Edison – 21 months

I realized that I’ve skipped the updates on 19 months and 20 months. So, I’m going to write more on his development at 21 months today. Three more months to go and we will be celebrating his 2nd birthday. Oh, time sure does fly by.

In general, he is displaying most of the milestones of a 21-month old. He is interested in assisting us with chores such as cleaning the table, sweeping the floor, tidying up his toys etc. He is able to wash and dry his hands and brush his teeth with little help. In terms of self-feeding, he can eat biscuits, bread and snacks on his own. He can drink from a cup with a straw and hold it steadily.

Talking is one of his biggest advancement for the past three months. He is learning new words everyday. These are some of the words that he can pronounce clearly:

• “Papa, Mama, Yeh Yeh (grandpa in Cantonese), Popo (grandma in Cantonese), Kakak (sister in Malay – referring to my helper)”
• “Flower, Shower” – sound quite alike sometimes
• “Mango, moon, star, milk, bear, banana, no more, hi etc”

He is getting close to being fully toilet-trained, marveling at the fact that he is able to recognize and communicate to us on his needs to urinate or have a bowel movement. He has been diaper-free at home with minimal ‘accidents’.

Little Edison is a very generous boy. He is willing to share his favorite toys, food and drinks. We don’t really teach him this but the art of sharing comes pretty easy for him. Whenever he attempt to share, we will praise him and make him feel good about it.

At this age, he has developed the understanding of what things are and how they are used. He understands that crayons are for scribbling and play-doh is for playing. When grandma wants to make orange juice for him, he quickly gets her a tea strainer from the kitchen cabinet. He knows that grandma uses the tea strainer to remove the tiny seeds from the juice.

In addition, he is pretty comfortable in the house too. He knows where to find things that he needs and where to put things when it’s time to tidy-up. He knows what belongs to whom. He has a great observation skills and he knows how things work by just looking at them once.

This boy is curious about everything. He peeps on us when we are changing. He stands in front of the mirror naked and he giggles. He pulls the toilet door when grandma is doing ‘small business’ in the toilet. He laughs when grandma calls him a Peeping Tom.

Overall, I must say that I’m very impressed by his intelligence and excellent memory. I’m glad to see him growing in leaps and bounds under the care of his doting grandparents. Although he can be bossy at times, he can also be reasonable with explanation.