Turner the Toddler

Turner was 1 1/2 on April 27 making him officially a toddler. As you read, my week was full of ear infections, colds, single-parenting etc. so I'm finally getting to this. Here is an update on what our little guy has been doing lately.

Activity and Play

• Turner now naps once a day from 12:30 to 3:00. I thought I would miss my morning break, but having him take a single long nap versus two short naps has been a great change. I can get so much more accomplished while he sleeps.


• He's still sleeping in his crib, but probably not much longer. He tosses and turns constantly.


• He carries "silkies" around in the morning. Silkies is his little blanket. It's green with a satin back. He likes to sleep with it and sometimes won't leave it behind when we go places.


• He's using utensils, drinking from a regular cup, and when he's finished eating he places his utensils on his plate, slides it toward me, and says "done." Have I mentioned how much I love his daycare teachers?


• He eats EVERYTHING.


• He wears a size 6 diaper, size 8 shoe, size 2T shirts, and 24 months pants. He loves wearing baseball caps and shoes.


• His favorite toys are his trucks, tractors, 4-wheelers, a little vacuum cleaner, and a singing Elmo ipod.


• He loves being outdoors and cries like crazy when we have to bring him inside.


• He is happiest when he is riding on the mower or 4-wheeler with Tanner.


• He runs, dances, jumps, kicks, and is in the process of mastering a somersault.


• He is imitating alot of things Tanner does. The other night he looked up through his glasses at Tanner when he was being told no and every time Tanner stretches, Turner stretches too.


• Turner LOVES books. We read over a dozen books a night before his bedtime and he still isn't satisfied. We will never own enough books for this kid.


• He still doesn't really like watching TV, but Elmo can keep his attention for a little while.

Words

• Mom. I don't like this one too much. Mom is what grown boys call their mothers.


• Dada


• Dog


• No


• Ba-ba (bottle)


• Elmo


• Cookie


• Done


• Bath


• Go! Go!


• Ouch


• Uh-oh


• More


• Yum


• Eeeee! (weeee!)


• Hot


• Brrr!


• Papa


• Cheeese!

He adds to his vocabulary every day. It's nice to have him communicating more and not having to guess what he wants.

Turner is busy all of the time and will only sit still to read a book. He doesn't like to give out too many kisses or hugs. Snuggling with him is pretty much out of the question unless he wakes up in the middle of the night. Then, he wants held until he falls back asleep. He is friendly with most adults and loves babies. Tanner takes him to visit the infant room every day before they go home so he can see the babies and touch them. Turner still has yet to get a haircut but the day is getting closer. His hair seems to be growing into a mullet and I could put the back of his hair into a little ponytail. I might do it just for laughs before his first haircut. I'll take a picture and when he's older I'll tell him that he demanded he wear his hair like that and I just wanted to make him happy.

I'm sure I've left some things out, but when you're around Turner every day it's hard to keep up with all of the new things he's doing. He's growing up so fast.