I’m over a week late, but here is Miguel’s 20-month report for his grandmas, aunties, and godmothers who I know LOVE to read about his monthly updates.
20 Months
I was just thinking to myself last week how we’ve reached another milestone in Miguel’s life. Being a Mom who likes to remember special dates (yes…even seemingly insignificant ones like his month-sary birthdays), I made sure to greet Miggz on his 20th month with a kiss on his forehead in the car on our way to church. I LOVE that his Daddy follows suit with a greeting (even though he probably would not have remembered that it was the 17th had I not first greeted him…LOL!)
We are past the point of lighting a candled cupcake (or some other pastry) on his monthly birthdays (though I must admit I probably would not mind the occasional treat). I know some parents even buy a small (or big) toy for the occasion. We do none of that now (and I say now because we DID that once for his 6th-month birthday, but c’mon…that’s PRETTY significant–six months!!! It’s the halfway point to one-year!). These days we give him a simple greeting and a kiss. He may not get the greeting part yet, but we know the kiss definitely lets him know it (meaning the day) must be something special. Plus he randomly gets toys from us–that would probably warrant as monthly gift toys if we aptly timed the buying of them.
Miguel’s antics just grow by the magnitude each month. This is especially evidenced in the past couple of weeks while we had additional family visiting here at home. How he started with a wailing cry at the sight of meeting his Grandma Amy and Grandma Maila for the first time at the airport, and ended with knowing how to call them by name (AH-MEE! MAI-YAH!) by the time they had to go back to Norway.
Favorite Things
Miguel’s absolute favorite thing to do these days, like in previous months, is to be outdoors (no surprise there!). He just LOVES to run around and not be bound by any walls. It seems that he LIVES to pick up rocks. He likes to toss them in the water and bring them inside the house (you’re bound to see them turn up in the bathtub, on pantry shelves, and yes…sometimes in my handbag). He also enjoys the occasional dip in his backyard pool.
When indoors, Miguel loves to play with his blocks, building Mega Block fortresses and Foam Block castles (this is a departure from previous months, when all he wanted to do was knock them over). He also enjoys playing with his Tonka Trucks a lot. It seems that this is one toy that he just doesn’t tire of. He received a set of these trucks from my cousin Olive for his 1st birthday, and here we are, eight months later, and the trucks are still his faves. (They’ve gotten attached to us, as well, those trucks. I remember mourning over the loss of one truck for days, after finding out we had left it back in a Vegas hotel some time in November. Thank God he’s got four more of them!!!) He’s since gotten a portable Tonka Garage from one of my Dad’s friends, and a set of Tiny Tonkas from my sister. And he can’t get enough of them!! He picks them up to play with everyday.
Mommy Dislikes
Cute as he may seem, there are some things I just wish Miggz will soon grow out of. The past month, I noticed Miguel chomping on a LOT more things than he did when he first teethed. I mean, I could understand the occasional munch on his toys and such, but on drawer pulls and coasters??? What gives?? LOL. He also has this thing where he thinks it’s fun to turn the TV on and off again and again (and seems to find more satisfaction at doing this while a basketball playoff game is on). He’s learned to also do the same with the volume knob on our TV receiver.
As the days go by, I wonder what more mischief he’s gonna get in to.
Mommy Likes
Miggz is generous with his kisses and hugs. And it’s so easy to make him laugh! Especially when I make silly sounds and funny sound effects whenever I dress him after a bath, or as he plays with his toys. I LOVE that he thinks I’m hilarious!!! (Always has since birth… It’s a mutual thing).
Miggz is also SUCH a quick learner. He can now mouth words to “Bahay Kubo” (a Filipino folk song), thanks to his Gramma’s constant teaching him of it. He knows his numbers until fifteen (though he skips some at times: one, two, three… seven, eleven, fifteen… LOL!). I continue to count every step on the stairs whenever we go up or down. He can also now identify the letters I, O, M, and W (I don’t know how he knows those before the other letters), and he now understands the concept of colors (red, green, blue, white, yellow), though he cannot completely identify the right name to the right color just yet. He just loves yelling out the colors when we eat Mini M&M’s (another one of his favorites).
One of my absolute faves to remember about this month is when Miggz occasionally does his “roll call” at the dinner table. He goes around and points at–and identifies–all of us: Mommy! Daddy! Gramma! Yo-Yo (Lolo)! Auntie! Uncle! Auntie! Auntie! Uncle! Jo-chi! Amy! Mai-yah!
He’s the best.
Miggz will probably choose to sleep out in the backyard if he can get away with it. (He is pictured here outside with Tator, his Auntie Anna and Uncle Jon's dog).
I'm Kaye. I am Philippine-born and raised but lived most of my life in central New Jersey. A year after becoming a NewMamma, my little family--made up of me, husband and baby boy--made the move of our lives from the Northeast to the Southwest. We now call sunny Arizona our home, where I am discovering the joys, challenges and triumphs of new motherhood. Since moving, I am grateful my decision to put my career on pause allows me to explore new avenues to support my family as well as time to travel, expand my knowledge, and discover new friendships and adventures along the way with my husband, son, and new baby girl. I keep track of all my memoirs and musings during this exciting time here in my NewMamma Diaries.
New Mamma Diaries 
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