The latest highlights that have come with a month of growth are as follows:
- No more spilled milk!
- PJ used to throw his milk cup after every sip he took from it. Of course it took me several frustrating meals before I tried calmly saying "PJ please put that cup right here on the table when you are done drinking." You will not believe it! PJ actually put the cup exactly where I said on the table and didn't throw the milk. We have a 98% success rate with this method which is much cleaner and much less stressful at mealtimes. No discipline was really needed; turns out PJ just wanted to understand his what was right, not what was wrong. I think I learned more from this development than PJ did!
- A lot more sign language
- Pj had already mastered 'more' but now he is starting to sign 'eat', 'milk', and most recently 'please'. The joy of sign language is that there is a lot less yelling and screaming from PJ and more adamant 'hand waving'. This change keeps things much more calm while Momma "slowly" pours more milk for PJ, or Daddy takes a full minute to slice a banana.
- Mastering stairs and using furniture/hands/railings
- PJ has definitely figured out stairs, especially going up. As for safely going down on his own, he has figured out that he can go down anything on his bottom and be safe. Although, safe is barely an interest for PJ. He is always trying to figure out how to do things like Mom and Dad without having to modify. So he has also put together there are railings and things on the stairs, or Momma's hand that can be of use to him in getting what he wants. Its only a matter of time before he realizes a stool can get him higher, or using the cabinets could get him closer to the counter.
- Stacking toys with pegs
- Uncle Troy and Aunt Sami got PJ a toy for Christmas that up until this month PJ has had little interest in, but now its the best! We spent over 30 minutes (eons in toddler time) taking the pegged circles, squares, and octagons off the peg and then back on. This has been a fun evening activity as we get quiet for bed and start to slow down for the night.
- More babbling
- PJ is still not saying too many words beyond what I had listed last month, but he sures tries to say a lot more sounds. Yesterday he babbled for the entire drive home from hiking (about a 60 minute drive). PJ seems to pick up repeating sign language a little quicker than repeating words. I know PJ is comprehending everything we say and share with him, but for now just sounds and pointing in return. I am not in any rush to hear him speak, but I am looking forward to hearing the words he decides to use first. He hears so much from us, that it will be fun to see what he thinks is worth repeating.
- Hiking
- PJ loves it! When we get his pack out the night before to get all prepared PJ will try to climb in it and is very interested in everything we put into the bag. When we are out hiking he loves to be able to drink out of Dad's camelbak while he is still in the pack. He babbles, points and wants to know everything he is seeing. We have been on quite a few hikes this summer and so far not a single hike has resulted in a meltdown. I am sure that its possible and we will have sour experience, but so far its been a great time for the whole family.
- Mealtime
- At daycare PJ gets a real spoon and fork and is getting pretty good wielding them during mealtime. This month he has mastered eating on his own. Its still quite messy and we still help make sure all of the meal goes in his month, but PJ is more in control. In fact if you give him food straight to his mouth he may or may not take it, but if you put the same type of food on his plate he is 90% more likely to eat it. Cheese and meat are still not a big part of PJ's diet, but we keep trying. PJ's favorite food this month are rasberries! He will eat an entire quart in one sitting.
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