Young Nesters: 19 Months - A letter for Darwin

A chronicle of your 19th month.

I love how when you are excited you open your mouth and stick your tongue WAY out! You are starting to make jokes in your own little way by sticking your finger through your potato at dinner and laughing. You show us so we can be in on it too.

You got to play with friends a lot this month. Sometimes you push or grab your friends and we talk about being gentle. Mostly you like to watch what they are doing and join in or mimic their play with something else. You are learning to share very well.

Dad and I are so excited that you have been using the potty! This month you have really been going a lot, almost every day. Sometimes you tell us when you would like to try and other times we ask you. You almost always go when you sit down on the toilet. And then Dad I make a big fuss clapping and cheering. You get to choose one M&M after you go, your favorite part of course.

You still love love love reading books. You are starting to like books with real pages now and not only the board books. Your favorite series that we must read over and over again are the David books that we borrowed from the library. You love to say "no no no" when David is acting naughty in the story. The first time you read one of the books with Daddy, you saw that David gets in trouble for breaking something and has to sit in the corner with a tear on his cheek. When Daddy explained to you what happened you were so sad and started to cry! Daddy quickly turned the page to show you that he gives his Mama a big hug and is happy again.

You also really love to see pictures and short videos of yourself on our phones. Especially in the morning. We'll get you from your bed then bring you to our bed and cuddle under the blankets while we watch videos of you dancing or Philly running in the snow. You already know how to slide your finger across Dad's iPhone to get to your favorites.

Another trick you learned this month was that you could move your little stool around all over the house to reach things. Mostly this is either to reach the sink in the bathroom to turn on and play in the water or to push it into the kitchen to watch or help me cook.

You are such an AMAZING sleeper now! I remember a year ago feeling like a zombie day after day struggling through the nights of you tossing and turning, waking to nurse every 45 minutes sometimes. But now you are very independent. You fall asleep by yourself in your own crib and wake up so pleasant and happy. You babble and talk to your doll in your crib and play your music for a while because you like to lounge before we come to get you. You go to bed at 8pm and wake up around 8 or 9am. You also take 2+ hour naps around lunchtime every day. When we come in to get you, you jump up and smile and THROW your binky at us! Your way of saying you are ready to play!

You are still very much a Mama's boy, especially in the evenings. Before bed you will only bring your books to me to read to you and if Daddy tries you grab them away from him and push them into my lap. But you have lots of special moments with Dad too during the day.

Can't wait to see what the next month will bring.

Love always,
Mama