21 months old

Our sweet little boy is 21 months old! He is quickly approaching 2 years old which is so hard to believe. He is at a fun age where he is such a little sponge and is soaking up so much information all the time. He is also at a trying age. We are learning that our little boy has quite the strong will and some anger issues at times and is very persistent. We are working on having him obey his parents and saying yes.

He became a big brother at 20 1/2 months and LOVES it! Any time I have his little brother on the floor, he goes over, lays next to him and holds his hand. He gives James at least 30 kisses a day and loves to get right in his face and say, "Hi baby!" He is such a sweet big brother, and it just shows what a sweet boy he already was. 

Eating
Zach goes through spurts of being a really good eater and a really picky eater. He always seems to be interested in whatever we are eating or drinking, so we try to be very careful of what we are consuming around him. He usually only gets water or milk to drink, but there have been some occasions where we have mixed in a little bit of juice with his water or chocolate milk with his milk. He still has never had a sip of soda and we are keeping it that way for a while. He loves his carbs (bread, pasta) and fruits (favorites: watermelon, pineapple, oranges/clementines, grapes, apples, applesauce). He is really picky with proteins. The only consistent protein I can get him to eat are Hebrew National hot dogs. Occasionally he will eat ground beef if it is mixed in with pasta. He does not like chicken or any other form of meat that is just offered to him in pieces. Thankfully he has started liking peanut butter and will eat it on apples or bread, or even by the spoonful. He also enjoys cheese. He has become a little sweet-toothed baby and loves lollipops, cupcakes, cookies and his favorite Joe-Joe's (Trader Joe's version of Oreos). He will ask for Joe Joe's all the time and one time Justin told him they were going to the store and he said, "Buy Joe Joe's!" We try to limit how many sweets he eats, but we do let him indulge in a little from time to time.  

Sleep
Oh, sleep. I think I need to just accept the fact that I have an extremely. early. riser. and that might not change. Ever. Zach did have some good chunks of time of sleeping through the night and waking up at 7:00/7:30 in the morning. It was so luxurious. For the past month or so, he has been waking up at 4:00 in the morning and not going back to sleep on his own. He will then proceed to still wake up at 5:30/6:00 in the morning. Because he wakes up so early, his nap time and bed time have been experimental lately. Usually he goes down for a nap at 1:00 and will sleep at good 2-2 1/2 hours. However, he has been getting tired (and cranky) earlier so we have put him down at 11:00. It goes day by day to see what time he wakes up and what his mood is like. He usually goes to bed at 8:00, but with his earlier naps, we have been having some meltdowns around dinner time, so we are also experimenting with his bed time. Some nights he goes down at 7:00 or 7:30. I am trying to find something more consistent to see what works best for him. He has climbed out of his crib a couple of times. With his little brother now here, Zach's transition to a big boy bed will happen in the next month or so.  

Play
Our little boy is a non-stop moving machine. He is constantly on the go. He loves to have someone to play with and is not independent at all. If he wants you to play with him, he will come over, grab your hand, say, "hand" and will lead you over the activity that he wants to do. Or he will come over and say, "Up, please" and expects you to follow him. I am trying to encourage more independent play, especially now with a newborn in the house. He loves trains and got a train table for Christmas. It has been a wonderful investment and has provided many hours of entertainment already. He is very well-rounded in his play and enjoys many activities. He likes arts and crafts like playing with play doh, painting, watercolors, drawing, and shaving cream. He enjoys lots of different sports: hitting his baseball off the t, playing basketball, kicking a ball and playing catch. He has also learned how to catch a ball. He loves going down his slide that his Aunt Jen got him. He likes to roll trains and other stuffed animals down the slide or slide down into his tent/ ball pit. He is also very musical and likes to drum on his drum set, play his guitar and xylophone. He likes to sing and dance. He has a Go Fish Guys DVD and will sing along and mimic the dance moves as he watches it. He also loves playing outside, going to the play ground and going to Catch Air (indoor play place). He also loves to help out in the kitchen and will want to help me cook dinner or bake.

 Zach's favorite place to go and play is Catch Air. An indoor play place with slides, ball pits, jungle gyms, etc. In the morning if you ask him what he wants to do or where he wants to go and will always answer, "Catch Air!"

Dad has officially become his primary love object. He is always asking for Dada and wants dada to do everything with him. It does break my heart a little bit, but I suppose it transitioned at the perfect time with me being so occupied taking care of his little brother. If I had to lose my title to anyone, I'm happy that it is his dad. 

Favorites
Food: Joe Joe's
Book: "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" "How do Dinosaurs say Good-Night?" "Little Blue Truck" "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"
TV show: Chuggington, The Hive, Baby Einstein, Go Fish Guys DVD
Song: "This Little Light of Mine" "Touch your Finger to your Nose" "Stay"-Taylor Swift (sorry dad!)
Word: "Up, please" 
Place: Catch Air
Pacifiers- We have to hide them during the day.
His brother 

Speech
Zach continues to grow and grow in his speech. He consistently says 2-3 word sentences. He has some good manners in terms of using the word "please." Although he thinks that if he says please he will get whatever he is asking for. Just recently he has started to pick up the word, "thank you," although I have been working on it for months. He can pretty clearly communicate what he wants or his able to show us/point to it. He has also become very vocal in what he doesn't want, saying "no." That has made meal times a little more difficult if we ask him if he wants to eat this and his response is "no" every time. 

Size
Weight: 30 lbs. (Estimate- have not been to the doctor)
Height: 28 inches (Estimate- have not been to the doctor)
Diapers: Size 4
Shoes: Size 6/7
Clothing: 2T pajamas although those are getting very tight, 2T shirts, 18-24 month/ 2T bottoms 

Milestones
Catch a ball
Sing along with songs
Use a fork and spoon to eat
Climbed out of crib a couple of times (big boy bed is just around the corner)
Car seat forward facing (20 months)
Became a big brother: 1.3.15