A Perfect Day Out

We went to Lake Rebecca for a cookout with several families from T4C West. Jonathan had a great time going up and down the slides. He didn't want to do anything else. Of course, he wanted to play ball with the bigger kids but was always left out of the loop. He will find his peers when he is older. I chased him around and took him to the slides. I didn't get to chat with the people much because of this. I was very tired at the end but it was worthwhile for the experience, beats staying at home watching TV. I didn't like the car ride there but that is another story.

He Surprises Me Everyday

Today he said "highchair", "sit", "sorry", "好吃"， "扫地". I can't begin to count the number of words he has. He is doing more and more two word phrases now.  Some of the words he must have learned from daycare. He says "Baby Dao" short for Baby McDonald, "Ei tain" for Baby Einstein, "No money" for "handy Manny", and "ou ma" for Hemangioma on my arms. Cookie and cake are last week's favorite. Very cute when he says them. Can't possibly keep track on all the new words.

Two important ones, "Amen" a week ago, and "pray" yesterday. I began praying with him before he went to bed tonight. Hopefully I will make this our routine.

He is helping out with chores now: sweeping the floor, putting away utensils (sharp knives are never put in the dish washer).

Today he sat on the potty twice with his own initiative. Nothing came but he was not adverse to it as before. Maybe he will slowly get the hang of it.

Potty training begins

He hasn't been interested in sitting on the potty except before jumping into the shower. Daycare teacher informed me that he wasn't interested in this at all at daycare. This afternoon, as soon as I saw him doing his dance, I rushed him to the downstair potty. A few small pieces had already fallen into the diaper but he made it after sitting on it pushing for another few seconds. I taught him to flush the toilet. Daddy praised him and he clapped his hands. I hope he remember this accomplishment and is willing to try again.

Growing

Jonathan is now 19 1/2 months. He surprises me every day with new things that he has learned.

Today while playing with the legos he said "Bible", then  proceeded to find the Bible Stories DVD and said "看" (watch). He then went to sofa with the booster chair and said "爬" (climb).

He can now put his feet into my slippers and walk really well. When I tell him that he has mixed the left and right, he can get out of the slippers, rearrange them, and put them in correctly.

He had just begun to try putting his feet into the slippers 2 months ago. Now he is a pro.

He finally learns to go down stairs on his tommy last month. Maybe a little before Easter Sunday.

For the longest time, he didn't know what to do with the legos. All of a sudden, he started stacking them and pulling them apart 2 days ago. It is now one of his favorite activities, besides playing with balls and cars. At the end of the day, I asked him to put the pieces into the container before putting the container away. He did gather all the pieces and put them away as instructed. He says "ah go" for "lego".

Since last week, he has started using crayons to scribble.

Today I put him up on the kitchen counter and let him walk on it. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I did anyways. He saw the filter holder in the sink. He picked it up, put it into the coffee maker on the counter (with a little help from me so that he didn't fall off the counter). He then opened the cupboard where we store coffee and tea. He took out the stack of filter and the decaf coffee and began to "pour" coffee into the filter.

I was amazed at his ability to identify the items needed for coffee. I had asked him to help me many times in the past, such as pushing the button to turn it on. Quite a few times I held him in one arm while getting things ready with the other hand. He has watched the coffee making process so many times that he now knows what I need to make coffee.

He can say "－，二，一，二" (one, two, one, two)，baby, Bible, 电梯，"hi 狗"，"bye bye 狗", 旗，up, down, and many words.

There are so many things I want to remember. They are escaping me right now.