19mo thoughts

oh, my goodness! Ian is nineteen months and it totally took me by surprise, i was still thinking he was eighteen months. the 28th, another mom asked me at the park how old he was b/c she was comparing Ian and her 20-month-old. i said, "eighteen months," and she said that she was surprised with Ian being two months younger b/c in some ways Ian seemed more advanced to her. she heard me ask Ian if he wanted milk or juice and he said juice, but i kept it to myself that it was new for him to say it and so clearly, although he is getting better at talking every day. then when she mentioned it, i did tell her.
i asked if he was her first and she said yes, then i told her about how Ezekiel was slower to learn things b/c he was my first. seconds are just quicker to pick up on things. they have one more person to show them how to do things and one more mouth always around to see and hear how to talk.
in other ways, the other boy seemed more advanced. Ian is wary of steps and curbs, always going down backwards unless it's tiny, less than two inches, and using his hands to go up steps. the other boy stepped confidently off curbs and back on.
a few minutes later i looked at the date on my watch and then counted the months and realized Ian was actually nineteen months, so i corrected myself to the woman and said that it wasn't as big a difference in age as we'd thought.
but still, it's interesting how kids learn and the rate at which each learns different skills.