Constant motion at 20 months

Michael keeps finding new ways to make us laugh and marvel at how a one-year-old's brain works. This month, he's gotten even better with his physical abilities, as he likes to move chairs around from room to room, push the ottomans like football sleds, jump over obstacles, and take the step to the living room without backing up anymore. When he is excited to see someone who's just arrived at the house, he starts yelling and runs away with a big smile. He plays with a lot of concentration and intensity -- albeit with pretty constant motion. He is generally in a cheerful mood, but some days he's much more pensive and quiet -- interesting to see his personality developing like that.


He finally did get the last two front bottom teeth this month -- at the same time as his top incisors started poking through. Thus, he has been a teething machine for a few weeks now, chewing on everything (including doorframes, socks, and Snoopy's ears) in sight. This unfortunately includes the corner guards I put on the coffee table, which he had ignored for months but which he now yanks off multiple times a day to start chewing desperately. I am debating superglue. It would ruin the table for future non-kid-protected use, but hey, I've already gotten five good years out of this nice Target purchase and plan to keep it around longer (with kids), so why not? Can kids pull off superglued corner guards? (Somehow I'm guessing the answer is yes.)

Whenever he really wants something (like to watch Youtube videos of his cousin Canon or read a particular book), Michael will tell us the word (like his version of "Canon" or signing the word for book) and then say "Si? Si?" in ever more hopeful tones. I really love how he asks for the "brother" book that Amanda got him or the book of first prayers for little children he got for Christmas (this one he calls the "pears" book). He LOVES these books and pays very close attention to them, signing and saying bird, uvas, moon, Jesus (approximately), girl, boy, pillow (approximately), baby, help, flowers, and milk as those images show up on the page. Of course, he also runs around the room half the time while you're reading, just checking in whenever there's a pause. These have soft pages so he has to ask for them specifically but it's great. "Pears? Si? Si??"

He is so adorable carrying around his Snoopy by the ears and he continues to be an earnest little helper, when he decides he is going to listen to you. He pats my tummy when I ask where Mama's baby is -- but sometimes he also pulls up his own shirt and pats his stomach and says "baby" too. Hee. We keep telling him his little brother is excited to meet him and who knows, maybe with the way he is absorbing the "Big Brother" book he actually understands this a little. I am really trying to make the most of my time just with him right now before everything changes soon.

After this month, we'll have to change the post tag for Michael the Baby to just "Michael" or "Michael III" -- won't be able to stretch and call our little toddler the baby anymore.