So I had pretty much given up on these monthly emails for Brice, but he has such a little personality and is doing so many cool things that I wanted to document. I will add more pictures soon.
Brice is a happy guy most of the time, but boy is he opinionated! He know what he wants and he really wants it! He rarely takes no for an answer and can no longer be distracted from what he wants. Brice also isn't old enough for positive reinforcement/bribing, which makes negotiating difficult. But he's mostly silly and funny and playful, not to mention talkative.
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| Crazy hair, Elmo, and Mommy's shoes. Pretty typical Bricey. |
At 22 months, Brice is:
-Talking, a lot, about everything. He probably has over to 100 words (we have a 100 word book and he knows them all and then some). Brice says simple sentences, with 5 or 6 words regularly (Monkey in Mommy and Daddy room; Daddy, more juice me please. ). Although we don't always understand him, he will sometimes tell longer stories with gestures and everything. You just sort of have to nod and say, "oh really, buddy?" The other morning I asked him why he had stayed up so late and he said "ummmmm....(looked up and smiled)...umm...because Happy Birthday, Mommy!" It was quite hilarious. He sure thinks he is a big guy with big explanations.
-Calling his (inside) baby brother Baby Meow or Baby Dusty (the character from Planes). And if you call the baby Dusty, then he'll say "No, Baby Meow!" and vice versa. For the most part, he's not that interested in the baby, though. He's too busy to be bothered.
-Very opinionated (I mentioned that, but it deserves reinforcing). If Brice want something, he really wants it. "Ipad, me!" "Snack, me, me, me, me, me!" He and Chase fight over toys a lot, although it seems to have gotten a little better over the last few weeks. They like to steal toys from each other and then run away so that the one has to chase the other. There's a very thin line between both thinking this is a funny game and one crying. Brice isn't exactly prone to tantrums, but he'll lose it if prompted!
-Counting to 12. He obviously doesn't know the values, but he says the numbers. He often starts at 8. One of the kids' plates has numbers along the outside and Brice points at them (randomly) and counts.
-Singing! His favorite songs are Friends, Friends, 123; Happy Birthday; and Wheels on the bus.
-Very polite. He says please and thank you. He says "bless you" after you sneeze. Or cough.
-Talking on the phone- Every time the phone rings, Brice says "Hi, Carol!" He also likes to talk on the phone to everyone. When I call during my walk home from the metro at night, he says "Hi, Mommy." When I ask how his day was, he'll add "It good."
-....and stealing iphones. Brice has mastered the iphone and likes to steal them and run off to play a game or watch a show. Carol sometimes has to search for hers (although Brice generally knows where they are). If I put my phone down anywhere that he can get it, he is sure to steal it, run away laughing, and sit down to play a game on it.
-A no boy. His default answer to everything is "no." You can tell that he really want something when he says yes. Similarly, if you ask an or question (do you want apple juice or milk?) he says both things back (apple juice milk).
-Enjoying apartment living, for the most part. Both boys love to go running into their bedroom or our room since everything is on one floor. Both boys love pushing the buttons on the elevator. Brice insists on unlocking and locking the front door (it has a weird plastic key thing so he's able to do it).
-Barely sitting down to eat. He refuses to use the booster chair and prefers the regular adult chair, which is fine. But the boy only sits still for about 10 minutes to eat for us. He sits longer and eats better for Carol. I'm not sure what we're going to do when we move back into the house and he's up on a counter-height stool. Probably just strap him into the booster and insist he sits (until he throws a tantrum....at every meal)
-Eating....sorta. He's gotten skinny and is more picky about food than he ever was. But he LOVES pizza. And if you ask him what he wants to eat, his response is usually "pizza!"
-Becoming a night owl. The first night we spent in the apartment, Brice didn't fall asleep until 11pm. To be fair, we hadn't gotten in there until almost 8pm and then Stephen had to build the crib, and it was a completly new space. Plus he is sharing a room with Chase. But our little guy who we used to be able to count on to fall asleep by 8:30 is now often rustling around in his bed until 9 or 9:30pm. Sometimes he will sleep until 7:15 or 7:30am, but usually Chase wakes up earlier than that and wakes up Brice when running out of the room. I guess this is a downside to having the kids in the same room. Brice still takes a solid 2 hour nap every afternoon.
-Still using his paci, but only when he is going to sleep. Actually, he sometimes runs into his room and steals one out of his crib (a downside to living on one level, I suppose). It helps him sleep so I'm not pressed to take it away from him yet. Let's get through the new baby transition and then the preschool transition and we'll think about it.
-An expert on cars, trucks, trains, and all forms of these. Brice especially loves "Nee-naws go up up up!" which means firetrucks with ladders that they raise into the sky. Most of the books and toys that Chase loved around this age are now Brice's favorites.
-Ready for the next step. I can tell that he is ready to do something more structured with kids his own age. He'll be going to camp with Chase this summer to try out being apart from us and being with other kids without parents/nanny. We're finalizing our preschool decision for the fall. I'm sure there will be some tears at the beginning (either from me or from him), but Brice is ready for it.
Overall, Brice is a bright, happy boy. He's a sweet and a good snuggler before bed time. Brice absolutley adores Chase and even though he doesn't understand what is involved in getting a new baby, I'm sure he will dote on his little brother too.
We love you, Bricey!
