Every month is a fun month with Merrick, and this one has been no exception. In fact, it has probably been nicer than last month, since Merrick is in between phases of teething. He has also improved by leaps and bounds with his communication, which makes all of us happier. His screaming has really diminished, probably because we have both learned to understand each other better.
Some new words this month include: cheese, shirt, door, duck, boo (for blueberry), bird, duck, bath, stop, crac-crac (for cracker), no, arm, traw (for strawberry), horse, and probably a few others. The other evening, the girls were taking a bath and Merrick patted his chest with his hand and repeatedly asked, "Bath?" He also imitated me and half-growled "Drop!" after I told our dog, Bear to drop a bath toy he had snagged. Bear is so patient with him and they have bonded a bit over their love of looking our the front window.
One fun ritual that I have started with Merrick in the last few weeks is having him help throw his diaper away after I change it. I wrap it up into a ball, he scoots down off the bed, and toddles into the bathroom or kitchen to throw it into the trash. As soon as I say, "OK, let's go," he quickly turns around and walks out of the bathroom.
Some of his favorite toys are still sticks, rocks, and balls. It was fun to see him kicking a ball around for the first time when we were enjoying some time outside on Mother's Day. This has been a month of bumps, scrapes, and bruises, but it is all part of the learning process. He is getting around so well and becoming more coordinated by the
day! Almost automatically, he sits and turns around before going down
almost any step, which gives me a lot more peace of mind.
He has been interacting more with his sisters, which can be good and bad. The girls are having to adjust to Merrick being interested in their things and grabbing at them. But they have a lot of fun together, too. I got a kick out of this little jam session they had.
Another interesting development this month is that he's become a bit of a mama's boy and wants to be as near as possible to me as soon as I get home from work. While I love the affection and want to cherish this time of him being snuggly and wanting to be with me, I also want to help him foster a sense of independence...I think I have done an OK job of doing both and I'm looking forward to more time together in just a couple of weeks when school is done for the year!
He has his 15 month checkup on Friday, so I'll post again then with an update. I'm curious to find out how much he has grown since his 12 month checkup.
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