18 Months of S

S is 18 months old today.  How time flies!

At 18 months, S still isn’t talking much.  A and I have both remarked that he seems so close and we swear we’ll hear him say a word clearly, in the correct context, but then he won’t repeat it.  He says dada most often and I think he’s definitely daddy’s boy.  He also says ma and Dee (Addie).  He’ll try to sing Ba Ba Black Sheep, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and the ABCs.  He points to letters and says E… every letter is E.  He’ll say ba for sheep, who for owl, and he’s said moo for cow, but that’s hit or miss.  Often, if you ask him a question, he’ll respond, “Yeah.”, which always makes me laugh (and illustrates our bad habit of saying ‘yeah’ instead of ‘yes’).

This biggest change I’ve noticed recently is his level of comprehension.  He can follow some general instructions, “put the cup in the sink”, “go get your shoes”, “throw this in the garbage”.  He also knows several body parts: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, foot, belly, toes.  He’ll make connections between things, for instance he’ll see a dog in a book and then point to Addie or he’ll see the Cubs playing on tv and point to the logo on A’s shirt.

The other notable recent change is his love for books (much to my relief).  His favorites at the moment are Little Blue Truck’s Christmas (he loves pointing to the tree numbers on each page), Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and Freight Train.

He’s most happy outdoors.  It can be 100 degrees outside and he’s happy as a clam.  On the contrary, he acts as if his world is ending when you attempt to bring him inside.

He’s had a bit of a rough time with teething and two more teeth popped through in the last few weeks.

He’s still a great eater.  Mashed potatoes were a hit recently and we’ve found that he has a sweet tooth (unlike big bro).  We haven’t been able to ditch the bottle.  We’ve tried, but for some reason, he’s just not a fan of the sippy cup.  We’ll keep trying.

S loves to point out garbage cans, basketball hoops, and air conditioners (EXACTLY like big brother) and he loves pointing out buses on the road.

Tantrums are on the rise.  Most occur when coming inside after being outside as mentioned, but also when he can’t have something or when I go somewhere (even upstairs) without him.

He grabs our hand and brings us to the door or whatever he wants to show us and I think it's the cutest.

He excels at physical challenges and will often surprise us by climbing on top of a table, play kitchen, chair, etc or standing up in his high chair (a big no no).  He also climbs ladders, steps, and slides at the park.  A and I have been trying to teach him the correct way to go up the slide (using steps), but he is very persistent and sometimes we’ll just let him attempt to climb.  Recently we were at the park and A remarked, “I know he’s not supposed to go up the slide that way, but I’m impressed he can do that.”  Yeah.  Mischievous little man.  He goes up and down stairs without assistance and loves to dunk the basketball in his mini hoop.  W wrestles with him and I have to constantly remind W that S is littler and he needs to be careful, but S just laughs hysterically the entire time.  Sigh.

At his 15 month appointment (which was closer to 17 months), he was off the charts for all measurements.  We’ll see if that remains true.  He’s currently in size 18-24 month or 2T clothes and we moved up to size 5 diapers.

His hair has lightened up quite a bit and he’s more of a strawberry blonde these days.

He’s still an absolute joy and is a perfect fit for our little family. :)

Photos are nearly impossible these days - he's always on the move.