The Grubers: Charlie’s Twenty-First Month

20 Months to 21 Months

At the beginning of Charlie’s 21st month, he was very clingy! I think it has to do with us returning from Disneyland and being afraid of being left again. He has started having a hard time playing with others at play groups. He just wants to stand, sit, or hang around me. He will sometimes venture out to a toy, but will usually bring it back and sit in my lap to play with it. Another contributing factor could be teething...when are they ever not teething?!?

Here are some pictures of his stay with Grandma and Grandpa Gruber while we were in Disneyland:

What is this face?!?

With a little friend, Jack Madsen

Arctic Circle with the Gruber girls

A job well done...admiring his work

Back home, introducing him to his Disneyland souvenirs...Pixar bath toys.

He can say “uh-oh” now, and it is the cutest thing. He uses it correctly and everything! He can also click his tongue, and will usually do it upon command.

He is really starting to point at things now! He is not just walking around with his index finger pointing at the ground, but he is actually pointing at things he wants or is interested in. He will point at toys or snacks, or to get me to go with him somewhere. We are making some (be it very slow) progress in expression and communication...so that is good.

He is really liking graham crackers right now. That is the main snack that he will point to, and he won’t really eat any of the other crackers right now. He has been trying slices of orange...which is huge since it is nearly impossible to get him to even try something new or something he isn’t already comfortable with and likes. He is only interested in the oranges if he can hold onto the peel and just suck out the juice. He will do the same with clementines... suck out the juice and then spit them out.

Charlie loves climbing up on the toilet seat where he can reach the first two shelves above the toilet, as well as the sink counter. He can even reach over and turn on the faucet. He loves to rearrange and line up the different hair and face products, or dump them in the sink. He will usually do this at least once a day. If he can manage, he loves to sneakily grab our toothbrushes, suck on them, carry them around, and rub them on the walls. Yuck! Lately, he has also been obsessed with taking the contents out of the buckets in his room, lining them up on a shelf, counter, or floor, and then putting them back in the bucket...and then repeat...over and over again. He can do the same bucket for almost an hour! One morning, I was especially tired and not feeling well, and I basically dozed for another hour after he was already awake as he lined up items on my dresser again and again. It was great!

Another example of his organizing skills

Going to the park is a lot different now. Last summer, we would go to the park a couple of times a week and I could just sit there and watch him crawl around. That is not going to be the story this summer! I have to follow him everywhere and watch him carefully on the playground. Since he can climb up on the playset, I have to watch to make sure he doesn’t take a step over the edge. For some reason, he is scared of the slides. Sometimes he will go down them if he can turn around and go down them on his stomach. But to get him to sit up straight and go down the slide is usually torture. He is way too scared at this point in time. So, at least I don’t have to worry about him falling down the slides...he is steering clear of those things. I also have to watch him to keep him from running into the road. The park playset entertains him for only so long before he is more interested in running away and being chased...which usually means running towards the road so I can chase after him. He is a cute little stinker.

At church, it is very important for us to sit in one of the pews in the chapel during Sacrament. If we are late and have to sit in the gym, Charlie is much more likely to sneak past us and run off. His toys are also way too noisy when they fall to the ground, when he throws them, or when he hits them against the chairs. So we do what we can to sit in the pews. However, one day at church when we had to sit in the gym during Sacrament, Charlie got away from us and started running around. He saw Sister Dumas (one of the his nursery leaders) sitting in the front row of the gym. We used to think he was kind of afraid of her; she is kind of an older, intense lady...but very nice, and almost kind of protective of Charlie since she lives a few doors down. Anyways, he saw her and climbed up on the chair next to her. He sat there for a good minute and kept looking at her. It was so cute! You could tell that she loved it too, as she usually sits alone during Sacrament. Ah, I love seeing my little boy do sweet things.

And here are some more pictures from the month: