Happy Monday friends! We had such a fun Mother’s Day weekend celebrating with a brunch at our house yesterday. I can’t believe it’s my second Mother’s Day, third if you count when I was pregnant. I realized I haven’t posted about what’s been going on in our little guy’s world lately, so  I thought today I would share Augustine’s 20 month update. Before we know it, this guy will be 2 years old which is so hard to believe. The last few months have been so fun and I love watching him become his own little person! It’s fun to share these updates as a way to document his milestones, but also connect with some of my reader mamas with little ones around the same age.

Augustine’s 20 Month Update

STATS

– 26 pounds & counting –

TEMPERAMENT

Augustine has always had a sweet and calm personality. He’s very inquisitive and loves to observe, but he’s also very playful and fun. I feel like it’s such a great combo, and he, of course, fits right in with me and Matthew. Augustine is cautious about walking downstairs, as he should be, and prefers to hold my hands for support. He loves to laugh and smile and makes funny expressions, especially when he knows it will get a reaction. Lately, he’s been looking slyly at one of us and then will smile while rolling his eyes to the other. It’s the funniest thing and we always crack up. He has strong opinions about what he likes and doesn’t like, which I think speaks to his strong character. He’ll want Ginger to come and sit in a very specific spot on the rug, and when she doesn’t, he’ll sometimes get frustrated. When he wants something, he’ll point to his palm with the opposite hand, and if it’s something to eat, he’ll point to his tongue and make a clicking sound. I think it’s so cute when Matthew and I are talking about something and he’ll start listening and nodding with us. He definitely loves to be included and I think he enjoys being a member of our little family! yay!ea

MILESTONES

Augustine has so many milestones each day that I feel like we often take them for granted. Recently, he’s learned how to jump, which is so fun. He’ll bend his legs and then pop up. I’d say maybe 1/4 of them actually gets some air but he knows what he’s doing. Augustine throws and kicks balls, walks and “runs,” and talks up a storm. He knows so many words, even though he’s not saying all of them in the way you’d expect. But I can ask him where things are and he’ll point to them and he’ll try to say the words if I ask him about it. Augustine is starting to point to his diaper and is becoming more aware of when he’s going to the bathroom. We don’t have a potty training plan yet, but we feel like we’re laying some good groundwork for when the time does come. My sister-in-law has had luck at 22 months with her kids, but I’m thinking that might be too soon for us. We’ll see! If you have any tips in that arena, I’d love to hear in the comments!

LIKES

This boy likes so many things! He’s very interested in our Roomba vacuum, always wanting to put it on the floor and push it around. He also loves brooms, remotes, and any other sort of gadget. We spend a lot of time in our kitchen {Mama likes to cook!}, and he will play with his toy kitchen, usually wanting to borrow my pots and measuring cups and spoons though. He loves fans and things that go round and around. Thursdays are an exciting day around here because the garbage trucks come down the street 3 times! He’ll put his hand up and then drop it down while saying, “boom.” Every night he says that to Matthew, and multiple times during the day, and we’ll always say, “Not today, but on Thursday!” or “Thursday is only a few days away.” He loves our storytime and will bring lots of books over for me to read to him. I really love that because reading is one of my favorite hobbies! We got him this Planes Fire and Rescue book that’s a Search and Find book and he did such an amazing job looking for the different vehicles and props. I love the sound he makes when he’s concentrating and searching for them! This boy has loved music since the beginning. He loves to strum Matthew’s guitar, play the piano {and usually clap afterward!}. He’ll dance when there’s a song he likes on the radio, or he’ll shake his head and making a whining sound when he doesn’t like one. He definitely has his opinions about what he likes and doesn’t like! He LOVES dogs and will imitate them by sticking his tongue out and panting, even though Ginger doesn’t do that very often. But he always wants to sit when her in her bed, usually sitting against her if he can get Ginger to stay still. For Christmas he got a giant St. Bernard stuffed animal dog and that has been his favorite friend. We call that dog Brownie and usually he’ll ask for him by panting, especially around bedtime. Now Brownie usually sleeps with him in his bed. It’s so cute! He also has a Labrador stuffed animal named Blondie. One day I think we might need to get a Blondie and Brownie of our own!

EATING

Augustine goes through phases where he’s very adventurous with what he eats, and other times where he just wants the simple stuff. I’d say our typical day of meals looks like this: Breakfast- some combo of a scrambled or fried egg, yogurt with applesauce, oatmeal, or a banana. I try to make him special hearty oatmeals and while he might eat a few bites, we have more luck when it’s just plain ol’ oats. He especially likes to eat bites off the wooden spoon, which is actually something Matthew likes to do too! For lunch, we usually have bites from the previous night’s dinner, or leftovers from breakfast. Lunches are pretty simple. For dinner Augustine likes quinoa, black beans, chickpeas, zucchini noodles, quinoa/lentil pasta, occasionally quesadillas, and hearty veggie soups. For snacks, he likes bites of cheese, chopped up nuts, his almond or cashew milk, roasted sweet potato bites, nut & seed crackers, and avocado. If we have chips lying around and he sees them, he usually wants a bite. He also loves the probiotic yogurts Matthew gets for him at the health food stores. We just give him a little bit some mornings but whenever he sees the container in the fridge he goes crazy for it. Yesterday we decided we need to not buy it, or we need to put it in a container he can’t recognize! Otherwise, he’ll just go crazy until we give it to him, or he gets distracted.

SLEEP

I wish I could say Augustine’s sleep was perfect. To be honest, this little guy has struggled with sleep since the beginning. While he’s down to one nap, usually 2 hours from 12-2 (sometimes 2:30, and if we’re lucky 3!), he still will wake up in the middle of the night, and oftentimes early in the morning. Right now it’s 11:30 and I hear that he’s stirring and starting to cry and I’m just praying he goes back to sleep. The other night he woke up around this time and wanted to come downstairs and play, even after we told him it was nighttime. Eventually we got him some water because he made us think he was thirsty, but then we had to go through the routine all over again. I think that some babies and kids just need less sleep, and that might be the case with him. He will also wake up sometimes at 5am ready to get started on the day. That’s so hard, especially when it’s still dark out. Hopefully by 2 years old, things will have improved a bit in the sleep department. I just feel so bad that sleep isn’t something that comes easily to him, at least not yet. This was the sleep system we used that I think helped tremendously, especially in terms of putting him down to sleep. I would definitely recommend that book to anyone who has a similar baby. I don’t even know where we’d be if we hadn’t incorporated the tips in that book.

FAVORITE PRODUCTS

It’s funny how early on there are lots of products we loved to use- from our go-to bouncer to his favorite teether. Now, I feel like our favorite products are more like favorite toys. Augustine has a few go-tos that he’s been loving, like his new basketball hoop and his camper truck. He loves basic bouncy balls and soccer balls, and of course all sorts of regular household items. I can’t even tell you how much fun he has playing with our to go containers!

MOM UPDATE

I mentioned this the other week, but I feel like in a lot of ways while certain things have gotten easier, other things have gotten harder. I love taking advantage of his long naps to get work done and that’s definitely helped me to get to bed a little earlier at night. With his nighttime sleep still a little unpredictable, it’s best when I can finish my work during the daytime. Since Augustine is busy walking around and exploring I feel like my days with him are more active, and similarly more tiring. He doesn’t understand safety yet so I still need to be right there with him while he’s playing. His arms are also so long that he can reach up and touch anything on the tables and counters, so we’re always putting certain things out of reach for him. While it’s gotten busier, it’s also become a lot more fun. Augustine is such a joy to be around and we have such a good time together. I really cherish our days together, even though by the end of them, I’m ready for bed too! It’s so fun to watch him grow, learn and discover and I’m in awe of everything he’s learning on a daily basis. I just know that the next 4 months are going to be huge for him, full of lots of big milestones.

With Mother’s Day coming to a close, I’m reminded how lucky I am to have this role as his mom. It’s a big one, and one I don’t take for granted. My greatest wish is that I can teach Augustine to be a strong, kind and loving boy. I want him to always know how much his family loves him and how much God loves him. He has so many special qualities and I know he has endless potential to do whatever he wants in life. I love my sweet boy!

xox

P.S. Check out my some of my favorite activities for kids in Orange County and 5 ways I’m making my life a little bit easier lately!

photos by Priscilla Frey