23 Months

One more month of being a one year old!

Little boy is picking up new words a lot faster now.  He has learned to say bye-bye (sounds like dye-dye).  He can also say his own name which takes varying forms, like Phi-Pup or Pup-Pup.  He can say the name of his cousin, Olivia, and his baby sister's name. 

 

Philip hugging a real Pup Pup

I can tell that he is really understanding us well these days.  He is able to follow multi-part directions and just seems more cooperative now.  He is starting to make more animal sounds and can point to most of his body parts. 

Still my baby

A new expression he picked up from me is Mmmm Hmmm. When he does something and we thank him for it, Mmmm Hmmm is his response.  When we heard it for the first time, both Andy and I knew he got it from me.  I love when he does something nice - like picks up something to give to me - and he automatically says Mmmm Hmmm even before I get a chance to thank him.  One day at the store a woman rounded a corner fast and almost ran into us.  When she said Excuse me, I responded, Mmmm hmmm and then heard Philip do the same.  Too cute!

He has started to get very concerned about having dirty hands.  We have to stop to wipe his hands several times during his meals if he feels like they have gotten too dirty.  We hear him say, Oh no! and he will sometimes get really upset until his hands get clean.  Perhaps this is a good thing?

 

Philip has become really interested in trains.  Anytime he sees one, he exclaims, Choo choo!  He pretty much associates anything that is in a line with a train.  He lines up the food on his plate and crayons in our grout lines to make trains.  This is my favorite thing that he associated with a choo choo train:

 A flock of birds that flew by at the beach - Choo choo!  called out Philip

 I would love to know what Philip is thinking and it is really cute when he says choo choo or meow out of the blue. It gives me a little insight into what is going on in that mind of his.

He is still shy even though he has been exposed to a lot of family this month and is a bit more loose around them.  When we go to playgroups, he likes to take me by the hand into a quiet corner of the room so he can play.  I've also noticed that if someone comes up to talk to me at playgroups, he will only let me talk for a couple of minutes before he grabs my hand and takes me to another quiet area.  He does let his hair down, interact with other kids, and get silly when he is somewhere he feels comfortable.  It seems that it is just a slow process and as Andy said recently, Philip requires a lot of parental reassurance.

I am often saying, "I've never met anyone like you, Philip" - usually when he is being silly.  For some reason, this especially happens at dinnertime and just afterwards - he has always been really energetic after dinners. We love our little boy and the personality that he has. It is so fun to watch him unfold.

This is a typical Philip being silly look.

 Imagine him clenching and shaking his hands and making humming noises.

Beach Trip 2012

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to go to the beach each year with family.  This was Philip's third trip to the beach and he has loved it each time.  Here are some highlights from our trip.

Learning how to fish
 

Andy and Philip saw a couple sharks swim by one morning while I was napping. 

So bummed that I didn't get to see them!

Philip went into the water for the first time on this trip, but his favorite place to hang out was in the outdoor shower where he could play with the hose.

Like father, like son. 

Here was Philip's favorite toy that he found in his cousin's room.

Choo choo! 

Philip started a cousin choo choo train one afternoon when he was feeling particularly brave.

Exploring a tide pool

Chasing seagulls

Lining himself up in front of the natural microphone he found

Philip rocking out with an original song

Philip goes crazy around his cousin, M. 

He loves to try to make her laugh and acts super goofy around her.

Cousins and Uncle

Last night at the beach - time to take some family pictures

Family Fun Week

After Andy's graduation, we had family in town for the week.  Philip made sure to show everyone a good time.

 

Sunday was Mother's Day.  It was the first time that we got to celebrate the day with both of our mothers, plus my sister and Andy's aunt, who is like a mother.  The men cooked us a dinner of grilled steak, twice-baked potatoes, and a salad.  We had a great time!

It was raining on Monday, so we went to the roller skating rink for toddler time.  Everyone brings in a ride-on or push toy and the kids run around the rink.  The kiddos tend to abandon their own toys and try out everyone else's.  It is a great way to try out new toys.

Bath time!

My sister left the next morning, but my parents were still in town.  We went to a local play space for the first time and got to play with trains, basketballs, a bounce house, a tool bench, and much more. 

Serious fun

On Wednesday, we took a break from the kid stuff and went shopping.  Mom and I picked out some gifts for Philip's birthday.  It is getting pretty impossible to go to a toy store or even near the toy aisle of a store without Philip going nuts.  Times are changing!  When we went to the mall, we stopped in at a woman's clothing store.  As soon as we walked in, Philip exclaimed, "Oh no!"  He knew what he was in for!

On Thursday, we went to a local park that has farm animals, plus a great playground.  It was my first time going to this park and it was great to find a new place to go.  Philip loved it, so we will definitely be back.

 

Checking out the new baby chicks

Andy had Friday off of work, so I wanted to do something big.  We went to the science center in Baltimore.  I had gone one time with Philip and some friends, but have been wanting to go again with Andy.  Philip had a blast and we loved watching him play.

 

Of course we pay to go to a nice museum and what is his favorite thing to do?  

Play with the train table.  He loves his Choo Choos!

The water table came in as a close second.

We enjoyed lunch at Cheesecake Factory and then headed home after our big day out.  It was a great week and so fun to share some of Philip's favorite spaces with his grandparents.

22 Months

Philip is coming dangerously close to being a two year old!  

You can tell that he started really cheesing it up for the camera this month!

The "language explosion" has started.  He is picking up new words pretty quickly now.  He mainly repeats words when we ask him to, but there are some words that he will say spontaneously.  Philip has started counting a lot, too.  He can mainly say "two" and "three," but you can tell he is counting before and after those words. We can also recognize the melodies of some of the songs that he sings, even though he mainly makes up his own words.

Helping organize the cabinets

He holds my hand and wants to take me with him anywhere he goes.  Even though this can sometimes be exhausting, I am trying to enjoy this while I have it, because I know one day he will want some distance from me.  He loves trucks and points them out anytime we see one go by on the street.  He also waves to the trucks and strangers, too.

 This little guy loves to eat!  It seems like he is always scrounging for something.

When he is mad at me, he will either splash in the cat's water (usually happens when I bring him inside before he is ready), or climb on the table.  He's even managed to stand up on the table once or twice. 

Philip's serious side

Apparently most of my pictures this month involve food.  Here are some cute ones!

Who needs hands or forks?

 

More stolen food - frozen peaches!

 

He loves making silly faces with orange slices.  Can you tell he likes fruit?