And just like that you are 18 months old! It has been the fastest one and a half years of my life.
You are constantly expressing your moods, wants and thoughts, but since you only say a handful of words I can't help but still think of you as a baby. A walking, pointing, grunting, growling, squealing, 31-inch tall, 26.4-pound baby with a mouth full of teeth that can rip a slice of pizza to shreds.
You started eating with a spoon and fork a month or so ago, but I only gave them to you after I looked back on some old blog posts and realized that Eloise had been eating with utensils for several months by the time she was your age. Time just got away from me and I hadn't realized you were old enough for that.You do pretty well with them but you are a messy eater regardless of what you eat or how you're eating it. You love to smear your face and hair with food.
Speaking of food, two new words from the past two months are "eat" and "cah-cah"(cracker). "Bah" has evolved to a very clear "bye." "Uh oh" is by far your favorite expression and is your reaction to pretty much everything you hear, whether it be the phone ringing, a loud truck going by, TV or music turning off or on, Gizmo meowing, you get the idea. You also use it more appropriately when you trip, fall, and drop, spill or break something.
And speaking of breaking things, you have actually broken quite a few things as a result of your manhandling. Arms snapped off of sunglasses, headbands cracked in half, doors torn off doll houses, that sort of thing. You are one rough and tumble little boy already.
You are turning into quite the climber. You learned how to climb up onto Eloise's bottom bunk this week and were soooo proud of yourself; the first time you did it you rolled and lounged around with a big grin on your face and then sat there looking at books for nearly an hour. As of this week I have begun storing your high chair in the laundry room in between meals because I can't keep you from trying to climb it. I have also begun keeping the kiddie folding chairs on top of the table when not in use because you like to drag them all over the house to use as stools to climb up and get into mischief.
You are also quite the chewer, which is great when it comes to eating (you can eat almost everything now and I don't worry about you choking). Otherwise, it's just kinda gross. Around the house I have caught you chewing on things like shoes, vacuum cleaner hose attachments, remote controls, crayons and markers. Outside you are no better; you have been known to chew on sticks and just today you picked up and nibbled on a pine cone for the first time. Neither of your sisters did this so it's a parenting first for me. It's the only reason I occasionally find myself wishing that you were a paci baby like your sisters; I rarely worried about them sticking anything weird in their mouths because they were always plugged up with their pacis.
All those germs finding their way into your mouth have made for a very strong immune system, but in early March you got the sickest you have been to date (though it still wasn't that bad). Avalon was the first to get this strange bug, which consisted of a low-grade fever and watery-turned-crusty eyes, who then passed it to Eloise. It hit you last, and hardest. For several days you awoke in the morning and after naps to your eyelids glued shut with gunk. Besides the discomfort of that, you weren't phased much by it and we didn't even take you to the doctor (though we did call an advice nurse to ensure that your symptoms didn't warrant a doctor's visit).
You LOVE to go outside. I can't open the front or back door without you frantically rushing to it, often while clutching your shoes. Outside you love to swing, crawl/climb the porch stairs, attempt to climb up the slide, go in and out of the playhouse, walk up and run down the slope leading the garage, and walk around picking up sticks and leaves and just enjoying your independence. You also love having me push you in the swing or around the yard on the Smart Trike.
You have evolved into one fantastic sleeper and routinely sleep 8-10 hours though the night. For the first time in many years it seems, I am sleeping a solid 7-8 hours a night without interruption and it feels amazing. (Ironically, however, I am more exhausted than ever during the day!) You take one 2-3 hour nap every afternoon, which, ever since we returned from our cruise, has been in your crib. Yes, we will soon say goodbye to the cradle swing forever. We are only keeping it around for now because you love to fall asleep to the lullabies it plays. You also motion for me to turn on the music every time I change your diaper (which you still hate, by the way).
You have made life a little busier and crazier over these last couple months and I have a feeling that will be the case for a while. I am really soaking up these last few months of having a "baby" before your speech begins to explode. I am so looking forward to seeing your personality unfold and being able to have conversations with you, but please, stay my baby for just a little while longer! :)
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| Looking handsome after your first hair cut!(By mom) |
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| That's a breastfed baby for ya (still once a day)! |
