Walking:
Shortly before he turned 17 months old, on 29 or 30 January, he started walking. He didn't want to walk at all for a while and I was getting worried. But all of a sudden, he seemed confident enough and set out for his first trip without support. Needless to say, we were thrilled and so proud of him. Unfortunately, walking doesn't mean more sleeping in his case. To the contrary, he seems to resist napping even more and often plays in his bed for more than 30 min before relenting. Perhaps it's time to move his nap to 2 or even 3pm in the afternoon. To be honest, I really need a break when it hits noon. A walking baby also means paying more attention and going out more. On the other hand, it's definitely easier as he can go wherever he pleases (under supervision) and he doesn't need to be carried all the time when we go somewhere. He can easily wander off when we are indoors, especially in familiar places like the library. But he is still too scared to walk freely outside on the street.
Playing:
Before he could walk, a trip to the Ikea was boring for him, being strapped in the buggy. Now it has become so much fun for him and he ran from furniture to furniture, yelling excitingly "table table" "chair chair." We got a kid's menu for free at the restaurant and he loved all the furniture and toys at the children's department.
I finally decided to get a yearly plan for the local zoo, figuring that if I go at least 4 times it will be worth it. With the days getting warmer, this seems like a viable playtime option. I was actually more enthusiastic about all the animals than Dillon did. I loved all the fish in the giant aquarium, for instance. Dillon was a bit scared of walking in the zoo and he seemed a bit passive overall. Perhaps he will feel more at ease if we go there again.
We still go to the playgroup on Monday morning, but I'm no longer going to any groups on Thursday. Friday morning is reserved for market and library. The sad part is that many of Dillon's playmates are moving away. Some toddlers from Dillon's playgroup have advanced to "Peuterspeelzaal;" H is going back to the States, S is moving to Germany, V is going back to Finland in May, and A is moving to Almere in June...it makes me antsy as well, not knowing what our future beholds. I'm hence reluctant to make new friends.
When he is tired, he likes to stack blocks or put letters back into a jar etc. He likes to flirt with other mamas by cuddling them. It seems that he loves going to the playground.
Attachment:
Dillon is very attached to me nowadays. Actually this has always been the case. It's just that it's more noticeable because he can demand my attention using words now. For instance, he would refuse Papa's attempt to read a book and bring the book to me instead, saying "mama read." He also says "mama come," "mama go," and "mama cuddle." He wants a cuddle all the time and gets very upset if I lock the toilet door. He will also get up to look for me when I'm gone for more than a minute.I'm no longer upset about this...in fact I find it cute and sadden at the thought that one day my little boy won't need mama's cuddles anymore.
Talking:
I stop keeping track of the number of words he can say. I think it's more than 200 by now. He often surprises me by saying a new word. yesterday it was "acorn" and "water." He starts to link words. One day, he grabbed his toy panda and put it on my chest, saying "panda mama milk." Towards the end of the month, he regularly says mama come, mama read etc. He also starts to count numbers and can recognize some letters. I start to believe that he is a linguistic genius when he can memorize songs and long stories such as "Good night good night construction site," which I read and leave out the last word of every sentence for him to complete.
Eating:
Little progress on this aspect of his life. He seems to grow out of his obsession for noodles. He loves nibbling on limes and goes all sour face after each bite. He likes bread and sweet food in general. He eats yogurt and pudding almost every single day and likes freshly baked bread. Occasionally, he tries to eat with a spoon or fork but still makes a mess with them.
Snow! He likes the view of it but hates the coldness :P
