It's been 5 weeks since I last wrote and Moriarty has grown up. He's just a different kid. He talks in multi-word phrases all the time. He is very clear about what he wants and is expressing more of his little-person will. He has become obsessed with "big trucks". Not any trucks, big trucks. He talks about them throughout the day. He gets excited when he hears something that might be a big truck and cranes his neck for a glimpse. He's getting comfortable with truck jargon like "dig", "scoop", and the most important "dig that dirt". I'm not sure where he picked it up but he gets this very serious look on his face and says "dig...that...dirt". Of course, we have video!
Another big contributor to his big-boy-ness is his first haircut. He went from Baby MacGyver with a long curly mullet to a toddler. The place we took him had trains and cars for the kids to sit in during the hair cut. He was mostly OK with it, but it's a strange experience and he expressed his displeasure.
We moved into the house last week and he's very excited about all the new things to see and do. The dining room table overlooks a creek and every morning he alerts me that there's water. Creek water! He also has a small stool that he carries around so he can climb up on the couches or see out the windows. He has a propensity for moving tools around, which is crazy making, but we'll live. He likes to use the tape measure to help. Since we haven't put the cabinet doors back on in the kitchen, he also likes to take out any pans, lids, or other exciting things he can find and "cook". I love that he finally has a room and it has toys and books and nothing sharp that he's not allowed to touch. It's his room and he loves playing with us in there.
The hardest part of the month has been starting at his new daycare. He LOVED his old daycare. He loved his teacher and he had a best friend and they were inseparable. They couldn't be put next to each other at nap time because they would stay awake talking and keep the other kids up. We knew it would be hard for him to lose her, but the commute just wasn't feasible. The new school is different, but also great. We're trying to adjust but he's very sad every day when I drop him off. They were impressed at how verbal he is, and how well he can use regular cups and forks. (he has a fork obsession but can't say the "f" so he asks for something that sounds like "work") It's a mixed age Montessori school so the oldest kids are 5-6, but he spends most of the day in the toddler class. They told me today that when all the kids sit together Moriarty sits with the older children. I don't think he knows he's a baby!
His favorite sensory experience right now is ice. He wants ice milk, ice water, ice on his face, ice in his hands, ice in his mouth, etc. In addition to using his stool he's becoming adept at climbing in and out of his learning tower so he can be "up high". Overall, he just seems older and more capable.
Our plan is to start potty training over Thanksgiving weekend. We'll have several days home to let him be naked and practice, then more time during the Christmas break to practice outside the house. I'm excited but nervous of course.