20 month Update

20 months?! Wow. That's getting up there! :)

Little Michael is such a special little boy.

Many of his little emotional quirks are starting to get ironed out...granted, he still gets upset, and sometimes even still hits or tries to bite...but he has made huge strides composing himself in the last several weeks and even when he gets upset, he seems to be able to get a hold of things pretty quickly and revert back to his kind little nature.

That doesn't mean he doesn't have his idea of how things should be, but he seems to be dealing well with boundaries.

In fact, he even has a little coping technique: he'll ask for something he wants, and then he'll say "Ok, ok." Example: "Beatles? Beatles?...ok, ok." Now, I don't know if he is saying "Ok" because he is hoping that by him saying it, it is like a hint on how my end of the dialogue should go...or if he is almost saying to himself "Ok" if I don't get what I want.

It's hard to tell, but boy, he says it in the sweetest little voice and it really helps him.

We've also learned that "bye-bye" is a good coping technique for him. Removing something that he wants frequently leads to tears...but by saying "bye-bye book" or 'bye-bye pacifier' or "bye-bye Daddy" or really, bye-bye anything gives the cue that it's time for this to be put away now and it really does help him keep his composure.

Michael is continuing to amaze us with his vocabulary and his ability to retain words and sounds.

Saying something once to him often leads to his committing it to memory, and things that he hears a lot? He has down! Songs, phrases, words in books...and even parts of the Mass! He just absorbs it all, and if you give him a good lead him.."for our good and the good of all his..." "Church!" he'll exclaim. It's neat. He really is receptive.

It's no surprise, given his good ear, that he likes music, both to listen to and play. He loves his guitar, and the keyboard we got for him. He sits and hits the notes and sings along to whatever he is trying to play.

He is also getting good at singing songs in the right key. When we sing the words and he fills in the blank, he's not only getting the word right, but actually singing it correctly! It's fun!

Snoopy is his favorite animal bar none. He has a Snoopy doll that plays the Charlie Brown theme song, and he asks for it all the time. When we leave the house, he wants to carry it with him, and he loves to hug and cuddle with his Snoopy.

He also likes me to draw Snoopy as often as possible (I'm not that great at it...but I try for him!) and I even scuplted a Snoopy head out of play-dough. Of course, silly me, left the container on the ground and while I was cooking dinner, I peeked in to find him smacking his lips, saying "MMMMM!" and my Snoopy sculpture missing an ear. :)

Michael still LOVES his brother. He says "Morning Mamoo!" when we get Matthew up from naps..he loves to cuddle with him, and he even has a little chant: "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-MAMOO!!" he says whenever I come out of the room with Matthew getting him up from a nap. It's cute.

Michael is starting to get much better in his motor skills too. He is becoming more daring at the park and willing to try more things on his own, which is nice to see. He is climbing up on the couch and chairs around the house, which, while posing a slight inconvenience at times, is nice to see him developing in that way.

His reach is getting pretty long! My dining room table has a small diameter in the middle which is "safe" and everything else is in the danger zone. I have to be particularly mindful of handles to my pans on the stove, and what I keep in my kitchen drawers since he can open them and take stuff out now. He also likes to reach my water container and pull the spigot and make water run down his arm. If I am not in the room, I always know what he is doing because he laughs hysterically at himself when he does it.

Michael seems to really have an affinity for religious items. We try to teach him respect for religious items like the Bible, the crucifix and prayer books, and he seems to do very well knowing the difference between those and toys or his own books.

It's neat to watch.

He loves the Breviary (a book of Psalms and other Scriptures that are prayed throughout the day).

He likes to flip through the pages..I think because the pages a thin and feel much different than other books. He reminds me to pray it at meal times, which we've started trying to do since Lent began, and when he is done with the meal, he wants to hold the Breviary and flip through the pages some more. I let him because he is so respectful of it and hasn't had any problems...I want him to feel like it is something he is encouraged to do.

I really am looking forward to seeing more of his "religious potential."

Michael is just a very sweet little boy. More and more, he is becoming my little buddy and companion. Of course, not like Matthew isn't, but Michael is really starting to understand language well. I can tell him something or give him instructions and he really does understand a lot. Narrating my day to a baby who doesn't understand is important, but it still feels like I am talking to myself. As he grows in understanding, I feel less like I am talking to myself and more to someone who is listening and absorbing.

We are just in a really neat phase right now where there is so much development, so much growth, and so much of him becoming his own person. It seems like the days of his being a baby are so long behind him and he really is a little boy. He is a joy, and we look forward to all that this adventure entails!