Soren Update: 17 Months

It only took 17 months, but Soren finally made progress in enjoying a bath (i.e., not screaming through it).  Enjoying might be an exaggeration, but after he tried climbing out of the tub a couple of times, I got him to sit and then read him a book.  Soren likes books so much that it's possible he was finally distracted enough from his bath ordeal.  The book was a waterproof one my grandmother got him recently in an attempt to give him something to like about the bath.  While I read to him, he reluctantly held onto a tugboat Chris's parents got him for his birthday, which had been their attempt to get him to like the bath.  While Soren never smiled, he eventually pushed his boat back and forth in the water in a playful manner.  He seemed relieved when I finally pulled him out of the tub, but I consider that bath time a success!

After I dried him off and changed him into his pajamas, I noticed what is the beginning of a curl in the hair on the back of his head. He even has enough hair now to become "mussed."  My bald baby is finally growing some hair!

Chris took Soren swimming at the Y recently and despite his history with not liking the water, when "swimming" on his own terms, he had fun.  It took him awhile to warm up to the experience, but the Y has a zero-entry pool and for awhile, he just sat on the side of the pool playing with some toys, then walked around and finally ventured into the pool to join Oliver and Chris.  From there on out, he had a blast, well, except for the two times he fell over in the water and Chris had to rescue him.

Soren loves tofu and beans, but also can't resist sweets.  I spilled a bag of chocolate chips on the kitchen floor and like a dog running to his dog bowl when he hears the clink of Kibble hitting the dish, Soren scrambled to my feet and competed with me to scoop up the chips.  I tried putting whatever I could scoop up back in the bag while he grabbed what he could and shoved them in his mouth.  I purposefully left a couple behind on the floor and he was a happy baby gorging on chocolate. 

But let him gorge on chocolate, because I want him to fill out his size 12-month pants.  We moved him into size 18-month tops, but even though his size nine-month pants are too small, we have trouble keeping the size 12-month pairs on him, even when attach Dapper Snappers to the back of his pants to cinch the waistline.     

I'm afraid to say that I think we're entering the tantrum stage.  Soren is such a sweet boy who I can still rock in my arms before I lay him in his crib, but he can also throw a fit if he doesn't get what he wants. 

He's also very sensitive to criticism.  Without saying a word, a friend moved a glass of water Soren had reached for on the coffee table and Soren toddled away hanging his head, and then broke down in hysterics and it took me ten minutes to calm him down.   I think he's going to be the type of kid who's eager to please.  We've started to limit use of the pacifier to naptime and bedtime, so before going downstairs in the morning, I ask him where his pacifier goes, and he either hands it to me or walks over to his dresser and places it on top.  He also enthusiastically throws trash away if you ask him to (but you've got to watch him, but he's also put non-trash items in the trash can too) and is a great helper when it's time to put toys away. 

At playtime, Soren likes his Little People barn and Little People things in general, and like his brother, likes any sort of toy vehicles.  The advantage of having an older sibling is that he gets to play with big kid toys.  Whereas Oliver didn't get his train set until his second birthday, Soren has been playing with trains for months now and loves them.   He is still really into books and "asks" for a book at bedtime. 

Soren is always full of energy.  He still likes to climb and has learned how to climb down the stairs.  He's also learned how to climb on top of the dining room table, much to Oliver's dismay.  I had run upstairs when I heard Oliver screaming and crying that Soren was on top of the table.  I didn't believe him, but when I came downstairs to investigate, Soren was on his hands and knees on the table, and smiling!  We've taken our adventurous Soren sledding a couple of times this winter and of course he loved that.  He also likes chasing Oliver around the house, yet it's difficult to tell who's chasing who since they move at different speeds.  What we end up with before bedtime is two near-over-tired little kids running "the loop" through our dining room, living room and kitchen in a second wind. 

If my neighbors happen to look out there window first thing in the morning, they probably think I'm a little crazy.  Because what they'll see every morning sometime between 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. is me waving enthusiastically at the house and blowing kisses.  That's because there are two little boys who climb up to the window because they HAVE to watch me leave for work.  I actually have to ask for a goodbye hug and kiss from Soren, because once he sees that I'm leaving, he immediately runs to the window and cries if no one picks him up and puts him on the bank of shelves that runs underneath our front window.  So even though I have trouble seeing Oliver and Soren because of the glare in the window, I know they can see me, and so when I get down to the sidewalk, I complete the last step of my morning ritual and dramatically wave goodbye and blow my kisses to them. 

Soren is officially down to one nap a day.  There have been some mornings in the past month when he's yawned throughout breakfast or appeared cranky, but he's no longer interested in a morning nap.  Although Oliver's mid-day nap is no longer a given anymore, at least not on the weekends when we're with him, the fact that Soren only takes one nap has opened up our schedules significantly.  We have developed a preferred routine of having an hours-long block of time in the morning to go somewhere with the kids, come back for lunch and a nap, and then an opportunity for a pre-diner activity.  Our options for post-nap will increase as the weather gets warmer and we can spend more time outside.