100 words!!!

1. uh-oh 51. cashew
2. whoa 52. couch
   
3. wow 53. glasses
4. bo bo 54. sand
5. puppy 55. Barbecue
6. bug 56. paper
7. Momma 57. trash
8. Da Da 58. slide
9. cheese 59. please
10. keys 60. nuggets
11. hi 61. noodles
12. bye bye 62. kiss
13. eye 63. truck
14. ball 64. car
15. water 65. bowl
16. cracker 66. raisin
17. help 67. fish
18. no 68. socks
19. ice 69. shoes
20. hot 70. clock
21. this 71. toes
22. cat 72. plane
23. chair 73. church
24. juice 74. Bible
25. yes 75. feet
26. thank you 76. fork
27. stop 77. pillow
28. mouth 78. pick
29. bird 79. blanket
30. banana 80. shirt
31. Saige 81. go
32. Jackson 82. shake
33. baby 83. rabbit
34. rice 84. touch
35. apple 85. Frank
36. more 86. puzzle
37.  car 87. nose
38. blocks 88. I love you
39. roll 89. diaper
40. down 90. bear
41. book 91. hat
42. water 92. Elmo
43. milk 93. all done
44. please 94. peas
45. Will 95. worm
46. Mimi 96. night-night
47. Popo 97. colors
48. Mammaw  98. hand
49. Pappaw 99. pray
50. bike 100. amen

These are Steven's first 100 words!!  They are roughly in the order that he said them.  Isn't he holy by ending his list with pray and amen-- he really did just say them this week.  Funny that amen is the last one...or I guess I could say it's providential.  =)

Anyway, you didn't have to read them all, but this is a really big deal in our house.  Steven was a late talker and I started keeping track to make sure that he said the number of words he needed to hit his milestones.  The first 30 came very slowly but then he hit a language explosion around 18 months and the list became fun for me to keep track of what he was learning.  It felt like pulling teeth (not Steven's, of course, cause we worked hard for those too!) for so long that I am rejoicing that we've hit the 100 mark and he continues to pick up new words and phrases weekly.  

Summertime in Texas

No matter what the calendar says, summer started in May here in Texas.  May is a hard month with a toddler.  It's too hot to spend anytime between 10 am and 5 pm outside unless you are in the water and our pool was only opened on weekends until June 3.  It was a long month of trying to find stuff to do outside the house and out of the heat.  We are very happy that our pool is open now; although, it's not quite as relaxing as it used to be for me. =)  Steven's just as busy at the pool as he is everywhere else- I guess that shouldn't be a surprise.  So, when we don't want to venture down to the neighborhood pool we drag out our little one and hook up the sprinklers.  He likes these smaller ones because they don't oscillate and he can control when he gets water in his face.  He also likes to pick them up and move them around-- I guess because he sees Daddy doing it when we water the yard.   Uncle Patrick has always called Steven "Deuce" because he's named after Popo and is the II.  The other night we were at a family dinner and we taught Steven to say it and of course we were all laughing and making a big deal so he thought that it was really funny too.  But the funniest thing is that he has a whole expression and different tone when he says it.  So, now it's a game when we say, "Steven, what does Uncle Patrick call you?"  This is the best pic I've gotten so far of the "Deuce face" as it's now known at our house:  

21 months

Steven turned 21 months almost two weeks ago, and he changes so much every month that I feel I have to update!  He's at the age now that it feels like all the "new things" are really add-ons.  Things he already did he just does better now.  His vocabulary continues to grow weekly and he learns how to put together new two-word phrases everyday.  His most exciting news this week is that he now can say "Frank" which I'm sure that Frank appreciates as opposed to the general "this" that Steven was using before. 

  

He is in a book and puzzle stage right now and it is so funny to watch as he chatters while he reads and plays- his imagination is really starting to blossom.  

Charlton and I love to read and have looked forward to the time that Steven would sit still enough to listen to a whole book which he now does.  He also likes to color and play with shapes.  I bought some Play-Doh this weekend for him to try but I might hold off on that for a little while yet.  Steven also does not like wearing clothes right now as you can see from these pictures and would much prefer to hang out in his diaper the whole day.  I can't say that I blame him since the high has been in the 90's.  

I couldn't finish this without pointing out the little scratch (probably courtesy of a sharp fingernail) on Steven's forehead.  I had a slight funny feeling when I went to get him out of his crib that morning because it looks a little jagged.  One might even say that it resembles a lighting bolt... 

PS: He has been eating better the last few days.  =)  Thank you for your comments.

New strategy

I'm going to shoot for shorter but more frequent posts to get my blogging back on track.  Saturday night Charlton and I went to his cousin's wedding, and Pappaw took this picture of us when we dropped Steven off to spend an evening of fun with him and Mammaw.  We interrupted Steven's golf game to take the picture (in case you are wondering what is protruding from the side of my head).  You can start referring him to as "Tiger" now.

Eating Habits

I had no idea before I became a mom how much of my time and frustration would revolve around mealtime or preparing for it.  Have I mentioned that Steven is a picky eater?  Oh, I have!?  Yes, well, let me say it again...he is a VERY picky eater.  In the last month, his pickiness has hit an all-time high which means that our dread of feeding him has hit an all-time high as well.

  

The last few weeks I have been limiting snacks and since that helped, we have completely eliminated afternoon snacks because he usually sleeps late enough that I can hold him off for an early dinner.  The weird thing is that Steven doesn't really asks for them anyway so I've quit offering and just wait until he asks for something and then I fill in with whatever he didn't eat at the last meal.  This is working pretty well, so mealtime is going a little better this week.  I've heard that toddlers are picky and don't eat meals like we consider them as three solid meals a day, but I think Steven is an extreme case and just doesn't like to eat period.  That's especially weird considering that his parents love food!!  

I have also stopped giving him options.  I put dinner in front of him and if he doesn't eat it after plenty of time then I tell him he's all done.  I think that's helped a lot too.  I try to give him one or two things I know he likes with something else either new or not a favorite.  Last night he ate a rare but really good dinner of string cheese, a few bites of rotisserie chicken and BBQ sauce, corn on the cob and cantaloupe- he LOVES corn on the cob.  You know you're from Texas when one of your child's first 100 words is "Barbecue."  Please leave me a comment if you have any other suggestions for getting a picky toddler to eat better.  =)