Adventures in Parenting: 18 Months In

Just...ignore the fact that I didn't do a 17 month post. See?  You didn't even notice until I said something.  Possibly because my 16 month post was so late.  It's been busy.  Y'all understand. I've been momming and stuff.

Weight: 28.1 lbs (75th percentile)

Height: 33.5 inches (<75% percentile)

Development: 
So this little guy is in LOOOOOOOOOVE with stairs.  He REALLY wants to master them. Both going up and down.  Which is awesome and a little terrifying at the same time.  He's figured out that if he holds our hand, he can go up while standing fairly well (so long as the steps aren't too tall). Or he can just crawl up them super fast. Going downstairs is a crap shoot.  He might turn around and "reverse crawl" down the stairs...or he may try to butt-scoot down them while not holding on to anything, which is terrifying.  OR, he may just get frustrated and cry until we pick him up.

At least if he falls, his head will be well cushioned...

He's also learned to kick a ball, which is awesome...because I accidentally lied to our doc at his 15 month visit and said that he could.  So now I feel better about myself. :)

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A FIRST WORD.  And it's not "mama" or "dada".  It's "Uh-Oh".  Thanks, kid.  Hoping that's not a sign he'll be as accident-prone as his mother.  This was quickly followed by "bah" (ball), "dah" (dog) and "ayyeeeee" (hi or bye, depending on context). He *will* say "mama" or "dada", but it takes some prodding. Depending on context, "dah" can also mean "door", and "bah" can mean "bird".  He also likes to say "ahhhh duh" (all done) in a sing-songy rhythm when he's ready to get out of his high chair.  

He's solid on 3 baby signs ("milk/want", "more", and "all done") in multiple contexts (i.e. "I'm all done with this bath, Mom" and "please quit changing my diaper"). He will nod or shake his head for "yes" and "no".  There's also been a lot more parroting of syllables--for example, at his 18 month appointment, he pointed at his pediatrician, so I said, "doctor".  To which he responded "da ta", much to his pediatrician's delight.

There are also times when we KNOW he's trying to tell us something, because he looks very serious, and repeats a certain bit of jibberish multiple times.  It has to be frustrating to speak a language that only you understand.

At his 18 month appointment, they went through the MChat questionnaire, which is designed to look for signs of autism. Thankfully, everything was negative.  Our little man is very social and loves to interact with everyone...including frogs in the backyard.

Eating:  He will actually get a little mad if I don't give him a utensil to eat with.  Granted--he may only use it half the time, and be holding it in one hand while shoveling food into his piehole with the other hand, but he has to HAVE it.  He also wants to take spoons/forks from me, instead of me feeding him. And we are getting a LOT better about not throwing our cup on the floor.

Second Haircut:
Auntie T came back into town in March from Ohio, so he was finally able to get another haircut.  Really a good thing, since his mop has started to develop its own concept of style (particularly if put to bed with wet hair).

(Before: Not from the wind.  That's just how he woke up.)

His first haircut back at Christmas went Easy-Breezy-Beautiful-Cover Boy.  But this one...not so smoothly.  Auntie T thinks her shears were a little dull and pulled his hair, which upset him.  He was already past due for a nap anyway, so that didn't help.  But we got through it, and now he's a proper handsome lil' dude.

Parenting:  I'm really grateful for my Hubs. I probably don't say that enough.  But we've got a pretty good routine down and it makes for a good flow.  Most mornings, I take Lil' Man to day care, so Daddy wakes him up & gets him ready for the day while I'm making/eating breakfast, then I'll feed the kiddo while Hubs finishes his morning routine.  An example evening routine goes like this:
6:00p - Mom makes dinner while Dad plays with kiddo
6:30-7p - Mom feeds kiddo, Dad cleans up kitchen & loads dishwasher
7:00p - Mom plays with kiddo while Dad pays bills/misc from computer, then he joins in the playtime when done.
7:30p - Mom gives kid bath & brushes teeth while Dad folds laundry & cleans up the toy explosion
8:00p - Dad puts kid in PJs & finishes bedtime routine while Mom puts laundry away
8:15p - Mom & Dad kick back with a beer on the couch and watch DVR'd TV shows.

It works pretty well for us, and I'm glad to have a partner in this whole parenting/adulting thing.