The doctor advised us to take away his pacifier. So we did. And he did fantastic. For the first two days, he needed it to go down for his nap. He then needed it a week later to go to sleep at night. But, that was it. There are two girls in his class with the same pacifiers...he hasn't even tried to grab theirs. Of course, now Mommy coming to get him has a completely different meaning. "Ooh, I get my pacifier" has become "ugh, and hour strapped in my carseat..." Daniel now ignores me when I pick him up and cries when we leave the classroom. I have found a new tactic though.
"Daniel...let's go find Daddy!" Yeah...that's enough to get him out the door on his own.
A few weeks ago, we were completely blown away when I asked Daniel to bring me a book and he did.
But then he started doing really cool stuff. He started putting the blocks back in the box. So we think, okay...let's have him help us put away his toys. No problem. We start with the duplo blocks. He collects them one at a time from where he's thrown them all over the room. Then the wood blocks. He puts them back into the box, one at a time. Then he'll get the bigger toys and balls and put them in the toy box. And the books...he stacks them in the basket where he got them.
At daycare, he will grab a toy, carry it across the room and give it to his teacher, then go back for another one. He'll do this until the entire group of toys from that shelf has been moved.
Also at daycare, he seems bound and determined to beat the foam ramp in the middle of the floor into submission, but it's not going down easy. His teacher's called me three times this week to inform me of a rug burn on his face.
He also on the receiving end of toddler aggression when one of his friends decided biting would be fun. The child's mother was mortified. I kinda thought it was funny. Maybe he'll get a context for "ow" and listen to me when I tell him not to pull the cat's tail.
To the cat's credit, Sugar has really good about not reacting to Daniel's hitting and tail-pulling. Today, Sugar finally bit back. Daniel cried. Rob and I said, "See...that's why you don't pull his tail." Daniel cried, squirmed, then passed out for a nap.
Daniel's caught up to his older friend. With six months between them, Daniel's about an inch taller, Jameson weighs about a pound more. They look about the same age; Jameson has more teeth and has a larger vocabulary.
But, speaking of that...Daniel can now communicate a few thoughts clearly. When he wants up, he thrusts his arms straight over his head. Peek-a-boo = hands over eyes. He will slap your hand if you hold it up or down. He points to the kitchen when he's thirsty. And he waves "bye-bye". Yesterday, to entertain him in the car, we tried to teach him vowel sounds. He readily repeats "e" and "i". He can say "a", but it takes a little coaxing. "O" and "u" are harder. His like of "e" and "i" are probably due to "old mcdonald".
He can also find his nose. Ask him for his "mouth" and he points to his cheek. We're still working on that one.
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