++18 Months++

Here we are at 18 months. A little late due to technical difficulties (which left me internet-less for a few days...and twitching as a result.) I said last month that this post would come with tears. I had no idea it would mean Wyatt's tears. We are in the process of breaking in the eye teeth (I can say "we" as this process has consumed the entire family). I know, most kids probably got these at 9 months but our little one was toothless until he was almost a year old. The result is buckets worth of drool and lots and lots of crying in the night (something we are not used to since Wyatt slept through the night at two months and never went back). The worst part is that we have had a few episodes of inconsolable crying. Also something that we haven't seen since about two months. It really breaks your heart.

Now onto the positive stuff. Here's a little about our character at 18 months:


He's only marginally cooperative when it comes to having his photo taken (gasp!). This was the best shot I got and I took over 100.


He is a self-taught whistler. After his weekend with daddy (who whistles all the time) I find him attempting to whistle in the backseat on the way home from the airport. I wasn't able to catch this hilarity on film until now. Believe it or not, a very slight sound does emerge.



This boy is RUNNING. This is what he did in response to my asking "can you show me how you run?"

We've also made great strides in the language department. On the morning of his 18-month birthday he said an unprompted "thank you" to his dad in response to his sharing of his banana. A nice payoff for me since I have been saying "say thank you" to him for about nine months now.

Likes:

• Sesame Street. Bob the Builder and Thomas are so last month (for now).


• Ketchup. We have to remind him that he has to eat the food he dips, not just lick the ketchup.


• Driving things (especially his dad's car).


• "Helping" us. Which includes reminding us of the exact steps in his morning and nighttime routine.


• Reading books. He has yet to pass up an offer for us to read a story. He will, however, offer an opinion on which story we read.


• Wearing clothes with his favorite things on them (trucks, trains, dogs, etc.) That will explain why you may see more and more of those things in his wardrobe.
• Coloring. Preferably with pencil or pen on a piece of paper that looks important (junk mail works very well for this).

Doesn't like:

• Dirty hands. Ironically this includes whining if he gets ketchup on his hands.


• Trying new foods. He doesn't even like them on his tray. It's fabulous.


• Sitting still (not sure this will change for a long time).


• Getting out of his crib in the morning. Now this does not mean that he is sleeping quietly in the pre-dawn hours. No, no. He is up and hosting a party. He just isn't ready for it to end when we go in his room to finally get him up.


• Conforming. This means at Little Gym when it is time to sit on the mat, or walk in a circle or do whatever the instructor wants...he is the only one on the other side of the gym climbing on stuff.

We saw a new pediatrician down here. Wyatt was very shy but it was confirmed that he is healthy and growing right. 27 lbs and 32 1/2 inches (which I think is a little short because his neck was kind of bent). He's making a dramatic tumble down the size charts from his prior position upwards of the 95%-tile.