The biggest thing I've noticed in the past few weeks is his language development. X has added a bunch of new words and is starting to say more 2 word phrases. He can also repeat something quicker than before. It used to take several days and now you can say something 2 or 3 times and he'll often try to say it. Some of his favorite words this week are shampoo, floss, bus (coincidently floss and bus both sound like bus!) and cool.
X is becoming great with a fork. He doesn't always choose to use it, but he definitely can use it when he wants. He doesn't stab things randomly anymore, but carefully goes after the piece he wants. The spoon is another issue. He doesn't seem to understand that using a spoon requires a different motion. He tries to use it like a fork, then when he doesn't get anything he just gives up and digs his other hand into the food. I try to place the spoon in his hand and help him with the motion, but more often than not he makes it clear that he doesn't want my help and would rather use his hand. Guess we'll keep working on that.
Playing outside is one of Xavier's favorite things. He still loves his different push carts and will happily run around the cul-de-sac at lightening speed. He likes to go on walks with his shopping carts. He can actually walk pretty far and we make a loop around a few streets. We recently got a small climbing toy with a slide and X is delighted to have that in the backyard.
For the most part X is still a good eater and consumes a mix of veggies, fruit, grains, and proteins. Recently he's started to not care too much about eating dinner. I think overall his favorite food would be a bowl of Cinnamon Life Cereal. He never turns that down. Oh, and he thinks burping is hilarious.
More and more we are seeing X exert his own will in situations. Tantrums, while not every day, are occurring. He likes to spin in circles when he's mad or run back and forth between 2 spots. (It's kinda funny!) Diaper changes can sometimes be a struggle so we're trying to incorporate his help more ("can you go get mommy a diaper from the drawer"). X can become very stubborn with giving up an object. Most often it's not that he actually WANTS the object, but he wants to be the one to say when he'll give it up. Often if you just walk away he'll come up to you within a minute or 2 and give you the object. We pick our battles as we try to keep in mind that it's got to be hard when you know what you want but are still too young to be able to fully communicate it.
Books are still one of X's favorite things and I love that! In addition to reading a lot at home we've been hitting the library quite often. When we get in the door at the library he knows right where to go to "his section" of books. Since we read SO MUCH during the day, a book has never been part of his bedtime routine. Recently we added this at night and he seems to enjoy this "bonus" story. Puzzles are another new favorite. He's mastered a farm puzzle we have and now plays with it multiple times every day. He's warming up to a few others, but the pieces don't fit quite as flush so he doesn't like those as much. X's love of the bottles is amazingly still just as strong as ever although he's pretty much settled on Green Bottle and Grey Bottle as his BFFs (best friends forever).
X's other BFFs are his sleeping trifecta: Skipit, Binker, and Blankie. I've started calling them "his guys" and I heard him repeat that the other day. I love it that he finds so much comfort in these things and it really helps him understand that when he has these, it's time to go to sleep. Unfortunately he is having some occasional sleep regression and has been up a few nights. Since he doesn't wake up very often, when he does, it's hard to get him back to sleep. It's not that he's unhappy, he just can't get settled again easily. X is still in the crib and I have no plans to move him. He's not really showing any signs of being ready for that. He still moves around a ton during the night and sleeps in all sorts of positions. So far he has not ever tried to climb out.
My favorite thing about X is that he is a love. He will gladly give mommy and daddy kisses and hugs and loves to sit right up next to you (practically on top of you). He loves to be held and snuggled with his head on your shoulder. If Walter and I are sitting next to each other on the couch X will climb up and nestle himself right in between us. I know in the blink of an eye he'll be telling us to drop him off a block away from school as if to appear he has no parents, so I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it now.
On the baby front, X still has no idea that we are having a new baby in a few months. He just stares at you blankly when you try to tell him there is a baby in mommy's tummy. He's started to take an interest in other little babies (sometimes), but makes no connection at all. Maybe (maybe not) things will click more once we set up the room and start getting out the baby paraphernalia.
Wow, this has gotten to be a long post. Better wrap it up. There are so many things that X is doing lately I might have to do a 21 1/2 month post to record a few more.
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