Todd the Toddler’s 24th Month

Almost 2 years old – August 11, 2016

TWENTY FOURTH MONTH
JULY 21 – AUGUST 20 (2016)

COMMUNICATION & COGNITION

• says “Go!” & motions with his arm
• repeats “burrito” (sounds like “bee-tow”)
• repeats “poo poo” & “pee pee” and he (sometimes) says it to tell me he has to go
• practices saying “baby”
• he makes a sound & pretend-grabs the thing he wants from pictures in books or on the computer
• he actually started saying “mama” & “dada” to purposefully refer to us
• he says “beep beep” to refer to Eric because of Eric’s work van ‘back-up beeps’
• he says “dada, beep beep” a lot
• started saying “nah” for the word no (8/5)
• he started using a hand gesture (putting hands up to his mouth) to communicate wanting to have some “formula milk”
• started saying “no” instead of “nah” (8/14)
• repeats 2-word phrase “help, mama” & “help, dada” (his “help” sounds like “ah-p”)
• says no or no-no regularly
• repeats “apple”
• he does the Dragon’s Lair game sounds (“chew…chew…ahh!”)
• he uses an arm motion (like the crawl stroke) to communicate “swim”
• when my parents visited he said “grandpa” a lot: “gam-PA” (with emphasis on the “pa”)

NOW HE CAN…

• open “easy” doors
• Globber! (i.e. Todd’s 1st scooter!) (7/31)

TRUCKS!

• he liked watching the guys load the moving truck & he walked up and down the ramp
• the movers loaded up items from our house on 7/21, then unloaded items in Wenatchee on 7/22
• he loves watching garbage trucks lift up the cans on our street
• we watched the “diggers” at Jennings Park from his stroller (7/25)
• he loves the Tonka garbage truck that his cousins gave him for his birthday
• he loves watching the trucks & diggers working at the new school near our condo

Todd on the moving truck loading ramp – July 21, 2016

DAY TRIP TO GUEMES ISLAND

• on 7/26 we needed to leave the house for the whole day so the guys could install our new carpet
• even though I used to work in Anacortes, WA, I’d never been over to Guemes Island
• we took the ~5 minute ferry ride over & Todd’s only complaint was that the ride was too short (he signed “more!” & cried when I had to rush him back into the car)
•  on island we drove around a bit, then spent some time at the beach
• Todd loved kicking his shoes off, walking in the water & watching the ferry boats come & go
• 1st time burying himself in sand!
• for the ferry ride back, our car was positioned well (Todd could see the water right out his open door), so we stayed at the car. Todd loved it.
• on the way home, we stopped by my old workplace to visit co-workers.  I weighed Todd on the wheelchair scale & he was exactly 24 pounds (i.e. he gained 3 pounds in the past 5 months)

Elisa & Todd – July 26, 2016

Guemes Island – July 26, 2016

Guemes Island – July 26, 2016

EVERETT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

• while the guys completed day 2 of new carpet installation, I took Todd to the Everett Children’s Museum (7/27)
• we hadn’t been there since his 1st birthday
• highlights were the trains, airplane, water feature, & the slide in the toddler area

Everett Children’s Museum – July 27, 2016

Everett Children’s Museum – July 27, 2016

MUSIC IN THE PARK

• we enjoyed a free evening music event at Jennings Park (7/29)
• Todd danced & socialized with people & dogs
• he even got to strum the bass player’s guitar during 1 song!
• he joined into a football game with several other kids

MORE FUN FOR TODD

• sitting/riding in Eric’s van (very slowly, in the cul-de-sac only!)
• getting into the bathtub & playing with the running water
• turning on the outside faucet, putting his head under it & playing with the hose (including pouring water on himself)
• Eric’s employer had a party for his last day of work (8/5); Todd joined the festivities
• he likes watching the Dragon’s Lair game on the iPad
• he loves playing with cars & Duplos

Todd wants “more” van! – August 1, 2016

FAMILY VISITS – (ERIC’S SIDE)

• we visited Eric’s family at Todd’s cousin Adam’s graduation party (7/30)
• Todd was drawn to the lake & he liked chasing his Aunt Dallas’ chickens
• he cracked up playing throw & catch with the dog
• Eric’s parents came to visit before our final moving day ( 8/4)

Chasing chickens – July 30, 2016

Todd & his Grammie – August 4, 2016

NEW MOON FARM GOAT RESCUE & SANCTUARY

• visit to New Moon Farm Goat Rescue (8/3)
• (it’s where I volunteered weekly for the 5 years before I got pregnant)
• Todd’s favorite thing was sitting on the tractor
• he did like chasing the goats/sheep & feeding them snacks

Playing on the tractor at New Moon Farm – August 3, 2016

New Moon Farm critter – August 3, 2016

SWIMMING SKILLS

• he tipped his head backward in the water, while standing up
• he jumped in & Eric caught him
• he swam with a swim noodle (8/15)
• he jumped into the deep end (I caught him) & climbed up the ladder (8/16)
• he tried to do a back float & kick (8/18)
• from the steps he jumps to me & coasts/kicks (8/20)

July 23, 2016

Eric asked Todd “Where’s mama?” – August 9, 2016

BABYSITTER GOOD-BYES

• 8/1 was my last day working PRN (as needed)  before starting my new full-time job in Wenatchee
• Jeri also came to babysit on 8/4 for a few hours
• we were sad to say goodbye to Jeri because she is absolutely wonderful 🙂

Babysitter pic – Todd loves his Globber scooter – August 1, 2016

MOVING DAY!!

• we officially moved to Wenatchee! (8/6)
• I had new employee orientation for my full-time job on 8/16, then I worked 8/19
• Eric started his stay-at-home-dad (SAHD) job!

Moving day! – August 6, 2016

The “Welcome Committee” at our condo gave Todd this bear – August 8, 2016

FAMILY VISITS – ELISA’S SIDE

• my sister & her kid’s came to visit for a week (8/8 – 8/14)
• we went to the Rocky Reach Dam to check out the sights, including the fish ladder’s underwater viewing area (8/11)
• we went to Slidewaters (8/13); he didn’t want to go down the slides except for the little frog slide in the toddler splash area
• we went swimming at our condo pool
• dining out with family: La Fuente (8/8), Lemolo (8/13)

Todd & Ashley – August 9, 2016

Rocky Reach Dam – August 11, 2016

Eli & Todd – August 11, 2016

• my parents came to visit for 5 days (8/17-22)
• they camped at Wenatchee Confluence State Park
• we visited them at their site & had dinner there twice
• Todd liked playing in the dirt with his Tonka truck
• he liked checking out the riverfront beach & running in the lawn
• we all went to White Heron Cellars for a music event (8/20); Todd showed off his best dance moves!
• dining out with family: La Fuente (8/17), Mai Lee Thai (8/20)

Todd and his Grandpa – August 18, 2016

Playing at my parents’ campsite – August 18, 2016

At Confluence State Park – August 19, 2016

FOOD NOTES

• he enjoyed wild blackberries while out on a stroller walk (7/25)
• we started trying out a different kind of no-spill cup (8/3)
• he liked drinking 100% cranberry juice (diluted with some water) (8/4)
• 1st time eating corn off the cob (8/11)
• 1st time sitting in a booster seat at the kitchen table (8/20)
• dining out: La Fuente (7/21, 8/6), Cafe Rio (7/22), Shire Cafe (7/25, 8/3)

La Fuente – July 21, 2016

1st corn on the cob – August 11, 2016

ANOTHER TOOTH

• last bottom incisor poking through (the left one)
• that’s his 15th tooth

At Confluence State Park – August 19, 2016

DAY TIME NAPS

• crib naps were typically 2.25 – 3.25 hours
• shortest nap = 2 hrs (8/1)
• longest nap = 3.50 hrs (7/28)
• when he took naps in the Pack ‘n Play, he loved having a body pillow in there with him
• he wanted to get into the Pack ‘n Play for his nap on 7/28 & 7/29
• there were several days when he didn’t get a nap (other than in the car) because of various daytime activities

August 19, 2016

NIGHT TIME SLEEP

• he woke up crying in the night 4x this month
• when he woke up at night he went back to sleep quickly, after drinking his “formula milk” (1x needed a change of clothes, too)
• sometimes I held his hand through his crib rails as he fell asleep at night
• Todd & I slept in the hall on 7/26 because the new carpet installation wasn’t completed in 1 day
• from 7/27 to 8/6 Todd slept in a Pack ‘n Play for naps & night time sleep because the crib was packed up
• from 7/22 to 8/6 we were without my glider chair at home for our usual wake up/night time routine
• the first thing he said when he woke up was “dada” (8/2)
• after we moved & his crib was set up in his own bedroom, Todd transitioned well!
• bedtimes were often late this month (so much going on!!)

The first public urinal he used, LOL! – August 19, 2016

POTTY TALK

• 19 poops were done in the toilet
• 23 poops were not done in the toilet
• he said “poop poop” to tell me he did one in his diaper (8/2)
• he said “poo poo” & then he went in the toilet after I took him (8/12, 8/20)
• he refused to sit on the toilet (even though I knew he had to go), then he went in his diaper (8/19)
• 1st time peeing in a public urinal (8/19)
• started trying to put things in the toilet

Birthday gift for a boy who turned TWO! – August 20, 2016