Liam is 22 months old today.  So it's time for a summary of how he's doing. 

• Is pulling to stand more and more.  He likes to pull to stand if what he's pulling up on is above him like the top of the Pack n' Play. 
• Is walking when you hold his hands.
• His PT lent us a little baby walker, not those toy ones that are not recommended by anyone but a medical walker.  In a week, he went from needed max assist to doing it on his own.  We're going to ask for a long-time loan for a walker from Early Intervention.  He won't need one to walk for the long-term, but it really helped his confidence and independence.
• He will walk when he wants to get somewhere instead of belly crawl.  If you make him.  He doesn't fight anymore when you try to make him.
• He's writing with crayons, markers, and is finger painting.
• He's still throwing a spoon rather than using it to feed himself.
• I have lost count of how many signs he has. 
• He can climb the stairs.
• He pulled himself to stand and climbed out of his crib resulting in a large thud that echoed throughout the house and in a skinned nose.
• He's getting into trouble.  He got into trouble yesterday for kicking everything off his changing table after being told to stop kicking.  He doesn't quite get the concept of "gentle hands", which often results in a timeout after 3 warnings.
• He's pointing at objects all around him and asking "de?"  I think he's trying to say "this?"  I'm thinking about labeling everything in the house.
• When the phone rings, he puts his hand up to his ear and says "herro". 
• When he burps, he laughs and says "bur".
• I've taught him how to say "Go Herd!"  by raising his hands up like a cheerleader.  Doug was not too impressed with that one.
• The kid is a dancing fool.

We did hit a couple big milestones all in one shot.  Doug was upstairs in the bathroom.  Liam signed "daddy".  I told him Daddy was in the potty.  Liam crawled across the main floor (sun room, dining room, living room), climbed up the stairs, and knocked on the bathroom door.  Climbing stairs–check!  Locating an object outside the room–check!  Then he started signing "bath".  Recognizing the use of a room–check!

We've also started the Love and Learning system.  I feel that Liam is ready to start learning to read.  He identifies objects in books and I think he is associating the words with the pictures.  He can also occupy himself with a book or two for a long time.  We're talking up to an hour "reading" books by himself.  So we ordered Love and Learning.  He recognizes the letter "m" every time he sees it on the screen or in the books.  He also imitates most of the letter sounds when he sees them.  We've only been doing it about a week and a half so I think we're off to a good start.   I was a very early reader, not too much older than Liam is now.  He's been read to his entire life.  Perhaps he's inherited my love of books and reading.  Number 47 might make it harder for him to learn, but I don't think it overrules everything else.

Here's the big boy.  Skinned nose and all.


And the big boy reading his books.