I feel like we had another busy month with a lot of changes.
I feel that the tantrums have improved a bit. They still happen, but they're not nearly as long. They're still theatrical, but he's figuring out that he doesn't get very far with the behavior. So, this gives me hope.
He's at what I think is an adorable stranger anxiety phase. Adorable because it's not so much the hysterical, cling to mom and dad phase, but it's also still present. Like, he'll smile shyly and wave, then turn his head away or something. It's cute.
We met a friend at the park who is just 3 days younger than Nolan. They had so much fun together and we'll be seeing them again soon. I'm pretty excited about this. It's sort of ridiculously rare that we run into someone Nolan's age. So, I'm excited about the social interactions for him.
I'm convinced Nolan is the sweetest kid ever. Whiny, with a bit of temper when he wants to have it, but just the sweetest thing ever. He loves to hug and cuddle and give kisses. And his hugs are so precious that will melt your heart. Literally. I just hope it never ends. It won't, right guys? ;)
He eats so well with a fork now. He's basically got it down. Again, still prefers his hands, but will use a fork for an entire meal. Poor guys just cannot get the spoon figured out though. Sigh.
Nolan had a huge schedule change about a week ago. He'd been showing pretty sure signs he was ready to drop his afternoon nap. The reference I use for these types of things says to go cold turkey with dropping a nap when you're down to two naps a day. So, that's what we did. I was terrified of how it was going to go, but he's done so excellent with it.
He now has one nap in the middle of the day from 1:00pm to (roughly) 3:30/3:45pm. I've quickly learned that this is so much more convenient for my day too :)
We also started incorporating two other things in his schedule: room time and mat time.
Room time is really important. Or, some type of independent play anyway. It's nice for it to be in the child's room, so that you can close the door and know they're safe and they won't see/hear you and get interrupted. It's an opportunity for him to focus on specific activities/toys and expand his attention span, be creative all on his own, and start realizing he doesn't need me to facilitate his play.
A child Nolan's age should get roughly 45-60 minutes of uninterrupted independent play.
I was nervous about this too. I wasn't sure how he'd do.
I purchased a visual timer for him, told him he was going to have room time, made little play stations in his room, and then I left. The first two days of this he'd be upset for 1-3 minutes. By the 3rd day, he was already over that. He seems to really enjoy this time. I was amazed. I like that we have the baby camera in the room, so that I can keep on eye on him all the same.
He gets 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. This has opened up things for me too (ha!). Now, I can start dinner without tripping over a baby or picking up pots and pans every time I turn around.
The other thing is mat time, which he's having a harder time with. I'm late to starting this one, because I didn't really pay attention to it, but feel it facilitates important skills that Nolan needs.
A lot of people do this on a blanket and call it blanket time. But we have a mat and so we use that. The point of this is to have an allotted amount of time in the day when you instruct your child to remain on their mat (or blanket) and play with a few select toys that you have chosen for a short amount of time. This provides an opportunity to teach a child to play in an area without a physical parameter. And they do that by learning to obey your words.
I know 'obey' sounds like a weird word to use, but let's face it, your kids should respect what you say and know that it carries authority.
I think Nolan's biggest frustration with this, is that he does understand my words, and he's just angry about them. This is only for 5 minutes. And it's (more or less) an exercise to get your kids to listen to what you're saying to them - along with (hopefully) encouraging some quiet time for him to sit and do something for a short amount of time.
Whenever he tests it by stepping or crawling off, I just move him right back to it and say, "Nolan, you're doing mat time and you have to stay on your mat until the timer goes off."
We use the visual timer for both of these. The light starts out green, and when his time is up for either of this it turns green with some chimes. He learned very quickly that when the light is green and the alarm sounds that he was all done.
Meshing right in with this, I started working very hard with Nolan on cleaning up. Whenever his time for these things is up, it's time to clean up. You guys, he knows this.
My
He showed a bit more interest in coloring this month, but it comes in short spurts and doesn't stay long.
He likes to run everywhere and it's the cutest thing. I can't help but giggle a bit whenever he starts to run.
He only added a handful of new words to his language from my last post. The additional words being:
Thank you (it will melt your hear to hear)
Ee (as in the letter and for the number 3 - yes he knows both!)
Ive (five)
Ix (six)
Ew (two)
He added another few letters to his alphabet learning: E and K.
He added new numbers to his number learning: 2, 5, 6
He added a new sign language word: potty.
Which brings me to... we started a very passive introduction to potty training this past week.
He has correctly used the sign and actually pottied almost everyday, too. We wanted to start by just getting him to sit on the potty without it being traumatic or anything. So for day one, I gave him a small treat each time he's sit on the potty (clothed). For the day 2 we started sitting on the potty with pants down and diaper off. Again, he got a treat just for sitting on the potty.
On day 2 I pretty sure it was merely a coincidence that he actually used the potty, but he got lots of praise and lots of treats and it might've clicked a bit. We've carried on like this ever since.
At least once a day he will spontaneously use the potty sign language and actually go pee. So, I'm impressed.
Most of the time it's a no go though. And I'm fine with that. I'm more than fine with that, actually. He's doing awesome with this to only be one week into it.
I mean, he might think the potty sign basically means chocolate chip or fruit loop, but hey... whatever works amiright?
Excited and stressed about this adventure (ha).
Here's the big 1.5 year old :)
He's telling me that he's 1 :)
He's pointing at his chin
We send photos with signs for birthdays :)
"OMG"
A week or so ago, he figured out how to do the slide all by himself!
So that's what he likes to do now.
A lot.
Usin that fork
Sometimes, he'll just copy whatever face you're making on the screen. It's cute. And funny.
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