20 months old
Jeez. Will you just look at him, and remember with me for a second that a year ago at this time he couldn't walk?
A snippet of what has transpired with our fledgling young man-child in the last month:
*The truck/tractor/car/bus/boat/airplane/train/moving vehicle obsession continues to grow like a virus, now infecting his every waking moment. He wants to read about trucks. He wants sheets with trucks on his bed. He wants to wear, or carry around, his Thomas the Tank Engine T-shirt. He wants to watch TV shows with moving vehicles (our new favorite is Little Einsteins, solely because of the rocket). He uses his superhuman hearing to point out to me when the garbage truck is rolling by on the street outside. He carries his trains ("choo-choo") or toy airplanes ("air-mane") around the house, in the car, to the store. Looking for a guaranteed Isaac-pleaser for Christmas? Look no further!
*As of ~ 2 weeks ago, he can put blocks (circle, square, star, triangle) through all four holes in his shape-sorter with almost no hesitation. To do this, he looks at each and names them, then finds the appropriately shaped hole and points to it, and then fits the blocks to the hole.
*If I ask him to throw something in the trash, no matter where we are in the house, he will take it, run into the kitchen, throw it in the trash can there, and run back.
*When he is in a good mood, he is excellent at sharing, or even giving others toys, either of his own volition or at my request. This is incredibly sweet to watch, especially with his 10-month-old friend, Ella, to whom he likes to show different objects. When we are away from Ella, he will pick up his old baby toys and say her name, as if he thinks that she would enjoy playing with such things.
*Interestingly enough, though I have often blogged about his show-boatery, this growing desire to share and be helpful to others keeps him from being aggressive. For example: at the end of each storytime, the teacher asks the kids to line up around her if they'd like a stamp on their hands (and who wouldn't?). I ask Isaac if he would like one and he says "Yeah!" (more on that next) and runs up to her by himself. However, he sometimes ends up coming back to me without a stamp because all the other obnoxious kids have pushed themselves in front of him (and the stupid teacher takes no notice that he is waiting there quietly and patiently). Though he clearly knows what he wants, he is content to sit back and watch others be jerks rather than being a jerk himself. You can see this, too, at playgroup when a particularly awful child wrenches a toy out of his hands. While most any other kid would start bawling and throwing tantrums (and rightly so), my kid looks after the Toy Thief for a bit, like, "Whatever, man, if it's that important to you..." and then moves on to play with something else.
*The biggest and most exciting development on both sides: he is no longer the "NO!" machine, but readily says and nods "Yes" when appropriate (and sometimes when not). Isaac was an all-around nice guy to begin with. But with the doors that have opened to him since he learned that saying "yes" can get you everywhere, he is simply a jewel at almost all times. It has become clear to me that the ability to distinguish "yes" from "no" in interactions with others is really quite key for him, and really for everybody -- it doesn't really matter how many gazillion words one can say if they don't help others to understand one's wishes. In learning the meaning (and usage) of "yes", he is less frustrated because it is easier to get what he wants (duh), and, here's the greatest part, to understand why he can't have what he wants at certain times.
Twenty months. It's great. It's like the Golden Age of Isaac. I can't wait to show him off to everyone at Christmas.
A snippet of what has transpired with our fledgling young man-child in the last month:
*The truck/tractor/car/bus/boat/airplane/train/moving vehicle obsession continues to grow like a virus, now infecting his every waking moment. He wants to read about trucks. He wants sheets with trucks on his bed. He wants to wear, or carry around, his Thomas the Tank Engine T-shirt. He wants to watch TV shows with moving vehicles (our new favorite is Little Einsteins, solely because of the rocket). He uses his superhuman hearing to point out to me when the garbage truck is rolling by on the street outside. He carries his trains ("choo-choo") or toy airplanes ("air-mane") around the house, in the car, to the store. Looking for a guaranteed Isaac-pleaser for Christmas? Look no further!
*As of ~ 2 weeks ago, he can put blocks (circle, square, star, triangle) through all four holes in his shape-sorter with almost no hesitation. To do this, he looks at each and names them, then finds the appropriately shaped hole and points to it, and then fits the blocks to the hole.
*If I ask him to throw something in the trash, no matter where we are in the house, he will take it, run into the kitchen, throw it in the trash can there, and run back.
*When he is in a good mood, he is excellent at sharing, or even giving others toys, either of his own volition or at my request. This is incredibly sweet to watch, especially with his 10-month-old friend, Ella, to whom he likes to show different objects. When we are away from Ella, he will pick up his old baby toys and say her name, as if he thinks that she would enjoy playing with such things.
*Interestingly enough, though I have often blogged about his show-boatery, this growing desire to share and be helpful to others keeps him from being aggressive. For example: at the end of each storytime, the teacher asks the kids to line up around her if they'd like a stamp on their hands (and who wouldn't?). I ask Isaac if he would like one and he says "Yeah!" (more on that next) and runs up to her by himself. However, he sometimes ends up coming back to me without a stamp because all the other obnoxious kids have pushed themselves in front of him (and the stupid teacher takes no notice that he is waiting there quietly and patiently). Though he clearly knows what he wants, he is content to sit back and watch others be jerks rather than being a jerk himself. You can see this, too, at playgroup when a particularly awful child wrenches a toy out of his hands. While most any other kid would start bawling and throwing tantrums (and rightly so), my kid looks after the Toy Thief for a bit, like, "Whatever, man, if it's that important to you..." and then moves on to play with something else.
*The biggest and most exciting development on both sides: he is no longer the "NO!" machine, but readily says and nods "Yes" when appropriate (and sometimes when not). Isaac was an all-around nice guy to begin with. But with the doors that have opened to him since he learned that saying "yes" can get you everywhere, he is simply a jewel at almost all times. It has become clear to me that the ability to distinguish "yes" from "no" in interactions with others is really quite key for him, and really for everybody -- it doesn't really matter how many gazillion words one can say if they don't help others to understand one's wishes. In learning the meaning (and usage) of "yes", he is less frustrated because it is easier to get what he wants (duh), and, here's the greatest part, to understand why he can't have what he wants at certain times.
Twenty months. It's great. It's like the Golden Age of Isaac. I can't wait to show him off to everyone at Christmas.
posted by Claire at 8:44 PM
3 Comments:
Claire: I know kids grow up fast..but good grief! He is so adorable...has been since he was a babe. I am so grateful for this blog page so I can watch him grow from afar. Loved the photo of you all in front of the Christmas tree..Michael was even smiling!!
Susan
What a little man you have there! So advanced! You must be so proud!
Oh, I am. I, like all other moms in the world, am convinced that my child is the smartest on the face of the earth. ;)
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