Biophilliac Mommy: 13 Month old Link and 3 Year old Meo Summary

Friday, January 16, 2015

13 Month old Link and 3 Year old Meo Summary

13 Month Old Link

This guy has a lot of spirit. He loves to laugh, to make mischief, to wrestle, and be silly. Link thinks it's so funny when we pretend to scold him ("Link, what are you doing?!"), and will run away squealing in delight. He loves it when his brother makes a "bounce zone" by removing all the cushions and pillows from the loveseat so they can climb up and bounce around. His face lights up when we play both of their favorite song "Life is a Highway" and he will dance excitedly. Link has become more of a self-feeder this month and now is consistently given his own silverware and has a spot at the table (without his tray). He still makes unbelievably huge messes every time he eats, but that's too be expected I suppose. Link has become quite the little bookworm, which Robbie and I are both SO EXCITED about. Since Link has always been so active, we were beginning to think he would never be into reading as much as his big brother, but boy were we mistaken. All day long he wants to read. Link carries board books around, and if I am doing something and he wants to be read to, he reaches for my hand, opens my hand up and places the book inside. He also enjoys reading books over and over and over...he is insatiable. Right now, his favorite books are:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? by Bill Martin
Vroom, Vroom, Maisy by Lucy Cousins
Where is Maisy? by Lucy Cousins
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
Peek-a Who? by Nina Laden
Baby Pets
Baby Colors

Link is really good at waving "Hello" and "Goodbye", and also likes to wave both arms around when he is really excited. He is quite chatty with still only a handful of clear words. We can tell that he is attempting to tell elaborate stories already though, and even make up songs. He loves music and his favorite instrument to play is his rhythm sticks, which he will bang on drums (and also most anything else). This month, Link has been enjoying his Music Together class, as well as visiting the Children's Museum and Bounce Zone.

Mattimeo

Meo is just under three and a half at this point, and is a lot of fun. He just got over a rough patch of not wanting to listen very well, and now is a joy to be around. He has big opinions, thoughts and concerns, but as far as three year olds are concerned, he is very reasonable and kind. If he's having a rough time, he has gotten very good at expressing himself "I am feeling very frustrated with you right now because...", which makes it easy to talk to him and help him work through things.

This boy is SUCH A LOVE BUG. He tells us he loves us probably 1000 times a day, is full of hugs and kisses and never refuses a snuggle. I love him so much, and it is the most amazing feeling to have that love reciprocated.

Meo is growing more and more capable of doing things himself. He takes his chore of feeding the cats and birds (outside) very seriously. He helps me to clear the table after meals, he has gotten better at helping put his toys away before moving onto a new activity, he loves to help me cook, and he has completely graduated to using only the big potty (the little potty is in the basement waiting for Link). Meo has been learning how to put his pants and underwear on and off to use the bathroom, he has been practicing putting his boots on and off, and is even learning how to put on his coat thanks to a trick a good friend taught him.

Meo loves to play make-believe. He almost always has a toy or two in his hand that is going on some epic adventure. He loves for us to play pretend with him too and often requests that we play specific roles. Robbie is often asked to be Mr. Conductor from "Dinosaur Train", or Blade from his "Planes Fire and Rescue" book. He likes it when I pretend to be Luigi from "Cars" (and Link is Guido since he can't speak English and is always with Luigi). He also wants me to give voices to things that can't talk...like the cats, or the birds, or a slice of bread. I think he gets this from me since I often have conversations with animals.

He is still, and hopefully will always be, a bookworm. We read many books throughout the day. I actually wouldn't be surprised if he would be content just to snuggle on the couch and read every book on our shelf...so long as he had a constant supply of snacks as well. Right now Meo's favorite books are:

Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons
Barenstein Bears In the Dark by Stan and Jan Barenstein
Dusty to the Rescue by Disney
Buddy's Teeth (Dinosaur Train Little Golden Book)
The Spiky Stegosaurus (Dinosaur Train Little Golden Book)

Meo has also been enjoying Charlotte's Web which is a chapter book I've been reading to him.

Both of our boys are quite musical and Meo enjoys making up songs (I also enjoy this and it's fun to see this attribute in my little guy), playing his guitar, and dancing (he has really fast feet!). Meo likes to make bounce zones, play outside in the snow with his shovel, watch the birds (he is better at identifying them than Robbie), playing LEGOS, blocks, farm, bulldozer, cars and trucks, and dinosaurs. Meo has gotten back into art this month too and especially enjoys playing with clay, painting, and drawing on his marker board. Meo enjoys his new Martial Arts class, Music Together class, and going to the Bounce Zone and Children's Museum. Meo is still nursing (usually only once or twice a day), and loves that time we have together.