18 months

At Daddy's lab bench

Motor Skills:

• As soon as your feet hit the floor you're off and running...everywhere!  You trip over your own feet sometimes and usually pop back up can carry on.
• You're climbing and pretty insistent on getting into chairs and on the couch.
• You're pretty good at drinking out of cup.
• You love throwing the ball.  You give it a kick here and there, but much prefer throwing.
• Your dancing is sometimes a little jig but has taken on a new form of thrashing. 

Vocabulary:

• This has been an an exciting area this month.  It seems as though everyday brings at least one new word!
• Mess...Mama LOVES this word.  Although you have been picking up dirty things everywhere (cigarette butts, lint balls, dirty napkins) and handing it to me and saying "mess."
• Tigey (Your stuffed tiger)
• Treat (as in dog treat.  Love to give the pooches their treats.)
• Cricket
• Soap
• Muuuuuppeeeeeeyyyyy, said while clapping his hands to call Muppet inside.  Although this has been the call to get all dogs we see on our walk to come to the fence.
• Tweet, if I say bird.   This is usually if I correct your calling every bird a duck.
• Moo.  It actually sounds like oooooommm, but it is in reference to a cow.
• Tweet (bird)
• Who-Who (owl)
• Meow (kitten)
• Oink (pig)
• Water
• Sprinkler...lots of sprinklers on our morning walk in dry Denver
• Cheese
• Byebye, unprompted, but offers it up with a wave and a kiss when we leave or head downstairs to bed.  It melts my heart when you say "bye bye" to Daddy when we Skype.
• Bottle, in reference to "water bottle" (sip cup) that your evening drink is from.
• Banana
• Stick
• Brush
• Truck
• Peaches, lick them but won't eat them though 
• You are well on your way to saying "Lordy, Lordy"  a la your Papi.  I am very curious to see what situations you apply this to.
• You name a lot of things and point at things and ask for them, but you are beginning to ask for things that are not in sight. You went to the refrigerator the other day and said "milk!"  Perhaps it is me not listening closely enough and it's difficult to understand when out of context? 

Diet:

• You are really, really into pizza lately.  Actually, it's pretty much just the tomato sauce on the pizza.  You lick it off and move on to the next piece.
• Ketchup and french fries are also a love.
• You have periods of eating more often and larger portions.  This still ebbs and flows though.  
• You would be quite content to never sit at the table and drop in just for a bite of grilled cheese or banana here and there.  Since I worry so much about your caloric intake I sometimes give in to this more often that I want/should.  I do not want to reinforce that eating routine.  I still get you to sit at the table 3-4 times a day but I have noticed some resistance here and there on that lately.
• You're not really hitting that 20 oz of milk mark each day.  

Appearance:

• 12-18 month clothes are still very roomy on you.
• You're still in your fist pair of "real" shoes, size 4.5.  There's plenty room left.
• You still seem to be about 20 pounds.  We'll check for sure with Dr. J.
• Your little fat feet are starting to toughen up.  All that time spent running around barefoot means those soft baby feet are getting pretty rough.

Likes:

• Kids.  You seem to find the family with the most kids no matter where we go and join their clan.  You spotted a family of five in the airport and asked the father to pick you up and sit you next to his youngest daughter.  I searching for playgroups in NYC my boy.
• Small things.  You take notice of tiny bugs and plop yourself down to point at them and watch them.  You are also pointing out tiny details in books, and go on chatting about them. 
• Being held, but it MUST be on my left hip with ONLY my left arm.  You move my hand to the correct position and remove my right hand if I attempt to use it to support you.
• You've become interested in roughhousing.  You really like when I lie on the ground and you can tackle me.
• You like water...sprinklers and fountains especially.

Dislikes:

• You've grown to not be so fond of baths anymore.  You refuse to sit down in the tub but will soap up your body with the dabs of soap I put in your hands.  The shower in Minnesota was perfect for you because it doesn't have much pressure.  You don't mind getting in the shower with me, but rinsing off is another story.
• Anything that gets on your hands has got to go.  A few grains of sand drive you crazy.  Even when you get bubbles from the tub on your hands you stick your hands out to be wiped.  

 Personality:

• You are definitely pushing limits, and telling me "no" when I tell you to do (or more often not to do) something.  You are very clear about your frustration and extreme disappointment in not getting everything you want, when you want it.   
• You jabber on and on and burst into laughter, cracking yourself up.
• You like waving to strangers and smiling.  Sometimes you're game for being held by anyone and sometimes you'd rather only Mama hold you.

Sleep:

• Your naps have been over 3 hours lately.  Is this a growth spurt we're coming upon?
• You are sleeping through the night without me, but I do hear a little fuss lately from your room.  You're going back to sleep on your own and it is only for a minute or so but I wonder if your teeth or tummy hurt.

POOP!:

• You are very regular.  You poop like clockwork.
• You had been typically averaging about 5 poops a day, but the range was between 4-6.
• The last few weeks you have only had 2 morning poops and maybe one in the afternoon here or there.  Whew.  I am thrilled but I sure hope your tummy isn't having a hard time adjusting.

Not many pictures taken today...I'll try to add more photos tomorrow.  It's been a busy few days.