Jace is changing quickly these days! He just turned 19 months this week and I think alot has changed since I updated about him a month ago. I think the last month has made some major changes in communication skills and also in tempermant. Some days he is a perfect angel who is just melt-your-heart sweet and other days he... well, let's just say he shows his age! The young toddler phase has been a little challenging for me as a parent because I often struggle with finding the proper ways to discipline his bad behavior. At this stage Jace mostly knows the difference between right and wrong, but sometimes you can tell he doesn't understand... and that's where my conflict with discipline comes.
For example, I would say we've hit a bit of a "bully phase". At one point or another I'm sure most kids will pick up a bad behavior such as pushing, hair pulling, or hitting. For Jace, that point is now. He picked up the concept of hitting or shoving other kids within the last several weeks, and lately it seems to be becoming a problem. He will be playing nicely with another kid, super excited to have a playmate, and then suddenly a switch flips. Usually it's triggered by someone taking his toy, or having a toy he wants, or simply someone standing in his way. He thinks the instant solution is to either push them out of the way, or snag the toy for himself. I have heard that kids at this age are very ego-centric and it's hard for them to understand that they can't always have what they want when they want it, and that other people have feelings too. I would say in Jace's case, that makes PERFECT sense.
At all other times Jace is such a sweetheart. My favorite thing about this stage is all the hugs and kisses he likes to give. There is nothing more special than your little one leaning in for a kiss... seriously. I also am really enjoying listening to him learn to talk. His little voice is so cute when he says "uh oh" or "where'd-it-go?". He is enjoying being read to lately, which I'm sure is helping his vocabulary. For a while there he wouldn't sit still through more than a page or two at a time. Now he loves to sit and point at everything on the page and immitate what I tell him it is. He loves to read his animal sounds book and point to the "gow" (cow), "key-ca" (kitty cat) and say "boo" (moo) and "mow" (meow).
We've been trying to get Jace to communicate a clear yes or no to our questions. Sometimes we'll ask if he's thirsty and he'll clearly answer "Yeaaa" or we will ask if he has a dirty diaper and he'll say "Yeaaa". BUT, most days he'd prefer to answer every question with a long drawn out "Noooo". I can't really explain the way he says it, but there's something so funny about his tone. I'll have to try to capture it on film. For example Me: "Jace, did you have fun with your friends this morning?", Jace: (sounding annoyed) "Nooooo". Then two seconds later he'll laugh, knowing that he's giving a funny answer.
Jace has been doing great with his toddler bed. It was only a rough 3-4 days in the beginning where we had to let him cry it out... which I think was harder on me than on him! He's been back to his usual sleeping routine of going to bed without any fussing and sleeping 12-13 hours a night. His naps are also back to normal and his usual nap is about 2 hours long. He has not fallen out of the bed while sleeping (while climbing is a different story...) and rarely ever gets out of bed until we come and open the door to his bedroom.
Jace's incisors (fang teeth) finally broke through on the top this month, and so did the front tooth I thought he was missing on the bottom. It took about 6 weeks for those to all come through and I'm so glad it's behind us. He was such a picky eater during that time, and I could just tell from time to time he'd be in real pain. His eating has greatly improved since his teeth broke through. He still has his picky days and I'd still say he's your typical picky toddler, but now he'll at least eat without it turning into a big production. His favorite foods are still anything breakfast-y like toast, waffles, applesauce, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal... and he does really well with any kind of bean or cheese as well. He still does not like meat, but if it's hidden in a cassorole, buritto or pasta he'll eat it usually without a problem. Jace loves sour foods like lemon wedges and pickles.
At 19 months Jace has finally developed a longer attention span. He'll play with one thing for a long period of time now. For example, he loves his mega blocks and will sit and build towers for 30 minutes or so before getting bored. He's also become way more obsessed with TV (uh oh!) and knows how to turn on the TV and then will plop down on the couch like a blob watching Nick Jr or Sprout. I do appreciate those times when I'm trying to get something done though!
Jace has really been enjoying going to "school" twice a week, and is learning alot from watching the older kids. He learned the concept of "Ready, Set, Go!" while racing with some big boys last week... so now he'll run around the house yelling "go! go! go! go!". This activity almost always guarantees a long nap. ;)
Jace has been showing more and more signs of getting ready for potty training, but I still think we're at least 3-4 months away from trying active potty training. He enjoys sitting on his potty chair but only if he's completely naked and gets to brush his teeth at the same time, lol! Alot of times I will see him go into his bedroom or the hall bathroom and shut the door for privacy before he goes in his diaper... which I think is showing he's more aware of what he's doing now.
I'm really excited to see what the next few months bring with Jace. Watching him learning to talk and communicate has been really fun, and I know we're just in the beginning! Temper tantrums and bully streaks aside, he just keeps getting more and more fun to be around and I'm loving being able to be at home with him.
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