Matthew at 22 months

I recently bought a book called "One Line a Day" where you write down one thing you want to remember for each day. I love it, because I felt like Matthew was learning and doing all sorts of new things, and didn't want to forget them. Plus, writing one thing for every day is totally doable as far as time goes. I was looking back over some of the things from the past month, and thought I'd blog about them!

At 22 months, Matthew...

...loves: Thomas the Train! He wakes up asking about him, mentions him countless times throughout the day, and  carries around these two Thomas bath toys I bought him at a consignment sale. They come with us to bath time, bed time, meals, errands, outside, child care, basically everywhere. They are actually in the picture above! He also loves cars, trucks, fire trucks, basically anything with wheels. Recently he has decided it's fun to try to carry as many things as possible at one time. This morning he was carrying around two trains, a cell phone, his stuffed doggie, and a blankie. He also tried to fit all 10 jumbo crayons and 4 regular sized crayons into his hand while coloring today.

...says: everything we do! He is quite the little parrot and copies two or three words from every sentence that we say. One of my recent favorites came when we were outside with Cajun and Brian told Cajun to go poop in the ivy. Then Matthew kept repeating "poop, ivy". Gotta love the bathroom humor already! He likes pointing out things and telling you what they are over and over again until you repeat the word back to him. I guess he wants us to acknowledge that he's saying the right word! When we can't figure out what he's saying, he gets very frustrated and upset (I wonder where he gets that from...). He has also created two of his own words. "Shada" means any kind of truck, and "Fwee" means sip. We have no idea how he got these two words from the actual word, but we think it's hilarious! In fact, the poor kid will probably think fire trucks are actually called shadas, because that's how we refer to them now!

...sleeps: like a champ! He goes to bed at 8:00 and wakes up around 7:30 every day. He also still takes a great afternoon nap. I've started putting him down at 1:30 instead of 1:00 because he doesn't seem tired yet, and most days he sleeps until 4:30. He also goes to bed without his paci now! I think he's substituted it for toys that he likes to take to bed with him, but that's fine with me. He has recently started crying when we put him down, because I think he'd rather keep playing than sleep, but it only lasts a minute or two. He also asks for stories before nap and bed time now, and has already tried coaxing one more out of us when we tell him that it's time for bed!

...eats: pretty much everything we give him. He loves fruit, but is not such a fan of vegetables. I have found the best way to get him to eat his veggies is in vegetable soup or chili, or by sprinkling cinnamon on them if they're just plain. He knows the words for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and when I tell him it's time to eat he runs to his chair and repeats whatever meal it is. He also likes to ask for a snack and milk or juice in his cup throughout the day.

...has learned: his numbers 1-10, several letters, and most shapes. Most of these things he learned on his own, and surprised us when he randomly started identifying them! The teacher in me feels like I should start working with him to learn the rest! He also can distinguish between all types of vehicles (car, truck, bus, fire truck, bike, motorcycle, airplane, helicopter) and points them out whenever he sees them. He knows his colors, animals and their sounds, and the characters on his favorite shows! (Thomas, Percy, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird are his favorites.)

...has grown a lot! He currently wears size 2T in clothing, is around 35 pounds and about 3 feet tall.

...has his own personality! He already knows how to cut his eyes when he's about to do something he shouldn't, and has a mischievous face that he uses a little too frequently if you ask me! He definitely has his share of temper tantrums when things don't go his way, but they have gotten a lot less frequent recently. I think he realized that we ignore him and screaming isn't getting him anywhere. He loves wrestling with Daddy and being tickled, and laughs and squeals with delight while they play. He is also very loving, giving kisses and hugs, and on occasion asking for them. Another of his favorite things is "uppies" and being carried and held. I think he may know that things are about to change and as a result is becoming a little clingy. I can't say I mind the snuggling though!

All in all he is a happy, healthy boy and we love him to bits! We can't wait to see him with his new baby sister in a few weeks!