Jack @ 20 months

It is harder and harder to get Jack to sit still for a picture. We took him, with Emily, to Target to have their picture made together, and it was like chasing a greased pig around a muddy pen. Just wasted a lot of energy and didn’t end up with much to show for it! For his monthly picture with the bear, I finally managed to get him to sit still, but only after I turned on Blue’s Clues (Coos Coos), the new love of his life. He asks for Coos Coos all day- anytime we get near a TV (PB in Jack-speak).
Jack can feed himself things like applesauce and oatmeal with some degree of success these days. If only I could get him to put the spoon in his mouth right side up! The other thing I’m working hard to teach him is to come when I call him. I had no idea that would be such a hard lesson. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions for learning that? Do all kids have a hard time with it? Sometimes it just feels like I’m talking to a wall!

Jack’s language continues to explode, and he can name some shapes and numbers. When he leaves, he says “bye-bye-uh-later”, and when he wants to leave somewhere and I’m dawdling, he says it louder and louder, as if he believes that he says it loud enough I’ll actually leave.  He’s doing great at learning his manners.  He regularly says “thank you” (fack-u), “please” (peess), and “excuse me” (coo-me).  Often, preceding the “coo-me” he says, with a look of apology, “I tooted.”

He went outside with my dad last week that one day it was warm, and since Dad was doing some yard work and couldn’t keep an eye on him every second, he got a rope from the garage and tied one end to a tree and the other end around Jack’s waist. Click on the picture above to see the larger version so you can see the frustration on Jack’s face at being restrained. He was not happy. It was pretty funny. I’m such a bad Mommy to laugh at my child’s distress huh?