22 month old

Leo's going to be 22 months old next week - so close to 2 it's scary. There seems to be little left of the baby in him as he turns more and more into a little boy.

He is becoming increasingly independent. He still likes to keep us in sight most of the time, but he is developing his own little games that he can play alone for longer periods of time. He likes to line things up, rearrange them, make them fall down. He even gets out all my bowls, which are of different sizes, and he puts them back when he's done, in their correct order.

His favorite toys are trucks, tractors, cars, bikes. He'll push anything with wheels all over the place, and any time he hears anything with a motor, he stops whatever it is he's doing and say "brrrm". Next on the list is balls. His throw is excellent for such a little arm and he's getting pretty good at kicking. Catching is his weak point! And then of course comes animals, both live and toy. He likes to offer both food and water. The toys don't often accept, but the real dogs really seem to enjoy this game.

His room has been a big success. He really loves it, and definitely sleeps better. He thinks his bed is the coolest play area. If you watch any of the videos on the link below, you'll understand when I say I see trampolines in his future.

Now that we have all the books on the bookshelf, the stairs are a regular stopping point for him on his wanders around the house. He'll sit on a step and take out book after book from his shelf, and amazingly he puts them all back... for the most part. We still have no luck reading stories to him. He's happy for you to sit with him and point at things, but if you start reading the story, he'll take the book away from you and tell you what's happening instead.

He's getting more and more into coloring as well. Scribbles all over his book and he is even starting to recognise a few words we write. For example, he will say "woof" when we write dog.

He loves being outdoors. He runs, jumps, and can now walk for about a quarter mile before he wants up in your arms. This is wind season, and when it's howling out there and he has to remain indoors he gets cranky.

As for crankiness, there's some of that too. Actually not as much as I would have thought. He's mostly happy, sometimes whiny, but rarely angry. He'll sometimes shout to get your attention or let you know that he wants something, but he knows that we don't really respond too well to that approach.

I have started taking him to a get together with other mothers and kids from the village each week. He gets to be with kids his own age, which is cool, though he doesn't yet want to play with them very much. He watches the bigger boys play soccer with big, longing eyes, but when they ask him to join in he moves back closer to me. I'm sure this timidity won't last long. With people he knows well, kids included, he is anything but shy.

Language is still slow for him. His understanding in both languages is great, but he still says very few actual words. It'll come I guess. And from then on, he'll probably never shut up, so maybe we should be enjoying this slow start more!

When thing he's already better that us at it his teeth. He has always liked brushing his own hair and teeth. However, he now demands his tooth brush every morning and evening. So we, who are kinda forgetful where teeth cleaning are concerned, are being shown up by a two year old! I'm sure it won't be the only time we experience that - I think this little guy is going to overtake us both pretty young.

For photos and videos see 22nd month, and as of next week I'll be putting them in 23rd month.