This month was full of "dat"s (thats) and gaining speed...
Sing Songs
One of my favorite new activities this month is playing Ring Around the Rosie. Wes often gets the "fall down" right, and he thinks it's so fun to walk in the circle. Then he stands right back up and takes my hands. It's a great game.
Somehow, lately"Old McDonald" has become our bedtime nursery rhyme. It seems a little ridiculous, but I suppose it is repetitive, and I don't know many other songs that can be so lulling. Much to my surprise, Wes pays attention and does the relevant animal cue. So if I say "and on his farm he had a chicken" Wes starts saying "bock-bock-bock". He does this for two or three animals and then starts to lull off on our sleepy walks or in the car.
Language
The word of the month is "Dat" with pointing. Some days I think I hear about 800 "dat"s a day. He really wants to draw our attention to things, and he really wants to know what stuff is.
He now says "bye-bye" while waving
He says ba-ba for sheep
He has a cute new meow for cats that sounds so soft and like "mah-mah".
Wes is still ravenously consuming books on a daily basis. He has developed an interest in Dr. Seuss books which last month seemed to either bore or disturb him. One morning this month he laughed all the way through
Green Eggs and Ham. Funny guy.
Physical Feats
It seems like Wes can walk forever without getting tired. I haven't had him ask to be picked up because he was tired at all this month He walks continually when we're outside, and we're frequently outside for long stretches--often over an hour and a half.
Wesley continues his climbing adventures. He is great at climbing on & off of his trike. He's really good at getting on and off couch now. He just pops right up there.
He loves to rock on his rocking horse and is great at rocking back and forth on it.
He walks backwards. He spins in circles. The circles is a new dance move--so cool. Also, this month he has incorporated the upper body into his dance moves. He sways back and forth with his upper body in addition to the deep knee bend which are classic. I love it.
He can now stack two blocks.
He puts his blocks on the pegs of his stacking train with ease.
Wes loves to push his tractor and trucks around and go "vrrrm". He flies his airplanes or objects he's pretending are airplanes through the air. The boy LOVES motorcycles and trucks and tractors. He loves them on the street, he loves them in books, and he loves them as toys.
He has finally had some success with his puzzle. It has big knobs and three animals. It is still really challenging for him, but sometimes he can get the pieces in their spots. He can also put the little circle and triangle magnets back in their spots on his magna-doodle.
Identification:
Body parts: nose, eyes, ears, toes, fingers, hands, mouth, bellybutton (preferably someone else's), hair, foot
Animals and objects: It seems like he can point out almost any animal or object shown in his many books.
Direction & Response:
He tries to direct our actions more specifically now. He will take my hand and bring me across the room to touch something he wants me to open. He takes my fingers and rubs them on surfaces so I can feel different textures (in books or oddly textured objects).
Wesley now tries to communicate more complex demands upon my behavior. Sometimes he takes my hand and shakes it around and clearly wants me to do something, and I don't always know what he's saying. He gets frustrated and complains when this happens, but so far not a full-blown meltdown. Like if he sees a picture of a bus, he'll start shaking my hand because he wants me to sing "wheels on the bus" (this is a simple example, one that I understand). Or, he'll be pointing at something saying "dat" and trying to get me to do a specific action with the object. Usually we can figure out what he wants through a guessing game if I'm not clear on what he's saying. Sometimes we have a more difficult time.
It's interesting to see him developing a more complex idea of the
way in which he wants things done. He also seems to be realizing his own agency more. He's wanting to share his thoughts, to show us the things he notices, and to have us play in the way that he wants us to play together and this desire is being expressed in more contexts than last month.
On the following directions front, Wes is actually somewhat effective in cleaning up now. He'll take toys and put them on his shelf (and leave them!). He will take food out of the grocery bags and give them to us to put on the shelves. He will take his shoes, walk them across the room and put them on the shoe rack if we ask him to do it.
Food
He enjoys dipping his food. I started saying "dip dip dip" when I first showed him how to dip. Now every time he does it he says "duh-duh-duh".
He likes to pick tomatoes in the garden. We have had some success in teaching him not to pick the green ones.
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| watering with a stick |
Entertainment
Our new evening routine often involves walking downtown by the waterfront for an hour or so before bedtime. I basically just follow Wes around as he walks back and forth and all around the plazas, or across the footbridge, or around the cobblestone paths. He is so tiny and driven and capable and busy. People get a kick out of seeing him walking around. I love watching him.
A new challenge, however, is that he hates to be taken away from his walking or from wherever he is if he's enjoying it. And, I do try to be flexible, but sometimes it gets cold and late or is too sunny or whatever. Oh, he screams. Loudly. And thrashes. And arches and is really hard to get in the Ergo, or even to keep a hold of. He is great at making his body slip right through your hands. I officially look like one of "those Moms" who is torturing her child who is screaming bloody murder and throwing himself on the ground. Goodness...but it is still mostly fun.
Other delights
Wes gives hugs. He kisses his stuffed animals a lot, but prefers to hug humans.
Wes continues to love to talk on his phone (which is actually either his ipod, his calculator, or the stereo remote). He gabs on it then puts it up to our ears so we can talk on it.
