Well, not 21 years old! I’m not that ancient!! Just 21 months old!!!
I want to make a note about where he is right now, not for comparison or evaluation or to brag, but simply so that it can be a checkpoint for me and other bloggers. Following the Montessori system, I plan to make more organized observations form now onwards.
So at 21 months my LO weighs around 11 kilos is 84 cms tall with a head circumference of 48. His length and head circumference is in the 25th-50th percentile, while his weight is in the 10th-25th percentile, not ideal, but for a baby born at just 2 kilos, it is really great. Mashallah. He has 16 teeth – 8 incisors, 4 molars and 4 canines; just 4 molars left to sprout…
He has been going to nursery since the last one and a half months and really enjoys his time there. He does fuss a little in the morning, since he wants to continue nursing, but sometimes he also fusses in the evening at pickup time, since he wants to linger at the nursery. Basically, he does not like to be disturbed when he is enjoying himself!!! Most days, he runs to me saying ‘Mamma, mamma’ when I go to pick him up, and that is just so sweet. He has been doing some great art projects at the nursery, and the nursery files it all so we get to see it all. Maybe I'll post some pictures soon. He seems to be learning quite a few new songs everyday, sleeps well and he is eating better than before. Mashallah.
LO’s teacher, Ms. Fatima is quite appreciative of his demeanor and behavior. She has noted that he has become extremely confident, even when he is around older kids and is no longer afraid of interacting with other children and adults. She says that he is observant and patient and follows directions. He loves being in the water and he loves reading time. Music is his favorite part of the day and he participates whole-heartedly in everything that happens in the nursery.
Our LO has always been surrounded with music – whether it is our lovely Islamic songs and Quranic verses, his dad’s Hindi film music, mom’s nursery rhymes, Signing Time Songs, Jolly Phonics Songs or Baby Arabia’s Arabic tunes. Even when he was just a few months old, he loved listening to rhymes when I massaged him. Music can instantly boost his mood and we do use it occasionally when he fusses. As such, at 21 months our LO can recognize quite a lot of songs, Mashallah. More details in the next post.
While my LO isn’t really talking yet, (I started talking at 2.5 years), he does say a few words. His first word was ‘Mama’ which he said at around 14 months. His current vocabulary has around 25 words and includes: Allah, Aami (Aamer, his friend at the nursery), Amm (come), Baa (bandd ie close in Hindi), Bae (bird), Bai (bhai ie big brother in Hindi), Bus, Bye, Chachi (aunt in Hindi), Chachu (uncle in Hindi), Cheese, Dada (grandpa in Hindi), Daddy, Go , Hapush (alphonso in Hindi), Hi, Jush (juice), Mamma and Mummy, Nai (no), Naani (grandma in Hindi), Shoes, Uncaa (uncle)…
Apart from these words, he has his own way of communicating with us using signs – some of which he has picked up from the Baby Signing Time videos and others concocted by him. He will sign milk, when he wants to nurse and eat when he is hungry. He makes a circling kind of sign to show that he wants to eat a dosa (crepe-like South Indian snack), puts his index finger and thumb together and moves it to indicate that he wants to write, touches his head to say ‘salaam’ (a greeting), puts his hand forward when asked to shake hands, moves his hands from side to side to say bye and touches his lips to give a ‘flying kiss’. Mashallah.
He prefers eating on his own and has lately started getting good at using his fork for his noodles and his spoon for his yogurt, Mashallah. His favorite foods are muesli, yogurt, cheese, noodles, bread, rice, orange, watermelon, crackers and of course fruit juices. He loves to clean, and there is loads to write about this hobby of his, but that is the subject of another post!
His current favorite toys include his shape sorting box and stacking cups set. He can put all the shapes in, including the difficult star shape and can sometimes stack all the 10 cups. Also, he recognizes a few shapes – circle and star. He has starting building his blocks as well, he has a small set and I am thinking of buying him his first Lego Duplo set. He will sometimes play with his balls and his cars, and he enjoys playing with Potatohead, which has helped him learn the various parts of the body. He loves his puzzles as well – parts of a body, numbers and transportation, though I think he is now bored with them and needs some newer ones.
He is quite keen to become independent and so he tries to undress, put on his shoes, rub soap over himself, apply lotion, brush his teeth and wash his hands. We haven't really focused on potty training yet, but I will work on it over the next few months. He is also keen to help around the house, so will sometimes help to peel cucumbers and potatoes, cut cheese, hang clothes for drying, load the washing machine and so on.
He loves to scribble on paper and on the walls and enjoys messing with paint. He will also often help to wash the table after his painting endeavors. He does quite a few Montessori activities as well, which Ill cover in detail in another post – pouring, spooning, sponging, opening and closing, and so on… He is also starting to get environmentally aware – he touches leaves very lightly, since he has been taught that leaves are our friends, he observes ants walking by and he asks for a tissue to murder cockroaches (not sure if this is a good thing, though the cockroach population in our house has surely reduced).
He knows the names for most of his body and face parts, and yesterday even learned to point at his brain and heart. He can recognize the UAE flag anywhere and I am trying to get him to recognize the Indian flag as well. Yesterday he pointed to a Pakistani flag on TV and did the ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ action showing the star on the flag. He recognizes a lot of items in his ‘First 1000 Words’ book as well as in some of his other books, Mashallah. He loves to read, and I’ll probably write more about his books in a separate post.
I’m sure I’ve missed some of the Mashallah cute things he does, but at least this post provides a starting point to my future record keeping.
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