Rylen has officially turned 1.5 years old or 18 months. We still have yet to have his 18 month appointment due to colds and such. We made it through the holidays with a case of stomach flu and a cold. So, we are doing well so far. Just a couple more months to go and we will be out of flu season! I will have to update the official stats when we get them from the doctor in the next few days. He has fluctuated again in the weight category and dropped below 20lbs during his bout with a cold and recovery from the stomach bug. So, he has held back on to the 19.8 lb marker. I'm starting to think that our scale is stuck! Rylen has definitely grown in height, as I can tell by his clothes, but measuring him has been quite a task and I have decided to leave that up to the professionals this time around. He is still teetering in 12 month clothing with some 18 month outfits in the mix. So, keep watch, his official stats will be posted soon!It is hard to report developments at this stage because they aren't as obvious. Rylen is signing even more words and still not "saying" a whole lot. We have started an educational video called "Your Baby Can Read" and he absolutely loves it. He does the actions with the kids and signs what he knows of the objects. But he still won't say them. Robby seems to hear words occassionaly, but I have STILL YET TO HEAR ANYTHING. He definitely jabbers and makes all kinds of sounds and "words" but I still have yet to figure them out. We asked our friend Eví if possible he was speaking Hungarian! ..or maybe he is just speaking "Robby" since he seems to understand them at times. HA! Otherwise, Rylen is running, and exploring like an 18 month old should. He has also started jumping in his bed when he wakes up. It is too funny to watch. He also learned "#1" with his finger. As you can see in his picture above, he thinks the Aggies are #1! I know daddy is proud!
As for the "attitude", Robby and I have decided that the terrible two's come from the inability to communicate. We get his "attitude" mainly when he is trying to express something and can't communicate it to us or we can't communicate well enough to him. We can't imagine what it would have been like if he wasn't signing as well as not talking. There would have been a totally break down of communication. So, we have to try and be ahead of the game with him and figure out why he is getting upset to try and avoid tantrums. ie "I want to feed MYSELF the food", "I don't want your help with my spoon, so don't touch it!" (no matter how inefficiently he is using it), or "I'm finished eating and no longer need the bowl or cup on my tray" (which is when it gets turned over or dropped on the floor). Once we get beyond these small hiccups, Rylen is such a big helper and I know that he will be a great big brother. He brings me objects when I need them, he loves to help with the washer and dryer, and definitely responds to "thank you" and approval from us. He puts his hands on his forehead with a frown and tears in his eyes when we have shown disapproval. My heart always melts when he begins to jabber with a slight smile on his face, after he has gotten in trouble, as if to try and make it better and to get us to give him a smile or a hug. Maybe he is explaining why he did what he did or telling us that he understands what he did wrong? Who knows, but usually he gets a kiss from me and an "I love you". Overall Rylen is such a good boy and makes us laugh with his antics and discoveries. He still takes two naps a day and then goes down around 8:30ish to wake up at 7:30ish. Rylen has decided that he really likes our vegan waffles that I started as our Saturday tradition. Daddy is happy that Sorghum was a big hit on those waffles as well. He still loves to eat what we are eating as long as it isn't spicy hot. That makes fixing meals a lot easier. Well, what more is there to say? We are in love with our little... soon to be... BIG Boy!
2 comments:
So, what do you think of the "Your Baby Can Read" set? I saw that on TV last night and am in disbelief. They showed a 12 month old TALKING?
I'd like to get your opinion on it.
To try and be brief, I've heard lots of good things about him and his programs from many people. I am keeping in mind the different levels of development for different children. I, of course started Rylen a month ago on the first video and he loves it. He very quickly started picking up what the kids were doing and saying, even doing the action with the word on the screen before they said it. Now Rylen is still not talking at all. Just a lot of nonsense jabbering. So, I can't tell you how that will improve just yet, but he does have clear understanding and it shows with his signing. He signs A LOT! His vocabulary with signing is at least that of a child this age speaking. I DO BELIEVE the research about a child's development. Children learn very fast at this age and so I am using this as an opportunity to expose Rylen to educational stimulus. I do NOT like TV for him, but want to expose him to more than what he is getting with just me here at the house. The video is only 30 minutes. That is also why I started this as late as I did. They recommend even earlier exposure, but I didn't want to have him in front of the TV at all until he was older. I am not looking to try and make my son a genius, I am just taking advantage of his learning development and possibly make his desire for reading and understanding easier. If he didn't like the videos I wouldn't use them, but he actually brings me the remote to turn it on in the morning. So, I am taking advantage. I'll let you know more as the months progress. The first few months are supposed to be the slowest and then they excel more rapidly. Rylen has already excelled enough that I want to continue the videos and see where we end up! We'll see!!
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