18 months

 18 months

Nickname:

Mister

Weight:

25lbs 14oz ~ 75th%

{12 months ~ 23 lbs 7.5 oz ~ 80th%}

Length:

34inches ~ 95th%

{12 months ~ 31 1/2 inches ~ 98th%}

Head Circumference:

47 1/2 cm ~ 50-75th%

{12 months ~ 46.3 cm ~ 50-75th%}

Eating:

In the past 2 weeks there have been some big changes.  The day after Thanksgiving you decided you wanted to sit at the dining room table for meal time.  I have a feeling this was after seeing your big cousin Nicolas sit in a chair at Thanksgiving dinner.  You wont even tolerate a booster seat but prefer sitting on a pillow.  So now you eat on a plate (that suctions to the table!) and with a spoon and fork.  And no more bottles!  I think this was a mutual decision.  We were already giving you a bit less and adding reading books to the night time routine.  You said no to the bottle 2 nights in a row so we just stopped.  And you never made a peep.  You still love to eat, especially freeze dried mango and bananas, cheese and blueberry pancakes!  You have 13 teeth!

Sleep:

You are still a great sleeper!  Especially at bedtime.  At 8pm we make our rounds and say goodnight to everyone, read a few books, rock for a few minutes and then we lay you in your crib.  You rarely cry and if you do it's only for a few minutes.  You usually wake up around 8am.  Naps are another story.  If we aren't home (like at Grandma Gail's) you don't want to stop and take time for a nap.  And you didn't get a lot of sleep at 'school' at first but it sounds like you are napping better there now.  At home you usually nap for 2 1/2 hours but every so often you skip it.  Or won't let us lay you down in your crib after you fall asleep.  So then we all take a little nap in your chair.

Personality:

You are so much fun!  You always have been but it just keeps getting better and better!  You are loving, affectionate, curious, happy and energetic.  You had a small phase of separation anxiety (finally with your Mama too!) but it didn't last long.  You adjusted to 'school' with no problems and made yourself right at home.  Your daily reports often mention how you go around the room and give your classmates hugs.  You make a friend with everyone you meet.  Well, except on one occasion when you got super possessive over your new chairs and pulled poor Lilly onto the floor by her pigtails.  You are starting to test your boundaries which sometimes doesn't make any of us happy but it is just how you are figuring out this big confusing world. 

Development:

You love to run, throw a ball and climb on the furniture.  Mama now feels pretty ok with you going up and down the steps by yourself.  You even go down the slide by yourself and most times land on your bottom on the ground.  You are really starting to talk and sometimes it sounds like you have your own language.  You have more and more words all the time and understand almost everything we say. You are even starting to sing ee-i-ee-i-oo from Old McDonald.  You pour over books and love to sit with us and point to the objects (mostly animals) over and over and have us name them.  You are literally a sponge and are loving to learn new things.  It is so much fun to see the lights go off in your head when you figure something out.  And you are truly saying 'mama' now.  It melts my heart.  Even when you call Papa 'Mama'.

Head to Toe:

You still have the big mop of blonde curls.  We usually don't make it out of the house without at least one person commenting on how amazing your hair is.  And you have big blue eyes and a big beautiful smile.

Favorite Things:

Books
(especially Llama, Llama Red Pajama, Goodnight Moon and Richard Scary's Best Word Book Ever)

Animals ~ real, stuffed and in pictures
(and especially Kangaraoo and Moose)
Reading books and then gathering your stuffed animals after spotting them in the books
The moon, the stars
Candles and Christmas Lights
Going on a morning walk with Papa and Sunny.  And stopping to feed the goats.
School
Sunny
Oh, and the binky still.

Dislikes:

Not a whole lot.

I miss:

You are just growing and changing so fast.  I am trying to savor every moment that you are still my baby boy.  And these last few months where you are my only baby.

What I Look Forward To:

Seeing you be a big brother!