Cooper's 19 month check up went well. He was back on the upward movement of the growth chart, has been really healthy and not had any sick doctor visits in the last three months. His stats were: Height 31.2, 12% Weight 24.5, 25% and Head Circumference 48.3, 60%.
Happy boy munching on snacks waiting for Dr. Elvir He is so good and cooperative at the doctor's office. I love our pediatrician here and feel blessed to have found her. We had such great experiences in Dubuque, and I was fearful finding a new pediatrician that we'd like as much.
One big change at 18 months is that we took away Cooper's pacifier (or "binky" as it's called in our house). It wasn't even something we had yet planned to do. With MJ we took it away at 2 (limiting it to bedtime and car at 1, just like we did with Cooper), so we just kind of were loosely planning to go with that for Cooper. His binky is a wubanub (google that if your'e bored) though, so the actual pacifier part is sewn to a small little animal lovey. He constantly bites on the binky part though, and one morning I went in to get him out of bed and realized he'd bitten right through the binky and the tip had come off. It seemed dangerous to me thinking he could've swallowed or choked on it, so we decided right then and there that day to give it a shot. He made it way easier than MJ!
We had one really rough day of naps where I could only get him to sleep on me. See the little doggy lovey next to him? That's where the binky used to be attached to. Evenings were a breeze...he only cried like 5-10 minutes, and nap times were just rough for 2, maybe 3 days tops. He truly made it so easy!! He still snuggles with and chews on the doggy, so I think that may have helped with the transition. He now still gets the binky occasionally in the car. He typically throws it out anyways, but we are holding off taking it away in there until after our road trip to STL this summer. If it helps him sleep in the car, so be it!
We seem to be entering the stage of full on sibling bickering in our house. There's a whole lot of "she hit me", "he bit me", "that's mine", and "I had it first!" So when you see a moment like this, you capture it and then stop and smile. These are the moments I live for. This was early one morn before MJ went off to school. The kids were all sitting together watching a cartoon.
A funny little moment at 18 months was in the gas station/post office....yes, our local post office is within a gas station. Cooper was toddling around as I was waiting in line, and I looked over to see this. He was really taken with this display and could NOT figure out why these big m&m's wouldn't come off. Give me candy!!
At 18 months, we were going on lots of walks. The weather was almost unusually cool for the time of year, and MJ was still off to school each day, so who ever was home (either Mat, myself, or both) went on a walk with the two little kids multiple times a week. A walk often ended with a stop at the playground as well! Cooper loves to go on walks.
We read a book before bedtime each night with Cooper, but from time to time I'll catch him sitting and looking at books by himself. Granted he may have the book upside down, but I notice that when it's quiet and his siblings aren't around, he's usually either playing cars and trains or looking at books. At night, he still doesn't seem to quite sit still to finish a whole book. He likes to turn the pages before you can even finish reading it. :)
Cooper's vocabulary has greatly increased over the last month. He says A LOT of words that I know only Mat and I are able to understand, but more and more lately are words that are really audible that surprise me! Just last week, he said "excuse me" plain as day. I had no clue he knew that, much less the context in which to use it correctly (he was trying to squeeze by his sister while walking in the garage). He's started saying "J" for MJ, "Char" for Charlotte, now calls me mommy rather than mama and daddy rather than dada (I may have coaxed that one a little. ;)) He's so funny with some things though....like he calls most every animal a doggy still, says quack quack for lots of animal noises, and will mix up mommy/daddy sometimes. Not that I worked with MJ that much, but there are SO many things I sat down to do with MJ that I haven't even begun to do with Cooper. Poor kid! He learns a lot from his siblings though and observation, and I know will catch on at his pace. We are just loving seeing the new things he says and does daily. It truly is a fun stage!! I think he's going to be outdoorsy and rough. He likes to play ball, swing the bat, ride his new Cozy Coupe, run after his siblings, and is a total instigator. He already tries to push his big sister into the pool! He still continues to try to bite them as well. :( He hasn't bit any other children except MJ and Charlotte, and we are continuing to work on this. I guess he's trying to get his point across and stick up for himself in one way or another, but it's been one frustrating part of this stage.
We had a really fun family outing in May, and we went blueberry picking with another family that we've become good friends with. Cooper was so cute picking blueberries, but was way more interested in just eating them right off the bushes. Busted! He loved them! If only he'd eaten them that well once we brought them home. He's become a more picky eater now. He hardly eats any vegetables, still does pretty well with fruits, and is hit and miss with meats. Still loves his milk, we are trying to do water more and more though, and crackers are always a given!
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