Sunday, August 3, 2014

Timothy Monson

I can't believe our little boy is 20 months old! I knew when he joined our family we would never be the same but I had no idea how much love and joy he would bring. He is such a delight! He is particular about a handful of things but is otherwise easy going and just happy to be alive. Some of my favorite things that he does are
He loves book. Especially books that include cars or dinosaurs. He loves to flip through books. Notice I didn't say read because he doesn't have time to listen to a story or discuss anything in the book, he just loves to look at the pictures and turn the pages.
He loves baths. But only in the master bath and only to stand and play with his toys around the rim of the tub. He especially loves stacking and unstacking the cups and also the little animal water toys. He rarely plays in the actual water but the bathtub is one of his favorite places to be.
He loves the dishwasher. He will go over and pull on it multiple times a day to see if it is locked or if he can get into it. He loves to restack this dishes, particularly the cups. He is pretty good about not getting onto the dishwasher and he does his best to not cause trouble because he wants to be able to stay and help unload/load.
He is fascinated by the vacuum. If he gets a chance during the day he will go over to the vacuum closet and drag the vacuum into the living room, beaming with pride. Sometimes we will turn it on for him and let him dream of the day when will be strong enough to vacuum. I'm not sure if he loves it because it's a machine or because he see's Kirk vacuuming but it is his very favorite toy.
He loves trains and will often wander downstairs by himself to play with the trains. He isn't coordinated enough yet to keep the tracks together or drag the train on the tracks but it certainly doesn't keep him from trying.
He loves to escape. He checks the front and garage door constantly to see if maybe we forgot to lock the dead bolt. I dread the day when he learns to unlock the dead bolt. He is the kid that waits for the nursery leaders to be distracted, opens the door, and then runs away as fast as he can.
Speaking of nursery, he hates going. He does ok once he is there now but it took a couple months of nonstop crying to get him there. One Sunday in particular he was being really difficult in sacrament meeting. Kirk wouldn't let him down because he would just run away. When Kirk finally let Timothy down he ran as fast as he could to the nearest escape, pretty dang proud of himself. Until he realized he ran straight into the nursery. He did a quick 180 and tried to run away but it didn't work! Just today Kirk took Timothy with him while he stood in the hallway waiting for Audrey to go to the bathroom during Sacrament meeting. The nursery is across the hall from the bathroom. Timothy cried the whole time they were waiting for Audrey because he didn't want to go to nursery!
He's a picky eater and has to have a variety of the few foods he will actually eat. He gets tired of the same food quickly. He always likes chips, juice, and anything sweet. And I've never seen him turn down pizza. He has Brinkerhoff genes in him for sure.
If he ever finds the garage door unlocked he goes out and sits in his wagon waiting to go somewhere. He can even buckle himself in. In fact he won't let us buckle him into the carseat, wagon, or stroller anymore because he wants to do it himself. It's mostly adorable but can be frustrating.
He loves to watch the movie Cars on my phone. At all times of the day no matter what is going on, if he can sneak access to my phone he will watch Cars.
Car is his first word. He also says "rawr" and "brrrbrrbrr" (or however you make a car sound). And that is it. No matter how hard we try he won't udder a single word. He claps to say please and makes the sign to eat. He can sign done (if you make him) but otherwise finds communication completely useless. He makes a lot of the "uh uh uh" sound. Kirk and I are delighted ;)
He gives big open mouth kisses but really only when he is in the mood. And then he will cover you in them. He rarely will give a kiss on demand, especially if he wants something in return. He is still quite cuddly and will snuggle almost anyone. He gives loves to the most random people but it's just who he is. Although he's not a social bug he does not dislike strangers. He feels comfortable around everyone, just depending on his mood.
He sleeps about 12 hours a night and takes 1 three hour nap during the day. He shows zero interest in potty training and only occasionally shows interest in feeding himself. I've tried teaching him body parts. He learned eye and belly in 2 seconds flat and has no interest in learning any other body part. He has his father's nonchalant attitude on life. There is no rush and no pressure. But he is a determined bug when he wants something. He was blessed with his mothers determination. So a nonchalant determined little boy who loves juice and dinosaurs. Who isn't phased by any kind of injury and only comes crying to mom when Dad doesn't give him what he wants or Audrey won't leave him alone. He loves playing cars and it's so fun to see his delight over the simple things in life. We are incredibly blessed to have this boy in our family.