My sweet boy is so much fun, has so much personality, and we laugh together at so many things. He's precious and sweet and I want to eat his cheeks, kiss his feet, and hold his hands all the time. But he's one and clearly has too many things to do, so I don't always get to have my way.
He's also really, really loud. I guess he's always kind of been a loud crier/noisemaker, but for the most part, this is a new development.
Sometimes he screams because we take something away from him or tell him, "No." I realize this is normal for this age. But literally, he went to bed as an 11.999 month old who wasn't phased by mom and dad taking items away from him and woke up as a 12 month old demanding to have life his way. At 13 months, this is even more true.
Mealtime can be interesting either due to noise level or Duke's occasional revolt against eating food.
Discipline has suddenly become a topic of discussion. How will we talk to our son? How will we correct him? What will the consequences be? All that biz. I certainly realize we have not even entered the ages 2-4 (which my pastor referred to as "the battle"), but I think we all agree that how you start disciplining a one year old will influence their behavior when they arrive at those beloved ages. So, we'll see how this turns out.
Lack of communication is starting to become a frustration for him. Duke understands certain words or phrases we say, but is not able to express what he needs or wants. I wasn't sure how much I'd be into the signing thing. But I do think teaching him a few important words will be helpful. We've been working on them for a few months now and are waiting for him to start signing back.
Turning one has presented new challenges, but it really is such a fun age. I love this little boy. Even when he slammed the door into the wall yesterday and did this:
Welcome to pre-toddler land!
The sign language helps a lot! I was reluctant to try it, but my cousin is a speech pathologist who works almost exclusively with children and she highly recommended it. She said that they consider a signed word as important as a spoken word. We only taught Noah a few, but once he mastered "more," "eat," and "please," our world definitely became a little easier!
ReplyDeleteGood to know! The first time I saw it in action was probably 2 years ago in a restaurant. There was a family with a one-ish year old who was so well-behaved and signing everything that he needed. They enjoyed a very quiet and stress-free dinner. Obviously, I know it doesn't make everything perfect and easy, but I'm sure it helps! Thanks for the encouragement to stick with it!
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