The Picker Family: Jace ~ 20 Months

We have a 20 month old and he's SO much fun!

I was thinking recently how this is probably the most time I've gotten to spend with one of our kids as a toddler. I'm certainly not thankful for COVID-19, but there have definitely been many blessings in this time of being home together. One of the top on my list is extra time with our kids. They will never be 14 years, 7.5 years, and 20 months again and I get a front row seat to their lives each day.

It's amazing how quickly a toddler changes. I always look back at the blog post from the month before while I write and Jace has been developing very quickly!

A few of his favorite worked are: "coo-ka" = cookie and/or cracker, "dood" = dude (copying Luke), "paci" = pacifier, and "b" = blanket. Paci and coo-ka can change his mood instantly if we bring them up. He can be whining at the table, we offer a coo-ka, and we suddenly have a smilely guy! He can be frustrated about bedtime (especially when it involves coming in from outside), we mention his paci, and he's ready to head to bed! A funny part to his language right now is how he doesn't distinguish well between N and M sounds. For instance, "gome" = gone, "nickey" = mickey. But, on the other hand, he says ma-ma and na-na (for Nora and banana) correctly. He's also working on putting more two word phrases together. He'll say things like "bye daddy" or "shoes off". He really enjoys counting and will repeat or fill in most numbers when we count with him to 10. Once, we even heard him count straight from 1-10 by himself.

Jace still loves books and loves any that include animal sounds, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, or trucks/tractors. One of his favorites is Easy Street which we've had since Luke was young. He's also getting much better at identifying pictures in books and repeating lots of words.

He continues to develop physically as well. He walks up the stairs on his feet while holding the wall or railing, he can actually get off the ground when he jumps off two feet, and he keeps getting teeth! We noticed he was chewing on his hands more again and having some messy diapers so we checked on his molars....yep, he has started getting his two year molars! The first one had already broken through the gum. Thankfully, Jace is eating a little better this month. He still certainly has his favorites, but he's been more willing to try what we're having for dinner and wants to eat it especially if it's on someone else's plate 😊

The highlight of Jace's days this spring has been watching the working vehicles in our neighborhood! Tractors, diggers, and dump trucks oh my! Our yard backs up to a farm field so he can watch the tractors work. Our neighborhood is also expanding so he can watch dump trucks, diggers, and cement trucks working on grading yards and filling driveways/sidewalks. The best part is that he can see it from the kitchen window even if we're not outside. He has also been a fan of watching and/or following Brent while he mows the lawn. We have more yard projects planned and I'm sure he'll enjoy plenty of time in the dirt!