Fox | 20 Month Update

Health:

Besides a runny nose here and there, he has been great!

Nicknames:

Bubba, Turkey, Schatzi, Bubbles, Mr. Fox, Foxy, Pumpkin, Poodle 

Eating:

No improvement this month. He still has his favorites and hardly tastes anything new. Luckily he loves fruit, but no vegetables (besides the ones we hide in a smoothie). He definitely got his picky eating habits from me.

Teething: 

No new teeth this month, he has 16 now. 

Sleeping:

His sleep has been somewhat of a nightmare this month, especially naps. He is having the hardest time falling asleep and sometimes takes 90 minutes to finally pass out. Mostly he is just playing in his crib, jumping, talking, but sometimes he whines and cries as well. When we go in to check on him, he asks for his Decke (blanket), but the minute we cover him, he gets up and the cycle continues. He is too young to not nap anymore, right? Someone please tell me yes!

It’s been very frustrating and I have no idea how to fix it. He doesn’t even act sleepy, even when he doesn’t take a nap that day.

He had a lot of changes this month, with caretaker changes and sleeping arrangements, so I’m hoping that this is it. I was thinking about getting black out curtains as well to help him with naps, although this never has been an issue in the past.

He still sleeps through the night, but also takes a long time to fall asleep. He asks for his two giant Mickey/Minnie Mouse Stuffed Animals in his crib, along with three blankets and a pillow. It’s quite ridiculous. I always take all of them out before I go to bed each night, leaving him with his blanket, because it still freaks me out when he has too many things in his crib.

Diapers:

Size 4

Clothing:

18-24 months, Size 6 Shoe  

Social:

He’s still very sensitive and does not like to be mistreated (well, who does?) and starts crying when another child cries. In the past, he would just start crying when another child took something away from him, but now he gets mad and yells no and protects his toy. He is good at sharing toys when asked, but also developed a little bit of an attitude this month, trying to test our boundaries. He screeches when he doesn’t want to do something and we are trying to teach him to use his words instead.

He loves older kids but doesn’t care too much about same age or younger children.

Language:

His language has really taken off this month. He can now speak three word sentences, but still can’t say Mommy (or doesn’t want to, so he calls us both Mama). I’m always amazed by the words he knows and can say. My favorite phrase right now is when he says “No way!”

He understands most everything in German, but only speaks a few words in German, he mainly speaks English. I hope this will improve now that we have a German nanny who also speaks German to him!

Likes:

Music and dancing, being outside, bigger kids, sleeping on his stomach, Cosie, showering, having his mommies attention, watching videos of himself, playing hide and seek, playing soccer and basketball, being independent, reading books, balls, riding those mechanical cars in the mall, climbing, playing Mini Golf and Hockey, playing Cars, Shrek the Halls (Katie’s dream come true to watch this with him!), Carousels, drinking out of a big cup with a straw, Tackling us, the Zoo, Gymboree, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Barney, Soccer Class, reading books in Mama’s bed, his bounce house, his Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed animals, his blanket, Bubbles, Stickers

Dislikes:

Putting lotion on after his bath, when we don’t allow him to do something, when we go inside after playing outside, trying new foods, when someone he loves gets hurt, diaper changes, long car rides, washing his hair

Fun things we did:

We celebrated Fox’s second Christmas, which was so fun! We also welcomed our new au pair a few weeks ago and Fox loves her already.

We went to the zoo, trampoline park, had lots of playdates with friends and spent a lot of time with Fox’s grandparents.

Milestones:

Three word sentences and being able to communicate better with us. He also had his first time out this month, after repeatedly not listening to Mommy and it’s fair to say, he wasn’t a fan!

And, for the very first time, he pooped in the toilet! He has been telling us when he needs to go or sometimes tells us when he already went, but we were able to put him in the toilet just in time! We are not potty training yet, but are putting him on his little potty every now and then to get him used to it. He doesn’t love it, but he was very proud of himself that one time he went and loved how we cheered for him.

I don’t know if this is a “Milestone”, but I wanted to write it down, so I’ll remember! He now understands the concept of the number 2, i.e. he picks up two items and says “2”.

What we’re looking forward to:

Fox’s first trip to Sea World!