Nineteen months

Busy boy always looking at something else!

Yes, this is late. As usual. It's tax season, and I have a demanding toddler. I get little computer time these days. Ask all the people I owe emails...(or that have been owed and waited for a couple weeks to get them). All of this is based on when Aiden actually turned 19-months, on the 6th, not on what he's doing now.

Favorites

• A new favorite book, especially for bedtime, is now God Gave Us You. Shortly after he impressed me by sitting through this book, he decided he also liked The Little House, which is much longer (a lot longer than one would expect him to sit and listen!). I've realized that Aiden's naptime nursing session is a great time to get him used to hearing longer stories, and he really loves it, as well. He used to be a super-quick nurser, but now he will take quite a while, which is opposite from what I keep hearing from others with nursing toddlers. And it makes a perfect time for cuddling together and reading longer books. Whenever it's time to sit down before his nap or bedtime, he grabs whichever book he wants (always the longer ones now!), and pats the seat indicating he's ready.
• Draping blankets/towels over his shoulders and the back of his neck (kind of like a scarf) and walking around. It's so funny to see. He'll use whatever he finds, even a hand towel from the kitchen.
• Cereal. With milk. In the mornings, when we're walking down the stairs to get ready for breakfast, he tells me he wants cereal. I often don't even have to ask, he just tells me. It used to be bananas, but now he is all about the cereal. And if I ask him with or without milk, he lets me know clearly he wants with.
• Other favorite foods...sweet potatoes (he will eat an entire one and more if we let him!), tomatoes, avocado, blueberries, dried cranberries, currants, yogurt bites, any of the freeze dried fruits from Trader Joe's (these things are so yummy and great for on-the-go), tortilla chips (he calls them crackers). Pirate's Booty (veggie and barbecue flavors) is a new one; these are rice/corn puffs. Camden takes the veggie ones in his lunch most days , and I'm always surprised he's choosing those over the barbecue! It's hard to find good snacks that are gluten- and egg-free, esp that can be tossed in something to have on the run; and these are healthy to boot! A side note about the cranberries...did you realize the Craisins kind you get at the store has lots of added sugar? I'm not surprised, but I never paid too much attention until Aiden wanted some and we happened to see some at Whole Foods that were marked as being sweetened with apple juice. There's still some sugar b/c it is juice, but it's less, at least! And they taste better, I think, too.
• "What's this?" We hear this from Aiden about ten times a minute!! He points to any and everything asking what it is, even if he knows what it is. And he'll point to the same thing over and over, too, especially when reading. It's actually really great because it's a good way to work on his language skills. We often ask him to tell us what it is instead, too.
• Kermit the Frog toy. This used to be Camden's when he was really young (I think...that or it was mine? It's been too long....). Aiden loves it because he sings. BUT he can't really find the button to push easily enough (it is tricky), so he's constantly asking us to do it. Over. And over. I don't mind hearing the songs over and over. It's having to push the buttons over and over that gets to me.

• Lip balm. He loves it. Whenever he sees it, he gets excited at the idea of getting some.
• Sweeping. He tries to use the big broom, too. Maybe it's time for his own child-sized broom... ;)
• Trying to put our shoes on. And when successful with that...trying to walk in them.
• Five Little Ducks song. He will sign "duck," letting me know he wants to hear the song. Sometimes he'll even go out of the room while I sing, playing whatever. But when the song is over, he appears again to let me know he wants me to sing it again. This will happen over and over, sometimes until I just say I'm not singing anymore (sometimes after singing it 25 times, you need a break).
• Reading. Reading books has always been a favorite. He will sit and let you read over and over. He'll often get some books, take them to the couch, and pat the seat until you finally come over. He can be rather insistent, though, when it comes to reading, he doesn't need to be. We're happy to oblige. :) Until we've read the same book about 7 times, at least. He's all about the repetition, as you can surely tell.
  

He's either telling me what he's pointing at or asking "What's this?" Probably asking, even though he knows the answer.

Least Favorites

• Giving up his 4am nursing session. Ok, so before this month, he was waking around that time each morning to nurse, and he would stay awake and nurse for nearly an hour before finally I could stop him and then get him back to sleep (no, he doesn't nurse to sleep). At this point, we agree he should be able to skip that and just nurse when he wakes up...it's only a couple hours later. But man, it's been a rough time trying to convince Aiden. Actually, he's been ok giving up the nursing. But he still often wakes at that time and doesn't really go back to sleep! He'll be in and out of sleep until we let him stay up around 6am (with Ryan having to constantly go into his room...if I do, he gets VERY angry that I'm not holding him, nursing him, or taking him to our room). It's not been fun for any of us (I'm still awake even if I stay in our room), and we're all a bit sleep deprived. Because of this, Aiden's also been sleeping more poorly at naptime. But...we seem to be having a bit of improvement over the last few days, so hopefully that will continue! We think his recent separation anxiety is a big contributor with how difficult this has been. He just wants someone in there with him. But then he doesn't go back to sleep as well if someone is in there. Not a fun cycle.
• The end of a Signing Time video. He only watches one a day, if that. Sometimes when it's over, he's fine. Sometimes he fusses a bit. Sometimes he throws a fit (though usually just for a minute, until something else catches his attention). And he asks for Signing Time all throughout the day.
• Being taken out of his Radio Flyer wagon. Even if it is inside, he will beg to sit in it. And after a while, we'll feel bad that he's buckled into a wagon inside, so we'll go to take him out...and he gets pretty mad. So, I promise, we're not making him sit in it...he LOVES that thing.
  

New Developments

• Drinking from a cup (again). He now drinks from a regular cup at every meal. He was doing fine with this before, and then last month he decided he was too afraid it would spill and didn't want to hold the cup by himself. After a few meals where we would help him once then leave it up to him, he realized if he wanted to drink, he had to hold the cup himself. And he did. And he did fine. We now only use sippy cups with straws during the day for his water that he carries around. Or for smoothies, which he has also had from a regular cup with a straw. The one problem we have is that sometimes...when he's done with his meal, after he hands you his bowl and all that, instead of handing you his cup, he picks it up and then quickly turns it upside down!! He's doing better about that lately. Not sure why he does it...he doesn't act like he's doing it to get attention or to play. He acts surprised when it goes all over him. I think he's just figuring it all out.
  
• Potty awareness. No, we're not pushing potty learning, but Aiden is showing a number of signs and some interest. So, we got a potty seat...and he asks to sit on it quite a bit. Hasn't led to anything yet, and we're not in a hurry. But he's certainly at least interested.
• Nursing. As mentioned above, he is no longer nursing in the middle of the night. He also gave up his 10am nursing. I wasn't sure when that one would happen because for a long time now, he has demanded that one and is very punctual about it! 10am on. the. dot. I have gone along with the "don't offer, don't refuse" method with nursing, now that he's a toddler. One day, he happened to have some cereal out and kept eating that instead of asking to nurse. So, after a few days of that, I considered that session to be dropped. He's asked a couple of times for it, but it's usually too close to lunchtime, so I do say no then. He still nurses before nap, before bed, and as soon as he gets up in the morning. If you are wondering why I am still nursing a toddler...feel free to read this post I put up shortly before Aiden turned 12 months. And know that this is VERY healthy for both child and mom. And if that's not enough, you can know our doctors (all the ones we've been to lately!) have told us to keep it up as long as we can, especially with all of Aiden's allergies and other problems. That is actually one of the best ways to prevent allergies. (With them being what they are, I can't imagine how worse off he might be if I never nursed or stopped it earlier!) I really have no idea when he might be willing to let go of the nursing sessions before sleeping. This kid LOVES his milk.
• Aiden's really learning a lot lately. Alphabet, colors, animals, all kinds of things. If you ask him what color something is, he'll probably tell you it's red. But he can sign the colors and will say most of them, too. Sometimes he'll point out a color if you ask him ("Where is the blue?"). He's learning some of his alphabet songs. If you ask what "j" says, he'll make the j sound. If you ask him what an "o" is, he'll sign "o." Just a few examples... He's even pointed out some letters on his own and made the correct sounds for them. He loves playing with his alphabet toy on the fridge and will make the sounds along with the songs. He knows a TON of animals, the signs for them, their sounds, etc.
• Blowing his nose. This actually is from a couple months ago, but I forgot to mention it, and now that he has a cold again, I'm reminded. It seems so funny seeing him able to blow his nose, but...I guess with as often as he is sick, he's figured it out!

Kissing Bunny.
(These pics are for you, especially, Ashley!) ;)

• Bunny as a lovey... This isn't new, but we have noticed lately that when he is using Bunny as a lovey while nursing or when falling asleep, he plays with Bunny's tail. He fingers it between his finger and thumb. I can just see the tail falling off sometime in the next year or so... We'll have to figure out how to fix it asap after that happens! I don't think he could do without Bunny. He actually just saw the picture while I was typing, and starting asking for him! It's funny...because when he says Bunny, it sounds a heck of a lot like Mama. Sometimes the only way I can tell the difference is the fact that he signs "bunny." I've detected a slight difference lately. You wouldn't think the two would sound a lot alike, but they do...and hearing it the way he says it, it makes sense that they do (if that makes sense).