Fun new development: Z goes and gets each person’s shoes when we are going out :).

words: 

• 3/30: “my trash”, Diaper
• Moon on 4/2– reading goodnight moon
• Uh oh
• Bus
• blueberry
• peekaboo
• “Babo” (toy) (one of the Ugly Doll series)
• “knock knock” when I rap on the gate
• bath

And my 2 favorites: 

• I love you to his KY great-grandpa first on FaceTime – signing
• And his own creation: I want (in sign language) (he points to his eye  and then signs want :)

In preschool we were observing our kids for Communication, Connection, and Critical thinking and this is what I observed with ZBL:

• Communication with his peers: Matthew getting truck for Z and saying “yes” and then Z signing thank you
• Connection with peers: putting puzzle piece in cannister and realizing it was wrong and puttting it on the spindle puzzle base instead (correct)
• Critical thinking: Z wanted the spoon that Bridger had in the sandbox outside and instead of grabbing it from him, Z went inside to find another one in the kitchen and brought it outside

It’s amazing how much of a “little scientist” almost 2 year olds are.  Z loves pouring, putting things in H2O , and figuring out how things work, especially locks, gates and doors (watch out :-/).

Z loves petting dogs and when we walk SPL to carpool in the morning or just walk around the neighborhood, he wants to pet each and every dog we pass. Thankfully we have a lot of neighbors with friendly dogs :).  But I am also teaching him that not every owner wants him to pet their dog and also, not to pet strange dogs if their owner is not around :).

He still loves running from gate to gate in the kitchen and saying boo!

Morning routine:  every morning Z goes to every trash can in the upstairs (5) and empties them into 1 can and then we carry all the trash downstairs and take it outside to the large bin.  Our trash has never been so well taken care of :)

A huge development this month: Z is *much* less impulsive, less squawking and yelling, is able to show self control while watching Looey the hamster (who has visited us 3 times now!).  ZBL *loves* Looey the hampster.

Singing:

Z sings twinkle twinkle more clearly with words and he also sings it with No No no as his syllable of choice :).  Z is also singing the songs @ school: open shut them, wind your bobbin, wheels on the bus all with hand motions (calming effect).  

uh oh!  has been added to the vocabulary – very endearing :) and it’s his own add-on to the book Inside Outside Upside Down: he says it when you turn the page to the scene where the box falls off the truck.

and no big surprise – Z’s favorite book…………..is…………wait for it………….. Inside Outside Upside Down!

We had a substitute babysitter this month while Chun Hua was on vacation and she had a knack for art with toddlers.  She was great at using found materials and recyclables to make art. She and Z also made homemade playdoh and painted.  Fun!

Thursday routine:  Since ZBL loves the trash trucks so much, we have been following them around the neighborhood.  I know I am feeding his OCD but it is very cute to watch him watch Steve and Aurelio and the trash truck. Z gets *so* animated when he hears the trash truck sounds:“Gabage” he says.  And he runs to the gate and repeats himself until you get the message :).

He also helps us put out the trash cans on Wednesday night (otherwise I would probably forget until early Thursday morning when I hear the trucks rumbling down the street!)

He also brings his pretend trash along for the ride in the wagon as we follow Steve and Aurelio around our neighborhood.

Challenge for the month: Diaper changing.  Oí!  It is *super* hard to get him to lie down to change his diaper.  And once he is down, he’s *super* strong.  John has thought of a good idea though: have Z help with a stuffed animal’s “diaper” while we change his.  Brilliant!

Funny facial expressions – he’s started making funny facial expressions – but I haven’t been able to capture them with the camera (yet!).  He’s got a wrinkled up nose one that I particularly like :).

No citrus & tomatoes/salsa – we’ve had to take a break from oranges and to a lesser degree tomatoes and salsa.  Wicked diaper rash follows ingestion of any orange.  The good news is that he is old enough to understand the connection.

Monday routine: going to check out the diggers at neighborhood construction sites. We are fortunate to live right down the street from a demolition site so Z and I walk down there on Monday mornings to check out their progress.  One of the workers even invited us around to the other side of the site and opened the gate so we could get a closer look!

Another awesome development of this month is that Z is now happy & content to play in crib when wake up in AM.  He can even play and talk with himself for up to 45 mins (from 5:45 am until 6:30 am) which makes a huge difference for his still somewhat bleary eyed parents.

Z watched an old family favorite Trashy Town for the first time this month (pictured below).  As you can see, it’s like watching an old friend.  He loved it (as did SPL).

ZBL joined the family in to other significant ways this month: 1) he enjoyed watching Stanford & UK basketball in the NCAA tournament.

and 2) he enjoyed his first Subway sandwich: chicken with a little salt and pepper on wheat. 

Stay tuned for videos from this month as I will post them separately. 

Almost to 2 - hard to believe.