18 Months!

I know every parent thinks it, so I am no different, but it's sometimes so hard to believe that our little guy is already one and a HALF?! I felt like I was getting used to him as a one year old and now we're already halfway to two. Not only is MJ growing in months, but height, development, and personality as well! Nothing brings me greater joy than him.





This was taken on September 9th - MJ turned 18 months old. I dressed him in is "1" shirt that he wore on his first birthday. I just love this shirt! And yes, we had pizza for dinner so you'll notice all the sauce all over his white shirt. This child yanks his bib off any chance he gets and loves to get messy!



A close up of this innocent sweet face. His eyes sure know how to speak to his mama's heart!

The changes and growths are of course not as rapid as they were during the infant stage, therefore I don't seem to be nearly as good about recording them for memory. But, for my own documentation here are some latest and greatest that I want to always remember about MJ at this time:

* He seems to be tall and thin. His shorts are mostly 9 month and some 12 month size while shirts he wears 12 month and some 18month. Now that we're starting to transition to pants as the weather cools a bit, it's a struggle to find any that are long enough for him but small enough in the waist. He has to wear 18 month for the length, but he's swimming in them in the waist. If any parents have any tips for brands to try, let us know.

* He's still a pretty good eater, but has developed a taste for some things more than others. He LOVES blueberries currently. He's also obsessed with "dipping." He likes to dip his grilled cheese in soup, chicken fingers in ranch, etc. He must have learned this one from me! He picks up his food and hands it to you and says "dii" (dip) and if you don't find something to dip it in, it ends up on the floor. Lovely, huh?

* He continues to be an amazing sleeper. He sleeps from about 8:30PM-8:00 or 8:30AM. He used to sleep even longer in the mornings, but we are still thrilled with his nighttime sleep habits. He naps pretty religiously from 1-4 or the occasional long nap until 5PM. He still snuggles with his cuddle bear at night and nap time and takes his pacifier only during these times as well.

* MJ loves to go to the park and demonstrates NO fear, which in turn gives mama LOTS of fear. He usually goes for the toddler size slides only once or twice and then makes his way to the big, tall, winding slides. Ahhh!

* He seems to really like to look at cars and trucks. When we're walking in a parking lot or sidewalk, his head is constantly whipping around to watch the cars drive by. He loved watching all the big trucks at the recent parade we went to. We're thinking we might need to buy him a big toy truck to play with at home.

* He really enjoys going to story time each week at the library. While he doesn't quite grasp the whole concept of sitting still for a few minutes to listen a story, he loves to "sing" the songs and play with the toys with the other little ones. There are a few routine songs that they sing each time and they each have motions that go with them. At home when we sing these songs he dances about and laughs and does all the motions. Of course when we go to story time though he is shy and just watches the other kids. Go figure!

* We started enforcing "time outs" quite a few months ago. He seems to go through spurts of needing them, but when he does it's usually for hitting. :( He went through a hitting phase early this summer, and then we thought it had past, but the last week he has started hitting again. For time out, he has to sit in his highchair (just to keep him contained) facing the corner for one minute. The other day he had been in time out a few times already and I was reaching the point of frustration. He smacked me and I sternly pointed to his time out corner and said "Go to time out!" He walked over there all on his own, waving "bye bye" as he went, and stood next to his highchair in the corner. It was so stinkin adorable that Mat and I had to cover our faces as we were dying of laughter.

* He is learning to say "thank you," and says his version of it quite a bit. He says it when we hand him his milk sometimes. We're working on "please" as well, but haven't heard him say that one nearly as much.

* Talking continues to be a little slow, but he says "Bubba" (our dog) very clearly now and yells "Mama" when he really wants something. Thank you, hat, dog, ball, and more are a few other words we've heard here and there. He still uses his sign language for milk, water, and more.

* He has a great sense of humor. He loves to be sneaky and try to make you laugh. He loves rough housing and being tickled. He very rarely cries. The occasional whining or temper tantrum come into play when he's over tired or wanting attention, but it's such a rarity.

* He's really enjoying learning how to fit things together like stacking blocks, playing with his stacking cups that fit inside each other, and exploring puzzles.