Little Lion Cubs: 20 months

Month 20 was a lot of fun and brought a lot of change. It's all happening so fast!

Jack successfully avoided contracting H1N1 until he could be vaccinated which was a huge relief! He's also seemed (knock on wood) to remain really much healthier this Fall than he did last Fall. I guess his immune system got a work out last year and is doing well for him this year.

We made successfully completed the switch from soy to whole milk and added in all of the other yummy dairy items he'd missed out on for so long. String cheese, macaroni and cheese and yogurt are among his favorite foods!

I know I've said for the past few months that his language skills have been the highlight and I'm going to say it again. I stopped adding the words to the list on the left side of the screen because he literally says a new word every few hours. He'll try and say anything that we do. My favorites right now are "Melmo" (Elmo), "pider" (spider), "quirl" (squirrel), and "bebbos" (hippo). He's not really interested so much in the story that a given book might have to offer but just wants to point out everything on the page and tell you what it is. We also play the "where is the _____" game and he'll point out whatever item I've put in the blank. The first time he tries out a new word there might only be one recognizable letter in it all but after he's used it a few times it starts to sound a little closer to right. Don't get me wrong, if you don't speak "Jack" most of them probably aren't recognizable at all but we understand most of them. "Up" and "Help" sound exactly alike but he knows they get us to react so that's all that matters.

Grandma bought Jack a couple of Halloween books in early October that he fell in love with. Jack has at least 100 books and he likes almost all of them and reads them all over and over, but the Halloween books, my goodness, he really couldn't get enough of them. From the minute he got them, we knew he had taken a liking to them based on the number of times he brought them to you to read them. But as the month went on, he became more and more attached, to the point where they really couldn't be out of his reach at any time. At dinner time, the books had to be on the table. At bath time, they had to wait just outside the tub. At bedtime, they slept on the floor next to Jack's crib but as soon as morning came, he wanted them! He's not allowed to take toys or books or anything like that to school but Kenny had to let him take them in the building in the morning and then sneak them back out when Jack wasn't looking. They are full of pumpkins and when Jack says pumpkin it sounds like "mumpas" but he loves his "mumpas" books. I wonder if we will still be reading them at Easter!

Jack and Daddy love to chase one another around the house, and in months past, Jack would run in one direction and Daddy would chase after him the same direction (or vice versa). But this month Jack figured out if he turned around and ran the opposite way, he'd catch Daddy a lot faster! It's amazing watching their little brains develop right before your eyes.

Grandma also bought Jack some new pj's earlier in the month that were covered in animals that glowed in the dark! The first night he wore them it was a school night and he was up talking to the animals that glowed in the dark for a good hour before he tired out and went on to sleep! We could hear him up there just chattering away. They became weekend pajamas for a little while after that!

In the beginning of the month I went to Florida for my friend Jennifer's wedding and left the boys at home. I was gone for 3 days and I missed them so much but they had such a good time together!

Watching Jack play has been a lot of fun this month too. He's getting a lot more creative in terms of what he can do with the same old toys he's had for a while. He loves to color and he loves to clean up! He gets a real kick out of dumping everything out and then putting it all away. I'm sure school helped with that but I'm enjoying it!