bible" when we get to the chorus. Seriously, it's the sweetest thing.

Whenever you want to do something that we tell you not to do, like getting a paci out of your bed or getting into a drawer you're not allowed to open, you will point to us and say, "Go, go." You want us to leave the room so we won't stop you from disobeying. The funny thing is if we do leave, you'll get what you wanted and then run out and show us laughing the whole time. You're not as sneaky as you think you are!

I'm wondering if you are starting to sense that change is coming to our family, because you have been more clingy and cuddly lately. You have asked to be rocked before naps for the last couple weeks, and it's been months since I've rocked you when I put you down for a nap. You are also wanting to be rocked longer at bedtime, and I can never say no, when I hear your sweet voice say, "rock, rock, rock." Your cuddles are the best thing. Now I'm getting to the point to wondering each night if it will be my last bedtime with you as an only child, and I just want to hold you and cuddle you all night.

You are wearing 2T clothes, a size 5 diaper, and size 6-7 shoes. You still love your Thomas the Train shirts and Cars jammies. You ask to wear them everyday. Papa Joe found you some Cars shoes the other day, and you love to wear those too. They're not really my style for what I'd like you to wear, but they make you so happy, that it doesn't matter.

Your obsession with trains continues. There are a couple of Thomas the Train books in the church nursery, and the workers tell me you carry them around and read them all the time. You are also really into cars and trucks and "vroom" them all over the house. You like to play with your big blocks, but I think you like the tub more than the blocks. You'll take all the blocks out and climb in the tub. I'll put the lid on top of you and you'll kick it off and squeal with laughter. You ask to do it over and over.

I can't believe that the next time I write a monthly post about you, you will be a big brother. I know you'll be a great big brother. Samuel is blessed to have you as his older brother.