This past week our Tommy turned 22 months old.
Tommy has started putting together a few two word phrases, including “thank you,” “light on,” “light off,” “all done,” and “one more” (as in we’ll read one more book). Usually he holds up one finger for “one more.” He’s started saying down and saying the word “please” with the sign for it and sometimes even just saying the word. Every once in a while he’ll put together three words, usually repeating something we’ve said. He talks about mama and dada, his stuffed kitty, turning the lights on and off, goldfish crackers (“fishy”), and brushing his teeth all the time. Words that sounded really similar a month ago like “kitty” and “fishy” are getting a lot clearer.
Tommy has been able to understand a lot of what we say for a couple of months now. He can often respond to a “yes/no” question accurately. There have been a few directions he’s been able to follow for a couple of months, too, such as getting his shoes or finding his pacifier. He’s starting to be able to follow more directions, such as looking for other items or putting something he’s holding down next to him.
Watching Tommy problem solve at this age is so funny. A lot of times, he will work to solve a problem independently, such as steering his wagon a different direction, so he doesn’t bump into the wall, without anyone giving him specific directions. But he’s not even two, so he still gets frustrated a lot. Some toys frustrate him more than others. If he can’t solve a problem right away, he gets frustrated.
Lately Tommy’s been turning everything into a weapon. He’ll try to hit anyone with any sort of stick he can find. We’ve had to make the light sabers off limits unless it’s time to play with them. We’re working hard on not hitting people. It’s one thing to play a game with the light sabers or big sticks. It’s another thing to grab a stick and hit someone with it out of nowhere. So it’s a process.
Now that the weather’s getting warmer, we’re going to the park pretty often. Tommy is fearless on the playground equipment. A lot of parks have little kid and big kid equipment. Tommy has no hesitation going down the big kid slides. He loves climbing up slides and can do so with very little assistance, even on the bigger slides. (Yes, I let my kid climb up the slides when the park isn’t busy. I’m sure some of you are judging me right now.) Last year he was crazy about swinging. He still likes to swing but not for nearly as long of periods as he did last spring and summer.
I mentioned last month that Tommy’s been pushing back his nap and bedtimes. Even when we’ve had a full morning and spend a lot of time outside, he often won’t go down for a nap until after 2:00, sometimes as late as 3:00. At night, we try to get him in his pajamas and settle down with a TV show and books around 8:00. He’s pretty much never asleep before 9:30 these days. For both nap and bedtime, he wants someone to sit with him, which turns into more than an hour of sitting most days. He is still sleeping through the night the vast majority of the time. Also, as he’s going to bed later, he’s sleeping later, usually until 8:30/9:00. So I can often get a few things done in the morning before he’s awake.
Tommy and I kicked off the past month with Art in Bloom at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Tommy did an awesome job taking in all of the floral displays and letting me take a ton of pictures. We took a break at the Kohl’s art studio in the middle of our visit. Tommy painted his first ever painting. He worn a smock and sat for 10-15 minutes working on the painting with both his fingers and the brush. He really liked getting to dip his brush in the water.
Tommy rocked his first egg hunt for Easter this year. We “hid” a couple dozen eggs around the back patio. I left the basket right by the door, and he knew exactly what to do without anyone telling him. It was just the right number of eggs to keep him busy, and then he was ready to be done. Each egg has a chocolate egg in it. He’s enjoyed opening the eggs one by one and eating the chocolate the past few weeks.
Tommy got to see his cousin Brookelynn later in the day on Easter at the grandparents’ house.
Jake took some time off around Easter before he started a long stretch of call in May. The three of us went to the Racine Zoo. The highlight with the animals was Tommy’s reaction to the lion sitting up against the window. Tommy went right up the lion and roared at it.
Jake also had one of Tommy’s swim class days off and got to swim with Tommy during class for the first time.
Tommy and I went to the Japanese Zen Garden spring floral show at the Domes. He loves the bridge and gazebo in the Show Dome. Tommy still loves working the automatic doors at the entrances to each dome, too. He also enjoys watching the fish in the Tropical Dome.
Tommy got to see Brookelynn again in early May.
Finally, Tommy and I made a day trip to Chicago to see my parents. We spent a couple of hours at the Oak Park Conservatory, which Tommy loved. He especially enjoyed the outdoor area, including the water pump and water/sand toys.
To see all of my past Tommy updates, head to the family section of the blog.
