By now your child will begin to set goals for himself. He'll have particular ideas about what he wants to do, like pushing his toy car down the path or fitting all the pieces of a puzzle together. He'll also care about the results - you'll see he's pleased when he's successful and frustrated when he's not. It's all part of his burgeoning independence.
Now that your toddler can communicate using both words and gestures, you can expect him to become quite bossy. Mostly he's experimenting with how his ability to communicate affects the people around him. For instance, he might yell "Stop!" when you start singing his favorite song. It's not that he really wants you to stop singing. He's more interested in seeing how you respond to his order. If he demands "Help me!" when he's playing with a toy, you're witnessing a huge developmental leap. Rather than throwing a toy he can't operate, he can now ask you to help him figure it out. "Look!" is another frequent command. Usually this request signifies a need for your approval. He may want you to compliment one of his scribbles, block towers, or simply acknowledge that he put on his socks. Use your toddler's bossy behavior as a springboard to teaching "please" and "thank-you." For example, when he says "Help," teach him to say "Help, please!" You can also use his demands to get a conversation going. When he says "Stop," ask him to explain why he wants you to stop doing whatever you're doing. Although your toddler probably doesn't have the vocabulary to give you a real explanation, you may be surprised at how well he expresses himself.
Your toddler may delight you and a few other special people in his life by showering you with affection. He will freely hug and kiss you, and (usually) come to you when called. He doesn't totally understand what it means to cooperate, but he recognizes that it makes you happy when he does. He may even be willing to help with some chores, such as putting away books and toys when you suggest it. Other children go through a standoffish phase around this age. If yours isn't particularly loving or cooperative, be patient. Keep in mind that this can be a confusing time for toddlers. They have many feelings but they can't always express them with words.
A typical 22-month-old's vocabulary consists of about 20 words, and most toddlers can also combine a couple of words to ask questions or make statements. But before you start counting the number of words your child uses to judge whether she's on track, remember that toddlers understand many more words than they can say — and comprehension is an integral part of language acquisition. So in that context, her "vocabulary" is probably much larger than you think. You may also notice that your toddler has begun to mimic the tone of your speech. When you exclaim, "Oh my goodness!" or "Stop that!" or "Thank you!" she'll repeat it with a similar inflection.
If you point to body parts on your child or a doll and ask her what they are, she should be able to name five or more. If you ask her, "Where is your foot?" or "Where are your ears?" she should be able to point to the right places. She'll also enjoy singing nursery rhymes with you. Even if she can't say all the words, she'll try to repeat some of the song and even attempt to carry the tune.
At this stage of the game, listening skills are essential to language development. To encourage your child to listen as well as speak, read children's books that have repetitive words or phrases and ask your child to fill in certain words as you go along. Singing nursery rhymes again and again is another great way to improve listening skills. Your child will naturally want to sing along with you, and she'll need to remember the words to do that. The melodies attached to these rhymes can make it easier for your child to remember the words. Think about how much easier it is to remember the words to your favorite song than your favorite poem or story.
Most toddlers love to look at books, and you may witness yours holding a favorite book and pretending to read it herself, labeling familiar objects. If you hold a book upside down, she should know it's not in the right position, but she'll probably be able to recognize some pictures even when the book's flipped over.
Even though your child's attention span is still relatively short, don't feel compelled to read quickly in order to finish a story. In fact, the faster you read, the faster she'll lose interest in the book. Instead, read slowly so that she understands what's happening, and allow her to scan the pages and look for objects that she can point to and label. You can stop when she gets tired. Spending time reading with care is much more important than getting to the end of the story.
Noah is continuing to get smarter, more fun, and is looking and acting like a little boy.
Two weeks ago we had a rough week in which Noah become unmanageable every time that he didn't have my full, undivided attention. Fortunately, I get to give him my undivided attention a lot, but I don't want to raise a spoiled brat that throws a fit when his dad and I try to have adult conversation at dinner with each other and friends.
His vocabulary continues to be excellent, saying well over 100 words, and lots of sentences. He can now count as high as 11, usually leaving out 3 and 7. He can also get as high as I with the alphabet, but normally stops at E. He's starting to show an interest in learning colors, but doesn't quite have any mastered yet. He knows all the body parts, most animals, and the sounds that they make. He knows a few shapes, and most vehicles.
He is such a sweet little boy and loves to give hugs and kisses, to us, and everyone.
He pooped on the potty 2 or 3 times this month, but now hasn't shown any more interest in it in over 3 weeks.
He loves music and loves to dance and will even sing a few of the words to some of his favorite songs.
He's starting to try to stall bedtime, and will ask for extra hugs, kisses, or even to poop on the potty... anything to not have to go to sleep. He's usually pretty cheerful about it though and goes down happily and easily once I leave the room.
He recently got a bunch of hot wheels cars and trucks and is absolutely enamored with them, lining them up and driving them all over the house.
He's in a phase where he really likes to have everyone in the house in the same room. He just wants everyone to be around each other all of the time. If Jeremy or I leaves the room we hear a repeated "where mama/ dada go" until the missing person returns.
He's finally starting to expand the extremely picky palate that he developed for several months. He's still not eating most meat, but will eat turkey or hamburgers. He'll eat some vegetables again also. And always all fruits and dairy products. He's also starting to eat rice, with some type of sauce (usually a stew or curry) on it. And he eats pickled jalapenos straight from the jar. Although he calls them "spicy", not jalapenos... probably because I tried to convince him he wouldn't like them and told him they were spicy, then when I finally gave him some he said "I want some more spicy". Now every time he sees the jar he asks for some "spicy".
He pooped on the potty 2 or 3 times this month, but now hasn't shown any more interest in it in over 3 weeks.
He loves music and loves to dance and will even sing a few of the words to some of his favorite songs.
He's starting to try to stall bedtime, and will ask for extra hugs, kisses, or even to poop on the potty... anything to not have to go to sleep. He's usually pretty cheerful about it though and goes down happily and easily once I leave the room.
He recently got a bunch of hot wheels cars and trucks and is absolutely enamored with them, lining them up and driving them all over the house.
He's in a phase where he really likes to have everyone in the house in the same room. He just wants everyone to be around each other all of the time. If Jeremy or I leaves the room we hear a repeated "where mama/ dada go" until the missing person returns.
He's finally starting to expand the extremely picky palate that he developed for several months. He's still not eating most meat, but will eat turkey or hamburgers. He'll eat some vegetables again also. And always all fruits and dairy products. He's also starting to eat rice, with some type of sauce (usually a stew or curry) on it. And he eats pickled jalapenos straight from the jar. Although he calls them "spicy", not jalapenos... probably because I tried to convince him he wouldn't like them and told him they were spicy, then when I finally gave him some he said "I want some more spicy". Now every time he sees the jar he asks for some "spicy".
