20 months

Slacker mama totally missed his 19 month post so when I realized that our little man is 20 months today, I decided to sit and write NOW (during oh so precious naptime) to keep this little blog/personal chronicle up to date.

Right now still wearing 12-18 month shorts, mostly 18 month tops. The 24 month stuff is way too big, Caleb calls Carter "skinny fat" as he's pretty skinny but definitely has a round belly. Size 4 diapers, size 4 shoes.

EAT:
I don't know if it's his daycare or he's just moved through the picky phase but thank goodness he will now eat vegetables. Still doesn't like broccoli, but will eat carrots and green beans (canned is the fave) which is a huge improvement. He LOVES chicken and anytime I ask him what he wants to eat for lunch/dinner he'll say "chik chik". Also begs for yogurt (wo.wer) by banging on the fridge and saying wo.wer wo.wer in a pitiful, whiny voice. Not so into deli meat and cheese, still not into melons, peaches, or any other yummy summer fruits. Thankfully now pretty much drinks 6-10 ounces/milk 2x/day (nap and beditme), is now on 2% milk like the rest of the fam. LOVES water--so much so that I had to google childhood diabetes and have my mother in law smell his diaper for smell of ketones :).

DEVELOPMENT:
Expressively, I would guess he has about 60 words now. Will occasionally put 2 words together. Thankfully now will answer "yeah" to most things instead of no--so if he doesn't understand what you're staying, he'll say "yeah". Caleb takes this to his advantage and when he talks to him on the phone will say things like "is Mommy making a really big yummy dinner tonight?", etc He does still say no many times when he knows what you're asking and doesn't typically just say no. He accompanies "no" with  multiple repetitions (no, no, no, no..),   a finger shake and head shake to REALLY get his point across!
Some of my favorite "Carter-isms" these days:

chin-cha=blanket
wa wa=anything to do with water (bath, shower, water table, swimming, water to drink)
choo-train or shoe
ma-mo= lawnmower\
wer=work, fork, or spoon

At school they are working on saying hi and bye. Carter has transferred this to all places and must say bye bye to everyone--the check out lady at the grocery store, the man smoking as we walk out of the grocery store, the man in the grocery store parking lot pushing carts, etc. You get the point. We say bye to EVERYONE when we leave somewhere :). We've started telling him "one more minute" when he is doing an activity that he really enjoys to prepare him that it's about to be over....although it doesn't work every time, it definitely helps minimize the tantrums. We also talk about "good choices" and "sad choices". Lately he's been making a "sad" choice by standing up in the bath and has to get out. In the grocery store if he makes a good choice he gets to ride the toy trucks when we leave--last time he made a sad choice by trying to pull off items from the aisles and it was meltdown city when he didn't get the trucks. I was THAT mom in the grocery store!

-He still is extremely into trucks and will rarely nap in the car as he is fascinated by all the trucks. Anytime there is a truck on the street, he stares in amazement and says "wow".
-Loves swimming, does best in his puddle jumper and little floating ring.
-Does not like shoes being left out. He wants everyone to always have shoes on, if you leave your shoes out, he will bring them to you.
-Asks for Caleb 100+x/day. When I say "where's da da?" his response is always "wer" (work)
-still loves to "drive" our cars

Motor Development:
-started attempting to jump on the little bounce house
-goes down stairs holding onto rail
-will RUN everywhere
-continues to attempt to climb everything
*we've been going to this preschool open gym gymnastics place frequently over the summer and Carter loves it--can run, jump, climb, throw balls, etc. Pretty much guarantees a 3 hour nap.

Fine:
-pretty much will only use open cup for meals, still use sippy while we're out and about
-not so much into using utensils, still prefers feeding himself with his hands although does NOT want us to help him!

Social:
-Is becoming more aware of other kids but still figuring out how to play. Right now will typically push them or smile and poke their face  to show he's excited to see them. Definitely working on sharing and taking turns--he's funny though. If the kid is his size or a little younger, he will take the toy away or push the child out of whatever he wants. If the kid is bigger, Carter doesn't even try :). Haha. Does know how to "give hugs" to say he's sorry (again, that one was learned at school! he must have to do that a lot!).

SLEEP:
7:45-7ish at night, 1230-3ish during nap, no issues! We got his "big boy bed" as a hand me down but no plans on moving him anytime soon!

HEALTH:
Around 7/4 he had a pretty big asthma flare up and was getting 2-3 treatments/day for about 10 days, but since then has been great! Oh, and he learned how to BLOW his own nose! I think they taught him that at school....LOVE that we don't have to use the nose frida anymore!

Dear Carter Boy,
You are exerting your independence and starting to test boundaries. It's hard for me as your mama to balance letting you be your active, exploring self and creating firm boundaries for your safety and character. I love that you still love to rock and every night will look at me and say "wa?  wa?" which means you want to crawl in my lap with your blanket and rock. You love to play chase and hide and seek--the anticipation always gets you so giddy! You laugh so easily, I love it. You are great playing quietly by yourself with your toys but definitely prefer interaction. You LOVE when your grandparents come to visit and talk about them for days after they're gone. You are one tough little boy--you always have a bruise or bump somewhere, but after the initial fall (and immediate request for the chin cha--you don't really want mama, just your blankey) you never complain. I love how resilient and flexible you are--most of the time happy to go wherever. You never cry when we drop you off at nursery, gym, etc--I think you see it as just a new, fun place to explore! You also leak your diaper on a regular occasion and wake up soaking wet--but you don't seem to care :). You're such a boy and I love you just the way you are.
Love you to the moon and back my Carter Bug,
Mama