16-18 Months - Oh, the Places You Will Go...

...or at least the places he wants to go. He wants to go everywhere. By himself. At his mach speed. He's caring less and less about falling unless he truly hurts himself. I've noticed that when he trips and falls, he'll purse his lips and suck in his breath or say "ooooh...!" at the same time I'm doing it so he's picking up on a lot. He loves running and loves being chased by someone. This is great fun for all until he's running straight at the street.

His conversation skills are stellar! We believe he is speaking some ancient form of Hebrew but he's saying complete sentences and when you ask him to repeat himself, he will...word for gibberish word. He understands most of our English words, except for No. That one is still very hard to comprehend. And he will follow complex directions like, Go pick up your bottle and your paci and let's go upstairs. Speaking English is progressing a little more slowly but he will break out in unexpected words and phrases at the correct times. Like saying, Yum Good after taking a bite and telling Jess to QUIET when he was talking during Mickey Mouse. I think he might be saying a lot more words than we are picking up on right now. He's getting to know all his items of clothing, body parts, numbers, shapes and items/people in his immediate world or books.

He has the bossiest pointer finger of anyone I know. That is the main way he communicates though he does actively use the signs for bottle and eat. He points at what he wants, where he wants to go, where he wants you to go and the latest is patting where he wants you to sit. That one is particularly annoying if you are already sitting somewhere else because, it's like he fully expects you to get up and move. The sign for eat has an accompanying sound that he has made up - a closed mouth "eh?" Very similar to the seagulls in Finding Nemo. And it doesn't matter if he has just eaten, if you have something on your plate that looks interesting, he wants to try it.

We've been trying to take him out during the weekends when the weather is nice (which has not been too often lately). He loves being outside and running free. (How similar are toddlers to dogs? It's crazy!) We take him to the middle school in our neighborhood and let him run around the field and playground. He is not shy about wanting to make friends and will offer a gift of whatever he has...his paci, a leaf or some playground mulch to any little kid that looks at him. No too many takers yet but we'll keep trying.

He's still a little anxious around adults that are unfamiliar and will cry when he is surrounded by too many (1+) but warms up fairly quickly. He's very affectionate and will give hugs and kisses upon request. Favorite time is bath time or watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Favorite food: I don't know that he has a favorite but the list of what he will eat is ever changing. Favorite activity: putting things into other things, taking them out and repeating. This even includes his finger into my nose or his dad's belly button. I'm not sure which is worse but we tolerate just to hear him giggle. He already seems to like grossing me out so when I tell him something is gross he invariable does it again and again as long as he gets the same reaction.

Firsts and Events for this update: First haircut - 3/7! He screamed a bit at first and was going through all the signs he knows to try to get out of the airplane chair he was in but after awhile, when he realized he wasn't going anywhere, and saw that a Disney movie was playing in front of him, and he had this lollipop that tasted pretty good...he calmed down. He looks so adorable with the haircut too but much more like a little boy and not a baby. Let me just wipe this tear away....

Sweet Pea, you are the best baby ever! You are constantly moving, constantly challenging us and any boundaries we have set up, and constantly talking! I don't think I talk as much during the day as you do so you must get that from your dad! It's especially funny to see your dad's face when you interrupt him with your own opinion. He isn't used to that! And you are still such a sweet and good natured guy. You'd still rather be happy than not, though since getting your own way makes you very happy, sometimes you are obstructed. You love the dog's water bowl no matter how many times we tell you to stay away from it. You love taking baths. You love directing me on how to feed the dogs which progressed quickly into feeding the dogs yourself. And you love, love, love being outside.

12-15 Months

Time flies when you're chasing after a toddler. Yes, a toddler. Though Sweet Pea took his first steps on 9/17, he outright started walking in November. One day he just decided, "I'm going to walk now." And he hasn't looked back. His dad and I are cringing less and less as he walks partly due to him falling less and partly due to us getting used to him falling ALL THE TIME. How the kid has any brain cells left...I do not know. There were a couple of weeks that I wanted to wrap him in bubble wrap to protect that cranium.

 The little chatterbox isn't saying many actual words but he enjoys talking to us like we should understand him. He says Dada, dog, star and probably some other words that I may not recognize right now. He understands many other words and phrases and can point out Maya, dogs, owls, noses and ears, pictures of himself (we call them Baby Luke), Grandpa, Grandma, stars, airplanes, his blankie, pacies, bottles/milk, kisses and hugs. He can bring objects to you when requested or not requested, blows kisses and has started pursing his lips occasionally when giving kisses instead of the wide open mouth ones he favors, he waves bye-bye when people leave or when he gets in the car, points at everything when communicating, has figured out how to push buttons (literally, not figuratively...yet), still laughs when people tell him no, likes to slap things and people (we're working on the latter), likes to pull hair (we're working on that too), still throws his food on the floor when he's done eating, and probably a dozen other things. 'Mama' is a bit of a challenging word for him right now. Whenever I say Mama, he says Dada back. Every. Single. Time. When I ask him where Dada is - he points to his dad. When Jess asks where Mama is - he points to his dad. When I show him pictures of moms and babies in books and ask him who the women are, he says 'Dada' quite proudly. Palm * Face.

So many other events of the past month: Visit to a pumpkin patch, 2nd trip to Oklahoma with friends, Halloween, Thanksgiving at Nana's, visit from Uncle David, Santa at my office, and a Christmas visit by my parents.

Sweet pea with a cutie pie friend.

Halloween

Remnants of a Thanksgiving Feast

Not a fan of Santa



Sweet Pea, you are a complete joy: an exhausting, whirling dervish of boyish kinetic energy. You only sit still but for a moment until you're off to your next task and you keep a very busy schedule. Whether that is clearing out our pantry and cabinets, playing with your toys, trying to play with the dogs, seeking out that illusive remote control or cell phone, or simply looking for your bottle/blanket/pacie/whatever else you have put somewhere along the way that you now desperately need. I love the fact that you are now willing to sit in our laps or by our side on the couch as long as we can keep your attention - which usually isn't for very long. You love communicating and talk up a storm. You even sing if the moment moves you to compose a song. I just wish we could understand the stories you're telling because I'm sure they are quite good. You love pointing out things that you know and get really excited when you make the connection between objects - like the owls on your wall and the owl you find in a book. You love being tickled when you're happy but won't even crack a smile when you're not in the mood. You are the most independent little thing that can't do very much for himself yet - no hand holding, no constraints of any kind, you even cry out when your sleeves feel too tight on your wrists; being picked up is okay unless you are in the middle of something very important. The only time you do like being penned in is when you get to sit in some sort of box or crate - you can sit in a toy box for 5-10 minutes without wanting to get up! You've also discovered the joys of the Lazy Boy. Nothing better than relaxing with your blankie and a bottle, gently rocking away.

Christmas Fun