We interrupt your regular quarantine programming to bring a post all about Arthur.  This is mostly recording his current status so I don’t forget.  If you want to hear all about an adorable 15 month old, read on.  If not, I’ll catch you next time for more of the emotional roller coaster of lockdown life.

So my baby is somehow 15.5 months old.  If you knew him before we went under the Movement Control Order, you might not recognize him after.  When we first started on lockdown, he was just taking his first steps.  Now he is SPRINTING around the house.  That kid is fast.  And he still falls, but not quite as much as he used to.  These days he is more likely to be upset because he whacked his head on the table or counter.  I don’t know exactly how tall he is, but his head is above table height and his eye seems to be right at the level of the corner of our counters.  Ouch.

His vocabulary has exploded too.  In no particular order, he can say car, tree, train, coffee, hot, eyes, ears, teeth, feet, eat, and many other things I’m forgetting at the moment.  (He can say Mama and Dada, but he doesn’t seem to do it very much.)  He knows the signs for more, please, milk, and points down when he wants to get down.  He shakes his head for yes and no.  You can tell that he understands a lot of what you are telling him unless, of course, it’s not convenient for him.

He has exploded all four of his molars in the last few weeks.  This brings him up to 10 teeth with his two on the top and four on the bottom.  He has a gap between his front teeth through which you could drive a parade of trucks.  I hope it doesn’t give him too many problems later in life, but it sure is adorable now.

He has really started loving books.  It melts my heart every time he grabs a book and then awkwardly backs his way into your lap.

When he’s not sitting still (more often), he is into lots of stuff.  I wouldn’t call him a troublemaker.  He isn’t constantly doing something.  But he does have a knack.  If he is “helping” with the dishwasher, he will find the knife or food processor blade every time.  He also specializes in finding unguarded markers and toilets around the house.  It’s fun.

Baby was thoroughly cleaned after discovering him here

He adores his brothers.  Mostly.  They have taken to shutting their bedroom door because he will stomp any Lego creations.  But he loves them so much, and he just wants to do what they are doing.  One brother is a little better at listening to Arthur when he doesn’t like something.  I am glad that Arthur will voice some opinions, and that it isn’t full on Stockholm syndrome.  For now anyway.

He is down to one nap a day.  Usually from about 1:00 – 3:00 pm.  Night time is still rough, but I take some responsibility there.  We haven’t tried much to change things.  He goes to sleep just fine, but he’s usually up two-three times per night.  It isn’t so bad because one is usually when I’m going to bed and one is usually when I’m getting up, but there is always at least one in the middle.  But he will just drink his milk and go back to sleep.

So yeah.  We’re still breastfeeding.  I’d say I’m three parts fine with it and one part completely over it.  (Parts vary throughout the day.)  During the day, he only does milk before and after his nap.  If he were asking for it all the time, I think I’d be more frustrated.  I’m not looking to add milk or formula to our grocery list so it is convenient in that respect.  It is generally comforting to both of us at a time when we could all use some comfort.

When we first started this at home life, I definitely had many WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH A TODDLER moments.  I have a vivid memory of trying to log one of the kids into a school meeting with Arthur screaming because he wanted to pound on the keyboard.

But now that we’ve settled in more, I think his presence is such a gift.  We are spending time with someone who is not only blissfully unaware of the outside world falling apart, but is truly living his best life.  He is spending his days in his favorite place surrounded by all of his favorite people.  He doesn’t have to wear pants or shoes.  He’s so very happy, and he delights in all the little things.  Which has certainly helped me to delight in the little things.  Living with a toddler is truly being present in the moment in the best way.