A quick look at what’s going on with our soon to be big brother as we chat all about toddler life!
I haven’t done an Aren update in a while because life has become so chaotic!
But there’s been so many changes for him developmentally lately that I felt like an update was due! I’ve also been sharing his daycare progress with you guys via Instagram stories and wanted to let you know how that has been going- or not going I should say 😉
Here’s the scoop:
Aren is officially 19 months and a few days! In terms of physical developments, he’s been pretty steady for a while. He loves walking around and I think it’s the cutest when he will hold my hand while we are out. Aren eats by himself, and is getting way better at eating with utensils although yogurt is still a hot mess. He likes to brush his teeth, still loves bath time and thinks cleaning is the coolest thing in the world. We had to buy him this set because he kept going into the laundry room and taking ours out!
Language:
Here’s a big one most of you don’t know! I speak to Aren strictly in Persian, my mother tongue. Ara speaks to him in Armenian. And he watches cartoons in English! Yes, I allow some screen time and I have no guilt about it! He understands a bit in all three languages and has a fairly good vocabulary in all three. English is the one that surprises us the most because sometimes he will just spit something out and we are like, who taught you that?! Nothing bad of course, more like phrases or part of songs!
He can count to ten in Persian and almost in English which I think is so cute. Sometimes we will find him sitting by himself counting and it’s adorable.
He’s also really good with food names-definitly my son lol! He has a blast at the grocery store pointing out different foods to me and making sure I get all of his faves!
Food:
He eats most things but like a lot of toddlers, we’ve entered a fussy phase. Sometimes pasta is the best thing int he world, and then sometimes he will go two weeks without touching it on his plate. French fries and Avocado reign supreme in our house though. Oh and strawberries! He is a big breakfast person, making sure to tell me every morning if he wants pancakes or grilled cheese! I’m happy to oblige!
Daycare:
Ahh daycare. We started him almost exactly three months before baby #2’s due date. Everyone told us that that is the perfect time for him to get adjusted with daycare and not to regress too much when baby arrives. So he was exactly 18 months old when he started.
It’s definitely been a slow start. He no longer completely freaks out while he’s there but he definitely still cries a bit at drop off. And pick up? Forget it. He bursts into tears the second he sees me. It’s tough, I’m not going to lie. And I get it that it will get easier, and that all daycare kids go through this but it’s still tough as a mom!
Our daycare uploads pictures of the kids on a private site once a month and they recently uploaded tons of pics from the first two weeks he had started. Let’s just say I sat in front of the computer with tears streaming down my face as I saw these pics. He was so miserable in pretty much 90 % of them, and was crying in a whole bunch. Not exactly what you want to see! I know it has gotten better in recent days so I’m optimistic that this will pass.
Ideally I will only bring him 4 days a week but until he is well adjusted I have been bringing him daily. We do a shortened day though. We usually show up around 9 and then I pick him around 345/4. I’m lucky that I work from home and am able to have that extra time with him that I want. We contemplated keeping him home with me and just hiring a part time nanny but in the end we decided the social interaction was important for him and that he needed to be in that kind of environment.
The only other thing I will mention about daycare is that the transition has been so tough on him that it’s really affected his time at home. The first few weeks he was miserable at home. Like crying all the time, wouldn’t leave my arms- even to go to Ara. And our little guy who had finally became a good sleeper (we never properly sleep trained him, a decision that worked for me!) started waking up again. Like a lot. He would wake up to make sure I was there. Constantly.
Luckily he is doing a lot better at home in recent days. His mood is almost back to his usual happy self and he is starting to sleep through the night again. This last week he slept through 3 of the 7 nights which is a win for us. The first two weeks he had started daycare he literally woke up every night. Fun times 😉 I have a feeling though that once he is 100 percent back to his old self, baby will come and we will hit another sleep/behavior change!
Likes/Dislikes
Little guy is beyond obsessed with trains. He loves Thomas the Engine but he also loves this weird show on Netflix called Titipo! Any other moms know this one?! He loves cars, planes, anything with wheels! We are going to put him in a kids sports class though soon because his dad is anxious to see what sport he gravitates to! At home he likes basketball much to Ara’s dismay – Ara is a huge soccer fan so the dream is to have Aren love soccer too hah!
He loves to color although he just gives me the crayons he wants me to use and watches me color. We’re all just living in Aren’s world!
And book time before bed is his favourite. Lately we read Little Blue Truck on repeat. It’s his favourite series and we own almost all of them.
Overall he’s such a happy and playful child. I knew Daycare would be rough and I think there’s still a few weeks left for him to feel secure enough there that he is back to being completely himself. I feel for him and am trying my best to just focus on him when we are home together. I’ve really slowed down on work this month and while that’s not great for business, it’s what my family needs at the time!
I can’t wait to see him become a big brother though- it’s going to be quite the ride!
Make sure to follow along on IG for more of our daily adventures!
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