Jackson is now 16 months old!

I cannot believe Jackson is already 16 months old. We drove up to Rock Hill to see Charlie’s only living grandparent “Geemaw” on Saturday. We had not seen her since last Christmas, so it was great to see her!

Things are still going great, he just gets stir-crazy at the house….I think he is ready for preschool already! He still cries every time I drop him off at the nursery which is hard…I just try to drop him off as fast as possible ( I usually type off some instructions so I do not have to talk to whoever is there to watch Jackson). We are going to toddler time at the library starting this Wednesday morning. The program goes for 5 weeks and I am so excited! Overall, he is a joy, and has so much love to give. He is a great hugger and he loves people!

Some transitions:

Nap Time:

1. He is ready to go down to 1 nap a day, but the only problem is that I cannot get him to sleep but for like 1 hour and a half to two hours. I think he wakes up early because he is hungry. I would love it if he slept for closer to 3 hours starting at like 1 pm. Right now he sleeps for like an hour and a half after lunch and then sometimes he goes back to sleep around 5 and I have to wake him up at 6:30 and then to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm and wakes up around 7:45 am.
2. Toddler Wise says that you usually try to transition to two naps a day at eight months and usually continue this through sixteen to eighteen months. They recommend transitioning to one longer nap right after lunch at 18 to 20 months old. I guess we are just in that transition time. I just need to move up his morning routine to about ½ hour.

Eating:

1. He is getting better and will eat a variety of food now! Again the books say that just one teaspoon per age of child of food. So that means Jackson only needs about 1 teaspoon of food! I am sad to admit he still gets a morning bottle, midday bottle and night bottle. My goal is to cut out the middle of the day bottle in the next couple of weeks! He will only drink like a couple of ozs of milk out of the cup, but he drinks like 4 ozs of pear juice out of the cup. If anyone has any suggestions about getting rid of the bottle, I am all ears!

Playtime:

1. A new idea I have been trying that I discovered in the Toddler Wise books, is that I put a basket a toys in the middle of the den, and then just let him go through it and play. This last for an entire 15 minutes, which is long for Jackson, and then he helps me clean up the area. I think he is right on track with everything, except problem solving skills…I think (and so does the doctor) that he is advanced when it comes to problem solving. A couple of weeks ago, he got my keys and put them in the bottom keyhole of the door, and tried to unlock the door. I have only unlocked the door a couple of times with him because he is usually asleep when we come in, and I just always lock the bottom deadbolt behind me.
2. Toddler Wise also recommends teaching your toddler self-control with their hands. Ezzo states that, “teach your child that self-control begins with the folding of her hands. That is a wonderful concrete way for her to understand calmness. Children as young as eighteen-months can learn this wonderful skill.” I am trying to teach Jackson to fold his hands when we pray at night. Sometimes it actually works. I have now finished reading Toddler Wise. I would recommend this book to anyone who has toddlers. Of course, I do not agree with everything, but it helped me realize more what I do believe, and it helped me get some new ideas on how to teach Jackson.