Roman James @ 22 Months

Growth & Appearance: You are tall, handsome, strong, and heavy. When stranger’s guess your age, they usually guess that you are three. You have the brightest, bluest eyes and you still have golden blond hair. There is a big extra blond (white) patch on the back of your head. We don’t know if the hair around it went dirty-blond or if that patch just lightened for some reason.

You are so very handsome and have a contagious and beautiful smile. You have the cutest little teeth inside that mouth of yours and you have nice, full lips, like your Papa. I’ve said it before, but if I drew up the perfect little boy in my mind, it’s you that I would draw up. I know, I know… I have a crazy mama-bias, but I just can’t help it. I know that at 38 weeks pregnant, I shouldn’t be lifting you up as much as I do — but I can’t help it. You are just so sweet and you’re only going to let me smother you with kisses & hugs for so long. You are almost two and becoming a mother has taught me just how quickly life goes by.

Sleeping: You typically go to sleep at night between 8:30 and 9:30 pm and you wake in the morning between 7 and 8 am. For a long time (most of my pregnancy, gratefully) you took a two to three-hour nap, around 12 or 1 pm each day. Unfortunately, you’ve been boycotting these naps this past week. I’m not sure if you’re transitioning away from naps early, or whether it’s just a passing phase. Of course I’m hoping for the latter. Time will tell.

Talking: This is the biggest point of note at the moment. You talk all day long! In the morning when you wake up, we can hear you talking to your stuffed animals. When we come in to get you from your crib, you start talking to us. And it just goes on from there. The only time you are really quiet is when you are watching a cartoon or deep in play/thought. At night, when I put you down in your crib, you fall asleep talking to your stuffed animals once again.

All of the talking is just wonderful. I’ve been wondering for so long about what you are thinking and now, for you to be able to communicate so much to me, it’s just so exciting. I feel like I am getting to know you in an entirely new way and I love it. Of course, it can get to be a little bit too much, like when your Papa & I are trying to have a conversation and you’re yelling over the both of us — attention hog — but most of the time I appreciate everything that you have to say and I could listen to you for a lifetime and never tire.

You also have the sweetest ways of (mis)pronouncing several sounds. You use “L” in place of “S” sometimes and you use “Y” in place of “L” sometimes. Examples: socks are “yocks” and light is “yite.” There are also a lot of words that you say that sound exactly alike, so there’s always a level of context needed. For example, when you say tractor and cracker, it’s impossible to tell the difference. On the other hand, there are so many words that you say perfectly, that it can be jarring. You’ve also got lots of phrases figured out and you use them with perfect timing. Examples: Where’d [Papa] go? // What happened? // It’s broken. // What you ‘doin here?

Development: Continuing with the theme of talking, you’ve always been able to identify about twenty animals by making their sounds (i.e. moo, meow, quack, etc.) but now you can identify all of these animals by their names, too. You know the names of most household items, foods that we regularly eat, and lots of drinks. You know all sorts of words based on the books that we read, shows that we watch, and places that we go.

You can identify nine letters of the alphabet and this number grows weekly. You can also identify a handful of numbers, although you get them mixed up quite a bit. You can identify the primary colors, as well as the basic colors in the rainbow. You love to count, but you have not gotten the idea of “order” down yet and you count along the lines of, “fourteen, nine, fourteen, eighteen, five.” I often try to correct you, but it’s the sweetest thing and most of the time I just laugh.

I’m not trying to cultivate a baby genius in you by any means. In fact, that idea makes me cringe. Everything that you have learned has been organic. You pick things up naturally and when I notice that you’ve picked up something important (like letters or numbers) I’ll occasionally reinforce them during our toddler preschool/playtime dates on the chalkboard.

As far as physical development, everything is where it should be and you are incredibly strong and coordinated. You dance, march, run, clap, and you can jump pretty darned high! I can’t wait to get you in the water this summer to see how you’ll swim. I’m hoping you’ll be a little fish, just like me.

You’ve also been giving us lots of hints that you might be ready to start potty-training. So we’ve got a little potty that you’re really warmed up to and maybe we’ll get some pull-ups soon so that we can start that journey.

Your Papa has taught you to say “Thank you.” It is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Anytime we hand you something that you want, you reply with the sweetest little, “Thank you.” For a little while you would say, “Thank you, Mama” or “Thank you, Papa” based on who you were speaking to; but now you’ve made the whole thing more efficient by saying, “Thank you, MaPa” regardless of which one of us you’re speaking to!

You’re really wonderful about giving hugs & kisses and you know exactly how to melt me into a puddle of mush at any given moment. At just shy of two-years-old, you’ve already learned to use this to your advantage. I’m in trouble!

Favourites: You love Curious George, Mickey Mouse, and Elmo. You love cheese, grapes, noodles, french fries, pickles and olives. You love to color and to be outside. Your grandfather, Pop-pop, is your favourite person other than me and Papa. But you love lots of others, too, and you’re pretty friendly with most people you meet. You can take awhile to warm up and you never quite open up the way that you do at home, but in general, I think you are a “people person” and you love to be in social settings. You also adore all of your cousins. Your favourite toys are your blocks and your wooden train set — you’ve become an expert train-track builder and you make the neatest train track designs.

You love to help! It’s great. You throw garbage away, help us prepare meals, water plants, scoop Bella’s dry food into her bowl, and much more. Anytime that we can bend a task to include you, we try to do so. Helping us makes you so proud and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Dislikes & Behavior: A couple of weeks ago, you were going through a phase and we thought that the “terrible two’s” were upon us. Everything was a battle and you were such a cranky pants! Gratefully, it has since passed and you’re back to your sweet self most of the time. You have started to have regular tantrums, though. It’s disappointing, but it’s part of toddlerhood, and as I’ve mentioned in the past, most of the time it’s because you are overtired or hungry.

You do have moments of straight rebellion, however. You continue to learn how to push buttons and boundaries. You’re at this weird stage, too, where it’s difficult to discipline you. We have always used the time-out method and plan to continue to do so. In the past we used your crib for timeouts because you’re simply too small to understand that you’ve got to sit in a chair for two minutes. But now, you’ve learned to entertain yourself in your crib and you don’t really see it as a punishment! So we’re a little stumped on discipline at the moment. (Any ideas, friends?)

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It’s a little emotional wrapping up this update, as it will surely be the last one before you become a big brother. These past 22 months have — without a doubt, hands down, far & away — been the best of my life. You have brought me a joy & taught me a love that I couldn’t have imagined in my very wildest dreams. You are the light of my life and I am so deeply grateful that I have been blessed to be your Mama.

I know that you are going to be an incredible big brother. You are such a positive role model in so many ways. Your spirit is bright, generous, loving, and adventurous. You are the most beautiful person that I’ve ever known and I’m not just saying that because you are mine. It’s the truth. I know that adding another little one to our family will be an adjustment, but I feel very confident about it. My heart has been swelling & stretching for nine months and it’s ready. I can’t wait to see where our adventures bring us next.

All of My Love, Always & Always,
Mama