Life at 20.5 Months

The food battles have mostly subsided…finally! Justin has rediscovered meat and veggies, and only throws his food on the floor when he’s super frustrated (such as when he’s in pain and impatient because we’re having a communication breakdown). Some days he eats like he’s preparing for hibernation. Other days, he barely eats 2 crackers. But, I hear that’s normal for toddlers. At least he’s getting more variety than the cheese, fruit, and carbs he survived on for a couple months. He recently wolfed down an entire hotdog/bun while we watched a football game! I’m also becoming more content with him being a little guy, knowing that his best buddy at daycare is 2 years old and is also in 12 month pants. I think I’m so focused on the grading schemes from school, and when I’m told my son is falling off the scale I feel that somehow I’ve failed him. But, I have to realize this is a curved scale. Many children these days struggle with childhood obesity, so maybe being not fitting the norms is actually a good thing. This is not to say that kids in the upper percentiles aren’t healthy! There are ton of factors affecting each child’s growth.

Speaking of growth, 20 months is such an amazing time for toddler mental growth! The vocabulary grows exponentially and the things that come out of his mouth never cease to entertain and shock me. It is so fun to watch Justin make connections…such as “What is in mommy’s belly?” “BABY!” and whenever I trip over one of his toys and say “ouch,” he says “Momma hurt? Owie? Sorry Momma!” and then comes over to give my foot a kiss. J He’s also become very affectionate, giving us lots of “hugs hugs”, “kisses”, and “I love you’s”. Sooooo wonderful!

In addition to the joys, we’ve had some unexpected frustrations in life lately, and I heard a wonderful story on the radio I wanted to share. Imagine you have 3 pots of boiling water and drop a piece of meat into the 1st, an egg into the 2nd, and coffee beans in the the 3rd. The meat starts out tough, but as the water boils it begins to breakdown, becoming weak and strainy. The egg starts out delicate, but the boiling water causes a hardened shell and thicker interior. The coffee beans don’t fight the boiling water…instead they embrace it and allow it to release their flavor into the rest of the water….turning the water to coffee. As we go through life’s pains/challenges/sufferings (boiling water), we should strive to be like the coffee beans. :-) Definitely not easy, but a beautiful goal!