Major Milestones... an update

First, I want to apologize for not posting more often lately. We've been crazy-busy around here, so my blog has taken a slight backseat.

John Michael, officially 2 1/2 on the 14th, has been very busy and keeping up with him is nearly impossible.

He has had some developmental growth spurts and a language explosion that are very exciting. I've been keeping a running tab on his new words. We also felt that, with his new baby brother coming at the beginning of June, maybe we could get him in a toddler bed to avoid having two cribs.

Here's John Michael helping to put his IKEA toddler bed together yesterday.

This is a heavy tool and he got the bit into the metal hole a few times. He could actually turn on the smaller Black and Decker battery-op screwdriver (not shown) and make it turn.

So, we got the bed all set up... moved his crib for the baby into the girls' room, put on his fresh, new bedding and Voila! a happy toddler boy.

BUT!   It didn't last for more than a few minutes. His newfound freedom was waaaayyyy too much for him to handle. He also couldn't settle into bed last night, so guess where the little stinker slept? In the girls' room, in his crib.  I put him down for nap (already asleep from a trip to Target) in his toddler bed today... not sure how long that'll last...

So on to language...

I am so proud of this guy!  Over the past 6 weeks or so, he has been making a greater effort to say or repeat words back to us.  His speech therapist is working on getting two syllables of different sounds out of him, like "Daddy" rather than "Da-da".  Well, he has "Daddy" down pat. 

Here's a list of words he can say...

baby (bay beh + sign), Binky (bee beh),  ball, bell, bowl, in, out, on, off, up, down (dow), moon (moo), dog (daw), juice, blue (baloo), block (blah), bubble (sounds just like bubble), car (kah + sign), hi, (hiya), bye-bye (with waving), please (pees + sign), eat (et), open (ben or beh + sign), more (moh), signs "all done", no (says no-no or shakes head), nods head for yes, Daddy, Mama, Papa, water (wah wah), shoe (show + sign), cracker (cowdow + sign), love (uv + sign), ice, bed (beh), signs hot, stop, says "do" for go, and signs "want" and "milk".  For flower, he sniffs his nose and when he has to cough, he covers his mouth.  He says "shhh" with his finger to his mouth when the neighbor barks (which is often!)  He can say a close approximation to his siblings' names as well.  There are so many more things, but this is what I managed to write down in case I had a brain freeze (which I do!) 

He also has some cute expressions that he uses when he's playing.  Every time he gets a Duplo Lego to stick, he says "yay".  He also says "wow" when he hears us saying it.

At mealtime and at bedtime, we say family prayers.  He tries to make a sign of the cross and now folds his hands and bows his head.  At the "Amen", he will try to make a sign of the cross again.  He is the king of mimicking.  He will dance, spin, and march for Greta. 

Last week, I tossed a small lightweight rubber ball to him and told him to catch.  If I toss it carefully, he will catch the ball 6 out of 10 times.  Keep in mind, I'm only about 3 feet away at this point, but he's "catching on", so to speak...

Finally, he is beginning to match animal puzzle pieces and is getting his shapes into a shape sorter with more ease.  The easiest shapes are circle and star.  Square is next, followed by triangle, which often takes a couple tries.  For the puzzles, he actually looks at the animal on the puzzle pieces and matches the image on the board.  He then turns the piece so it will fit.

He is self-feeding with utensils most of the time and can drink (assisted) from an open cup.  He favors a straw and can even feed himself Cheerios with milk using a toddler spoon.  His diet is limited right now, because he's picky, but that doesn't stop us from trying new things.  If I call something "meat", he'll usually open his mouth to try it.  Funny boy...

Very exciting stuff right now.  Sometimes his new words are spontaneous, which is even more exciting!  It means he understands the concept of saying a word to get what he wants or to show me he sees something.  He's also quick to point and grunt, which can frustrate both of us at times, but I'll take what I can get for now.

Can you tell... I LOVE this boy!!!