23 months

Here is what is going on with Noah this month according to babycenter.com;

Your 23-month-old can probably follow a simple two-step command such as "Come here and sit down so I can tie your shoes." Her vocabulary likely includes at least 20 words that she can say clearly (and many more that are harder to understand), and soon she'll be adding words so quickly that you won't be able to keep track any more. Your toddler may utter short sentences, like "Juice all gone," or "Dog run out." And she can answer simple questions such as "What is your name?" and "What does the cat say?" She will use words to tell you when she's hungry and thirsty, so you no longer have to guess if that's why she's a little bit crabby... at least some of the time. She may also understand opposites. If you look at a book with pictures of, say, a big dog and a little dog, or a big car and a little car, and ask her which is which, she should know.

You already know that reading to your child is one of the best ways to boost her language skills. But up until now, you probably focused on familiar stories that you may have been reading together since birth. Now's the time to start broadening your book choices. Look for stories with a wide range of objects in them that are both familiar to your child and not so well known. When you read, pause occasionally and ask her questions about the book ("What is the kitty doing? Where is the boy?). Point at objects, and give her the opportunity to say aloud the names of those she knows.

When your child was an infant, out of sight meant out of mind. But now she has the cognitive skills to remember that she left her doll in the car, for instance, even after several hours have passed. She can also associate items she's seen in real life — monkeys at the zoo — with ones she sees in a book. If you have a shape sorter, you'll probably notice now that she can put several pieces in their proper spot. Many toddlers are also experimenting with dramatic play, such as pretending to eat a plastic banana and reporting to you how yummy it is. It will be a few years before you see elaborate fantasy play where she makes up stories and characters, but this is the foundation for it.

Give your toddler plenty of opportunity to engage in "unstructured" play. Give her a set of blocks and let her build towers or trains, for example, or give her a puzzle made of just a few pieces so she can have the satisfaction of completing it herself. Props such as toy telephones, grocery carts, tool boxes, and tea sets give her the opportunity to mimic the activities of the adults she sees around her.

Noah is bursting at the seams with energy, enthusiasm, and personality!

He is so smart.  Seriously.  I know every parent thinks that, but he is.  His memory is unreal for his age.  He doesn't seem very interested in learning colors yet, and hasn't made much progress on his numbers and letters over the last month, although I still think it's impressive at how much of them he does know.  8 times out of 10 he'll get his right hand or foot correct if you ask him.

He is fearless, jumping, climbing, and more, and even if he falls or gets hurt he'll go back and do it all over again right afterward.  He is all boy!  Curious, energetic, tough, and tough.  But he has such a sweet sensitive side.  A side that is so empathetic that he cries when others cry.  That he gets upset if he knows I get hurt, for example, when I stub my toe.  He can feel others pain, sadness, fear, etc.

He communicates so well, and understands almost everything.  He talks mostly in phrases and sentences.

He loves to play hide and seek, and hide from us behind the shower curtain.  He LOVES the new trick his daddy taught him of doing forward rolls on the bed.

We are working on potty training.  He has gone several times by us putting him on the potty, but only a few times has he come to us asking to use it.  Instead he goes in his diaper more often than not, and then announces it to us when he's done.

He still has a fairly picky palate, but is slowly starting to eat things other than just fruit, cheese, yogurt, and dry snacks.  He still will not eat meat for the most part.  One of his favorite things to do is to go get frozen "yae-gurt". 

Now that Hayden is getting a little older he is really loving getting to play alongside her Monday-Thursday.  They are so cute together!