23 month update (July 2005)

Since it's been almost a year since the last update, there's lots to tell. On the medical front, the news continues to be good. Our last visit to the urologist was in February and we won't need to go in again for an entire year. Owen's kidneys look great and when it comes to potty training we'll see how well his bladder functions. Certainly, it looks like we won't have to deal with the problems caused by more severe cases of PUVs.

Probably the most exciting developments of the last few months have been Owen's growing vocabulary and language skills. He has around 70 words right now, maybe 60% English and 40% Spanish. My favorites are /gogololo/ for "cocodrilo" (crocodile), /awadidi/ for "aguacate" (avocado) and /emami/ for edamame - as you can probably guess, those last two are favorite foods. He also knows many people and characters by name now - Emma (/ema/), George (/du/), and James (/nei/) are all kids from our apt. complex, Hilda (/ilda/) is a friend of ours, and from Sesame St. he knows Elmo (/elmo/) and Ernie (/ini/). He also knows most of the cast of "Finding Nemo" by name.

Of course, he's also come a long way physically - at 12 months he had just learned to walk, and now he's running everywhere - and climbing everything he can. He can also jump, and he loves being in the water - be it bath, pool, or puddle.

Owen has also been developing quite a will of his own over these months, as is typical for a toddler. "No" was not one his first words - he's only been using it regularly for a week or two - but he definitely has his own ideas about what he wants and when. Trying to put socks and shoes on him, for example, can be tricky at times, as can getting him to sleep at night. My mom smiles knowingly whenever I mention that - evidently I was not an easy sleeper either.

He continues to be easy to please when it comes to food. He enjoys most foods we give him, even the sort of healthy foods you hear about children rejecting - peas, edamame, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, and just about any fruit. Let's hope that continues.

The other big change in the last month is that he's started going to daycare two days a week in the mornings. It's only 3 hours, but it gives him a chance to interact with other chidlren and us chance to get some things done around the house. I was a tad worried at first just because he has a tendency to hit - mom, dad, or anyone else around - when he's angry or frsutrated, but from what Graciela, the owner of the daycare, says, he's been pretty well behaved there. We're still working on the hitting, though.