Nineteen Month Updates!

In honor of Cubbie's nineteen month birthday today (Tuesday), here is a quick rundown of his latests. So I'll have a reference point. :)

FOOD

-His appetite ebbs and flows, but his palette is still pretty good. He loves fruit more than anything. I try to keep containers full of chopped grapes, melon, and strawberries in the fridge, so I can grab a handful of each and stash them in a plastic baggy when we go out to eat! His favorite lunch is, by far, grilled cheese.

-He prefers Muenster.

-He still has yet to master a fork, but maybe that is because I always forget to give him one? Maybe? Poor guy. Developmental delay is ALL MAMA'S FAULT!

-BUT. He is still an expert at smearing bananas in his hair. Fantastic!

-And the spoon ("soon") is coming along swimmingly.

-I found a recipe for some yummy "energy balls" that consist of granola, wheat germ, peanut butter, raisins, and honey. I'm trying to get more creative with his snacks. He likes them. So do I.

WORDS

-Cub is quite the little communicator. I didn't expect that from him, seeing as he was always a quiet baby. We taught him a few signs when he was 10 months old, thinking he would be a late talker. We were wrong. The little guy LOVES TO TALK OH MY WORD.

-And he speaks quite clearly for a nineteen month old. Someone else told me that. Just so you know it isn't a completely biased mother opinion. Ha ha.

-Given his propensity towards a somewhat articulate vocabulary, we've started simple memorization. During breakfast, I read my devotional out loud and then I read Psalm 23. He learned the word "shepherd" ("sheh-erd") and we've practiced using it in the first line. I will say, "The Lord is my ..." and he will respond, "Sheh-herd!" We are also learning, "I shall not ..." "WANT!" Some days he gets it, some days he stares at me like I'm nuts. If he gets it, great, if not, that's fine. But I want to try, just in case he ends up being wordy ... like his Mama. Plus, it's a good way for me to start my day!

-He can do three-syllable words now. "Basketball" and "Emery" rank up there as his top three-syllable words. So cute.

-In the effort of trying to learn sentences, he will babble and put random words he knows together. Very often I will hear him mumbling to himself in his bedroom, saying something like "Ba-ba-ba-basketball water la la juice swimming oh oh oh Nemo." Cute kid.

BEHAVIOR

-Ahhh, the joys. The high chair hating fiasco has simmered down quite a bit. I had to take him out of a restaurant TWICE the other night, however, which I've never had to do before (and haven't done since). And it wasn't even for high chair reasons! Good grief! He was just extra whiny (which, oh my word, I can't stand whining) and decided to crumble to a mess when his Dadda left to go to the bathroom. "Dadda!! Dadda!!" with tears streaming down his cheeks, on his knees, pleading for his father ... quite dramatic. This is while we were waiting for a table. So, I hoisted him up and took him outside, where he proceeded to cry harder. That's when I knew the punishment was working--he really did want to be inside rather than outside. So, we walked around a bit and I told him when he calmed down, we would go back inside. You don't get what you want by whining and throwing a fit.

Now. We have a little cue we use to make sure Cub understands. When we finish the appropriate spiel for whatever issue we happen to be addressing, we ask him, "Okay?" at the end of it. If he responds with "okay" then we know he heard us and he gets it. If he continues crying or refuses to say "okay", then we know he isn't over it. So, Cub and I walked around until he said "okay" to my explanation. He calmed down. We went back inside, got to our table, and all was fine until Dadda got up to go to the salad bar. OH MY. Again, I hoisted Cub up and we went straight outside. I wasn't about to sit there and try to shush him while other people were trying to eat their dinner. I'm way more stringent when we're out to eat! Again, we walked around until he listened to what I was saying. Then he calmed down and was fine the rest of the meal. Just a note--Dadda takes care of this stuff, too, but since he was the one Cub wanted, I took over. Fun! Oddly enough, the whole fiasco didn't stress me out. I felt very calm and was glad to take care of the issue. I wasn't mad at Cub or anything, either. I knew he was tired and over-stimulated and had no desire to initially obey. He wasn't going to get away with bad behavior because of it, but I understood his situation. Tonight we went out to eat earlier in the evening and he was a champ. So, you know. One bad situation doesn't define EVERY situation.

-In an attempt to incorporate Scripture into the words we use with Cub while we discipline, we've decided to go with the Fruit of the Spirit. When he's impatient in his high chair, we tell him he needs to be patient. When he whines or throws a fit, we tell him he needs to practice self-control. When he refuses to acknowledge an adult or a friend, we tell him the importance of being kind. And we always follow it with "okay?" and await his response and make sure he corrects his behavior.

-Note: Raising a child is like having accountability to yourself ALL DAY LONG.

-Also note: Raising a child is REWARDING. Seeing Cub improve in different areas is priceless.

-Also also note: Mama is also improving in certain areas.

-Cubbie is a snuggly bug and I love it. Lots of hugs and snuggles.

-We keep a stash of books in the car after discovering how much Cub loves to look at books in his car seat. It keeps him happily occupied. Which we fully support, of course.

-When Cub toddles into Naomi's nursery and sees her car seat, he exclaims, "Baby!" When he sees her crib, he points to it and says, "Bed! Nomi!"

HONORABLE MENTIONS

-When we put Cub in his car seat, we say, "Ready, Set ..." and he exclaims, "GO!"

-When Cub got scared today in public, he took my hand. It melted my heart.

-He is allowed to take one toy into a store if he so wishes (unless he throws a fit wanting it) and today his toy of choice was a big stuffed animal fish that his Grandpa bought him. Cub was wearing his overalls today, and I have to say that I was so proud to be holding the hand of a little Cubbie toddling into Hobby Lobby wearing overalls and carrying a huge stuffed fish in his free hand. So stinkin' cute!

Okay! Cubbie update complete. Notes taken. Time for bed!!