Time flies when you have a kid you're having fun!!!!
I'm squeezing three months into this blog post due to being so late in posting the last update!
Memories from month 19:
-I feel like there were two really dominant things that we noticed about month 19:
1. A huge vocabulary spurt
2. Tantrums
-So let's start with vocabulary. You seem to be, from what people and Dr. say, leaps and bounds ahead in the vocabulary department. That's great! I love that people (myself included) can clearly understand what you are communicating to us. You know so many words and use them appropriately. The only word we can not figure out the origin of is "noni", pronounced 'no-knee', for milk. That is a stumper. :) You also mimic words on the spot all. the. time. We don't speak inappropriately around you but we still better watch what we say!!! And many of your caretakers have commented and said, "He talks a LOT". Truth.
-Tantrums. Ugh. You don't do the body throwing, floor writhing tantrums. You have, however, started to express your displeasure to anything, big or small, with the shriek of a thousand hyenas (is that even a thing?). You also writhe in our arms or try to slap your hands around. Well let me tell you buddy, it's not going to fly. We also are expressing our displeasure with your displeasure. We'll keep you updated. Pray for us. Hahaha!
-You've started speaking in small sentences/phrases and it's adorable. Some examples:
-You started at a new daycare this month. This has been a big transition for us. Mommy and Daddy put a lot of thought and prayer into where we wanted to send you. When touring all of our options we looked at price, availability, environment, curriculum/structure, personalities, appearance, etc. We decided to stick with an in-home daycare because we like the cozy, smaller environment. I KNOW we put way more thought/prayer into this decision than any we've made in a long time!
Memories from Month 20:
-First of all, how did you get so big? We measured you on your growth chart in your nursery (or should I say bedroom now?) and according to mommy's rough calculations you've grown 5 INCHES in 5 MONTHS. Holy smokes boy! Let's slow it down a bit, please?
-You seem more like a kid and less like a baby....that may have been the truth for a while now but it's just dawning on a lot of us. Grandpa said something, mommy and daddy have noticed, and Uncle Tyler lovingly said your more of a human and less of a potato now. Haha! ;)
-Your tiny voice, so high pitched and sweet, is undeniably cute. Daddy said he hopes he never forgets the sound of it. I hope not either.
-You have a potty ring on the toilet and pretty frequently go #1 and #2 on it when we use it in the mornings before work. We are not actively potty training....mommy doesn't have time right now! However, I would love to see this happen SOON! You announce as soon as you've gone "poo poo" and know that the potty is for "poo poo". (TMI? lol) When we flush, you say, "bye bye poo poo". It's sort of adorable. We just picked you up a potty seat for the living room and you enjoy sitting on it fully clothed. We'll see if you prefer the ring or the chair.
-Mommy and Daddy took you to Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend to shop. You did pretty well, despite not sleeping much. You really preferred walking over the stroller. You rode on daddy's shoulders a lot. We definitely will be spoiling you for Christmas this year!
(Mommy's first time ever eating at a Denny's since she was close to your age!)
Ready for more shopping!
-You are beginning to sit still for longer books, sometimes. We always read to you a lot, but not right before bed because you just weren't interested. Well, now you love bedtime books! You insist on reading Goodnight Gorilla and Your Baby's First Word will be DaDa before bed. Other favorite books are your Nursery Rhyme Sing-a-long book (Usbourne), Beautiful Oops, Sandra Boynton's Doggies, Star Wars ABC, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Animal Alphabet.
-Grandma said you would read with her for hours if she let you. You love grandma snuggles!
-Your favorite foods are (in no particular order): yogurt, oatmeal, and pizza.
-You pronounce oatmeal "ameal" and it's so cute! (Oh, and balloon is "bloon" with buzzed lips. Hysterical!)
-Your favorite song is "Apples and Bananas" and your answer to "What do you want to eat" and "What do you want to sing" is always, apples and bananas. You also love singing "The ABC's", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old McDonald".
-You're beginning to understand that objects, like stuffed animals and toy people, reflect real life things. You offer your sippy to your Dr. Doug toy and monkey toy now. Your imagination is blooming.
-I'd guess you can identify ALL of the letters in the alphabet now. Every time we read a book you point out letters the WHOLE time. You amaze me! Daddy posted the cutest video of you announcing each letter of your magnetic alphabet as he put them on the fridge; it was so cute to see how excited you were!
(One of your favorite Christmas presents was your letter "B" ornament!)
(And your very favorite gift...the alphabet puzzle from the Land of Nod! You play with it for hours!!!)
-You love playing with the other kids at daycare and talk about them in the car and at home.
-Speaking of talking, you still talk a LOT. Everyone still mentions how much you talk after spending some time with you.
-You got a pesky diaper rash again and then we remembered....no oranges and clementines for you! This happened last winter too, but, we forgot...
-Your baby cousin is due any day now! We know you two will love playing together in the future. :)
-You love it when mommy, daddy, and "Bake" (as you call yourself) all have winter hats on. Haha!
-If you drop something and say "Uh Oh" or say someone's name and want acknowledgement, you WILL repeat it until we say it back. :)
-You do not like having snow on your gloves. You think it's dirty!
-You've developed a "glare" and it's actually very cute, though we don't encourage it. I haven't caught any pictures of it yet.
-Speaking of things that are not encouraged, you decided to try a tantrum at home and actually laid down and kicked your legs. While mommy just stared at you, amazed that you would even try this, daddy put a real quick stop to that behavior. I don't think you'll be trying that again.
-You loved Christmas this year!!! It was on a Sunday so we went to church and you sat through the WHOLE service with us!! We had only planned to keep you in there until the sermon, like we have been lately, but we got sort of squished in our row so we just kept you there. You actually did really good! Mommy only had to give you a few smarties in the last few minutes to keep you quiet (you wanted to announce all of the letters in your books, go figure!). After a few presents you got the hang of unwrapping but usually just wanted to play with something else rather than check out the new stuff. Mommy and Daddy got you a TeePee and we think you were a little scared to go inside of it at first. Now it's up in your room and we strung some Christmas lights around it, so you like it now! You were very spoiled all around and we haven't even finished daddy's side of the family yet!
(Still waking up!)
Mommy opening her special gift from daddy! 
And late Christmas night holding you new baby from grandma, after we got home.
#toddlermoodswings
Chillin ;)
First Spaghetti 
Friend's birthday party!
Fall fun!
Picking up every piece of corn!
Trying out mom's slipper...
Oh, hey Zoey!
"Helping" set up at Chris and Laura's baby shower
Santa parade!
Grandma and Grandpa sent this nice picture to us from their vacation :)
Small group kiddos! One baby not pictured, 2 babies on the way!
The boys!
Shopping with Grandma and Grandpa!
First time mommy let you hold the banana by yourself. :)
-You've started speaking in small sentences/phrases and it's adorable. Some examples:
Bye Bye Zoey, See you (later)
Where daddy go? (or mommy, or whoever)
One, two, three, four, five!
Ready, set, GO!
Mommy cracker, please?
Thank-you mommy (my favorite!)
-You insist on wiping off your hands when anything dirty touches them. You also wipe off slides that have anything sandy or dirty (or even a leaf) on them before you'll go down. Taking after mommy a bit in this department. :)
I am cutting off month 19 here and starting month 20...but you're getting so big the months are blending and some month 19/20 stuff may be mixed! ;)
I am cutting off month 19 here and starting month 20...but you're getting so big the months are blending and some month 19/20 stuff may be mixed! ;)
Memories from month 20:
-You had fun trick or treating at church this year for Halloween.
You wore a cute mouse costume that was daddy's when he was little. You really enjoyed playing the games and picking out candy. Next year we'll have to take you trick or treating the old fashioned way. The very next morning, daddy caught you with your pumpkin of candy. You had pulled it down off of the table. Luckily you don't know how to open candy wrappers....yet!
-You can count to 10 but not always in order and you need help with 6-10.
-You can identify some letters of the alphabet. The ones I've noticed you point out: A, B, C, H, P, W, Q.
-You and Zoey have played together 2 times! She will "play bow" to you and then you run around and chase each other. She still doesn't let you touch her.
-You went to your first Flyball Tournament (Zoey's dog sport) and had lots of fun watching the dogs compete...it was exhausting for mommy and daddy to keep you corralled though.
-You can count to 10 but not always in order and you need help with 6-10.
-You can identify some letters of the alphabet. The ones I've noticed you point out: A, B, C, H, P, W, Q.
-You and Zoey have played together 2 times! She will "play bow" to you and then you run around and chase each other. She still doesn't let you touch her.
-You went to your first Flyball Tournament (Zoey's dog sport) and had lots of fun watching the dogs compete...it was exhausting for mommy and daddy to keep you corralled though.
-You started at a new daycare this month. This has been a big transition for us. Mommy and Daddy put a lot of thought and prayer into where we wanted to send you. When touring all of our options we looked at price, availability, environment, curriculum/structure, personalities, appearance, etc. We decided to stick with an in-home daycare because we like the cozy, smaller environment. I KNOW we put way more thought/prayer into this decision than any we've made in a long time!
Memories from Month 20:
-First of all, how did you get so big? We measured you on your growth chart in your nursery (or should I say bedroom now?) and according to mommy's rough calculations you've grown 5 INCHES in 5 MONTHS. Holy smokes boy! Let's slow it down a bit, please?
-Your tiny voice, so high pitched and sweet, is undeniably cute. Daddy said he hopes he never forgets the sound of it. I hope not either.
-Mommy and Daddy took you to Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend to shop. You did pretty well, despite not sleeping much. You really preferred walking over the stroller. You rode on daddy's shoulders a lot. We definitely will be spoiling you for Christmas this year!
-MeeMaw, your red panda stuffed animal, is your current favorite of your stuffed animals. Your other favorite toys are your wooden school bus with peg people (sticks), anything that is not really a toy, and anything you can push, pull, ride, or climb.
-You are beginning to sit still for longer books, sometimes. We always read to you a lot, but not right before bed because you just weren't interested. Well, now you love bedtime books! You insist on reading Goodnight Gorilla and Your Baby's First Word will be DaDa before bed. Other favorite books are your Nursery Rhyme Sing-a-long book (Usbourne), Beautiful Oops, Sandra Boynton's Doggies, Star Wars ABC, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Animal Alphabet.
-Grandma said you would read with her for hours if she let you. You love grandma snuggles!
-Your favorite foods are (in no particular order): yogurt, oatmeal, and pizza.
-You pronounce oatmeal "ameal" and it's so cute! (Oh, and balloon is "bloon" with buzzed lips. Hysterical!)
-Your favorite song is "Apples and Bananas" and your answer to "What do you want to eat" and "What do you want to sing" is always, apples and bananas. You also love singing "The ABC's", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old McDonald".
-You're beginning to understand that objects, like stuffed animals and toy people, reflect real life things. You offer your sippy to your Dr. Doug toy and monkey toy now. Your imagination is blooming.
-I'd guess you can identify ALL of the letters in the alphabet now. Every time we read a book you point out letters the WHOLE time. You amaze me! Daddy posted the cutest video of you announcing each letter of your magnetic alphabet as he put them on the fridge; it was so cute to see how excited you were!
-You can also count to 10 with no issues now.
-You went and visited Santa at a tree farm this year and you did great! You were totally relaxed with him and wanted to touch his beard. He gave you a bell and a candy cane. You love playing with the bell and hanging it on our tree. We also cut down Grandma and Opa's Christmas tree while we were there. Mommy was tempted to get a real tree too! We've never had a real tree.
-You went and visited Santa at a tree farm this year and you did great! You were totally relaxed with him and wanted to touch his beard. He gave you a bell and a candy cane. You love playing with the bell and hanging it on our tree. We also cut down Grandma and Opa's Christmas tree while we were there. Mommy was tempted to get a real tree too! We've never had a real tree.
-You love playing with the other kids at daycare and talk about them in the car and at home.
-Speaking of talking, you still talk a LOT. Everyone still mentions how much you talk after spending some time with you.
-You got a pesky diaper rash again and then we remembered....no oranges and clementines for you! This happened last winter too, but, we forgot...
-Your baby cousin is due any day now! We know you two will love playing together in the future. :)
-You love it when mommy, daddy, and "Bake" (as you call yourself) all have winter hats on. Haha!
-If you drop something and say "Uh Oh" or say someone's name and want acknowledgement, you WILL repeat it until we say it back. :)
-You do not like having snow on your gloves. You think it's dirty!
-You've developed a "glare" and it's actually very cute, though we don't encourage it. I haven't caught any pictures of it yet.
-Speaking of things that are not encouraged, you decided to try a tantrum at home and actually laid down and kicked your legs. While mommy just stared at you, amazed that you would even try this, daddy put a real quick stop to that behavior. I don't think you'll be trying that again.
-You loved Christmas this year!!! It was on a Sunday so we went to church and you sat through the WHOLE service with us!! We had only planned to keep you in there until the sermon, like we have been lately, but we got sort of squished in our row so we just kept you there. You actually did really good! Mommy only had to give you a few smarties in the last few minutes to keep you quiet (you wanted to announce all of the letters in your books, go figure!). After a few presents you got the hang of unwrapping but usually just wanted to play with something else rather than check out the new stuff. Mommy and Daddy got you a TeePee and we think you were a little scared to go inside of it at first. Now it's up in your room and we strung some Christmas lights around it, so you like it now! You were very spoiled all around and we haven't even finished daddy's side of the family yet!
PICTURES!
You love laying down and saying "night night Blake" :)
Trying to kiss the bear!
You're at the age where you are learning boundaries and obedience, but, your imagination is blooming and your personality is so fun! We love you so much Blake!!!
