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Paul Thomas: Things to Remember, Month Twenty

And so we've hit the 20 month mark.  Hard to believe the little man will be two in November!  Wowsers.

This morning LP had his 20 month checkup.  Everything went well- he's gained about 3 lbs since his last checkup (weighing in at 24 lbs, right around the 30th percentile for his age) and grew 2 inches (he's up to the 50th percentile for height!).  His head circumference grew about a quarter inch and he's still in the 90th percentile there...   Dr. C was very impressed by his communication skills and by how calm he was during the exam- the doc said it's obvious that he has very strong communication skills since he obviously understood what the doctor and I were telling him about the exam.  He had to have 3 shots- the first one didn't bother him at all, after the second one he started saying "sorry, leg!" and the third one left him screaming.  He calmed down quickly though when the nurse offered him a lollipop.  There's nothing quite like some good old-fashioned bribery!

So here are some things to remember:

1.  At 20 month LP knows a TON of words.  Here's a brief rundown (solely so that I can remember in the future and because my mother always asks what new things he's saying- the rest of you, feel free to skip ahead!):

Thank you, sorry, please, help, happened, dog, cat, lion, elephant, giraffe, hippo, rhinocerous, goat, fish, crab, dolphin, zebra, mouse, donkey, star, moon, sun, cookie, birthday cake, awesome, yes, no, book, cereal, milk, juice, that, this, door, house, car, truck, train, chair, table, spoon, bowl, plate, rake, sandbox, swimming, rain(ing), windy, tree, flower, plant, tv. computer, color, tractor, helicopter, motorcycle, apple, orange, banana, watermelon, strawberry, blueberry, walking, barking, eating, cereal bar, cheese, macaroni and cheese, bread, peanut butter, ball, Yankees, hungry, stroller, balloon, monkey, snake.... the list goes on with a bunch of names thrown in there (mommy, daddy, Nana, Pappy, Granny, Papa, all 4 of his uncles, a bunch of friends, etc...)

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2.  He's also starting to put some of those words into sentences:  "Socksie Babby Barking!"  "Mama, are you?"  "Mama, doin'?"  "Mama!  Dis?" "Socskie eatin' grass" "Deer eat corn" (he helped my dad feed corn to the deer in their yard when we were in PA and has been talking about it ever since).

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3.  LP is becoming slightly less picky when it comes to mealtime, and is generally better about not throwing his food on the floor as well which is great.  He still isn't into meat but has been known to eat the occasional chicken nugget which I guess is better than nothing!

4.  Over the past day or so he's started saying "back" which seems to be another version of "no!"  Yesterday he asked for an orange but when I cut it up and tried to give him some he yelled at me "back- mama back!" and refused to touch the orange until Paul gave it to him.  Nice.  He also tried to push me out of the way when I tried to put juice in his cup after he asked for some- yelling, again, "back!  back!" as he pushed me away from the juice.  That behavior earned him a time out in his crib!

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5.  Potty Time!  We got LP a little potty as well as a potty seat and he really enjoys sitting on both.  We're not seriously trying to train him yet but I figure when we have time he might as well get used to sitting on the potty.  He's actually peed in the potty twice now (which surprised the heck out of him!) so we're on the right track.  Hopefully we can keep it low-key and let it just happen as it happens!

6.  Thomas the Tank Engine.  I know I've said it before but he's OBSESSED.  He has about a half-dozen of the little trains that he likes to carry around with him.  He'll just wander around the house carrying as many trains in his little hands as he can.  If he drops one he apologizes to it "sorry Percy!"  So cute.  I made him a little bag to carry them around in which he seems to really like.

7.  Along the lines of apologizing to his trains he also apologizes to himself quite a bit which cracks us up.  If he bumps his head or knee or something he apologizes to it, "sorry knee!!"  It's sort of become an indicator to us as to whether he's really hurt himself or not- if he's apologizing to the appropriate body part it's not a big deal and we don't need to run over to check on him.

8.  Little Paul is getting more and more into pretend play.  If he's not wandering around with his trains he's "talkin'" on his play phone or "cookin'" at the little cardboard sink and stove Nana made him.  He thinks it's hysterical when we pretend to eat whatever he's mixed up (yummy!  strawberry and corn soup- scrumptious!). 

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9.  His independent streak is coming out full force.  Heaven forbid you try to buckle him in his car seat- he has to do it himself.  He gets super mad if you even try to help.  I'm glad he's figuring things out but this can be annoying when we're in a rush to get somewhere and it's taking him a while.  It's either let him do it and risk being late or do it yourself and have to listen to him screaming the backseat for the first ten minutes of the trip.

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10.  He's so observant.  When we're at the grocery store he can spot Elmo on a package from really far away.  In one of his books there's a teeny-tiny little zebra driving one of the cars.  I never would have noticed it but he sure did. 

11.  He says "awesome."  It's hysterical.  I ask him if he wanted a cookie and he replies "awesome!"  Turn on the tv:  "awesome!"  Cracks me up every time...

That's 20-month-old LP in a nutshell I'd say!  Every day Paul and I are amazed by something new he's learned to do or say.  Despite the early onset of the "terrible two's," the pushing and yelling and fighting, and the picky eating, it's such an "awesome!" age- it's just so much fun watching our baby turning into such a bright little guy!

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