- Mimicking behaviors, including putting his binky in all the characters in the bedtime story's mouth and in the frog's mouth in the tub.
- Singing, dancing, and galloping - Yes, our little boy can now sing "do, do, do" to his children's CD (such a sweet sound to a many timed frazzled mom driving), spin-arounds, spin-arounds, and more spin-arounds (so many that he gets so dizzy he cannot walk!), a little jig he does by kicking his legs to the side, and galloping - which we have no idea how he learned, but he is great at it!
- Running Water - He is absolutely OBSESSED! So much so that I cannot even turn on a sink to wash my hands, a dish, etc. without him reaching up and wanting to play in the water screaming "wa-wa"! Unfortunately, we don't have time each and every time for him to do this, but I do let him play at least once a day. Kevin cringes when he thinks of the water bill. Still water (like in a tub) doesn't cut it, it HAS to be running and Colt can now turn the faucet on and off - sigh!
- Kisses - Colt has been blowing kisses and giving his buddies kisses for quite some time, but mom and dad have had NO such luck. Well, thankfully along with some of this challenging behavior, he has started giving very, very sweet kisses to mom and dad and hugs where he pats my back. It usually occurs right after I am just at my wits end (like at the end of the day!). Amazing how he knows these things! It is like is wipes away all the frustration (well maybe most of it) - magical! ;)
- Holding Mommy's Hand - Now if Colt is unsure or a little uneasy he will reach up for my hand! I just love walking hand and hand with him!
- Asking for Help - I have been trying to teach him when he needs help to not scream but say "help!" We still have a ways to go on this one, but it is a baby step!
Now for the challenging milestones: - Independence - Yes, this is showing in oh so many ways! From wanting to sit in the "big people" chairs, benches, etc. (with a huge grin of success when we put him up on it) to not wanting to do ANYTHING that is mama's idea. And he tells me this with a HUGE NO (or many of them strung together - no, no, no, no, no!!!!) Yes, "no" is his now his FAVORITE word and I hear hit HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of times a day. SIGH! This go from putting his shoes on, to getting dressed, to anything that needs to be done - if it isn't his idea or in his timing, it is going to be a battle! Makes our mornings quite interesting!
- "No" Carseat - Colt has never loved the carseat (far from it) but lately getting him in the car has become a REAL challenge. As soon as he sees the car, he starts saying "no, no, no"! Then I try to distract him with a book or toy and get him in, but sometimes I just have to say, you have to get in for safety and push his sweet little body into the seat. Thankfully we drive very little because I am not sure how much more of the carseat "battle" I could take - he arches his back, screams, and throws things as I try to put him in. Fun times!
- Throwing and Hitting - I know these are totally normal behaviors at this stage, but goodness are they challenging. Colt is a very good thrower (esp of balls), but unfortunately this has transferred to throwing any and everything, esp if he is angry. And, yes this boy has a temper! And, when he throws a toy is is dangerous because of the force and velocity he throws it with! I can tell you from first hand experience! The hitting is mostly directed towards Kevin and me and it makes me so sad. We just sternly say "no hitting" and try to put him down, if we can. He usually cries and knows it is not appropriate, but he is so impulsive he does it, usually when we are asking him to do something he doesn't want to do (goes along with that independence streak, I guess). This is one I am really struggling with, but after doing quite a bit of reading, it looks like it is a phase....so I will keep praying consistency in disciplining him and time will get us through this! (I will say that THANKFULLY when I asked his teachers about this behavior they looked at me like I had two heads. They said, "Colt gets angry?" He is always so happy here! He never hits or gets angry!" I guess he has thrown a toy there, but not out of anger, so at least he isn't in jeopardy of being kicked out of school - not yet!)
- Diaper Removal - Yes, this happened yesterday! We had just gotten home from our afternoon outings and Colt was in the front playroom and I was in the kitchen. I heard him running into the kitchen and he proudly looked up at me and handed me his soaking wet diaper! I have no idea how he got it off him?! He had a one-piece jumper on and hadn't unbuttoned the pants. I tried to not make a big deal of it b/c I didn't want to encourage this to happen again b/c YIKES no diaper could mean DISASTER around this house. I won't even go there!
- First Bloody Accident - I don't know if this is really a "milestone" but I knew it was coming sooner or later. Thank goodness, Colt is OK., but at the park on Saturday he fell and tripped on a tree root. He didn't catch himself and ended up with a mouth full of dirt and a bloody mouth. Having had a dental accident as a young child my heart just sank when I saw the blood coming out of his mouth, but thank God, it was just a minor injury to the little muscle between the two front teeth and his teeth are fine. I was completely shaken up, but our boy was so resilient, just wanting a snack a few minutes after it happened.
Sorry for the LONG post! I just needed to reflect on what has been quite a challenging week and hopefully will have the opportunity to look back on this in a couple months and see progress we have all made! I guess one thing I can definitely say about my high-need, high-energy little guy is that he is FULL of personality and life, even if his behaviors are not always totally "socially acceptable." We love you boy and know we are blessed to be able to work through all these milestones together!
