Happy 18 Month Birthday

Carter is 18 months today.





weight: 25.7 lbs (just under 75th percentile)
length: 34 inches (90th percentile)

He grew two inches since his last checkup. Although according to this he lost about a pound, so I'm not sure his weight today was right. He didn't want to have anything to do with the scale.

He is saying all kinds of words lately. We've been working on animals and when you ask him what each animal says he gets them all right. He's really good at
moo
meow
woof woof
neigh

We've also been working on body parts and his favorite is mouth which sounds like
"m-ow". He does tummy, toes, head, nose (usually). Ears and eyes are close but not quite.

He will repeat almost anything. When I said apple he said papple which is really cute.

He signs kitty cat (pulling at your cheek like you are stroking whiskers), dog (patting your leg as if you are calling your dog to come), and also does more and please. I only know these because Candi recognizes them and tells me my child is signing to me. They have been teaching him at daycare. They are usually accompanied by him saying the word as well so I have just been going off of the word.

His very very blonde hair reminds me of my youngest brother Zach.


At 18 months he loves...

..."this little piggy" and will say "again" after you are done holding up the other foot each time. He also likes a game we play called Jack Black Pony where I bounce him on my knees. I got this nursery rhyme from my mom but I don't remember it from when I was little so I'm not sure if she did this with me. He also asks for this "again."

... Elmo, or as he says "Melmo." Anna's first character that she was "in" to was Mickey Mouse.

...the dogs. He calls both dogs "ah - eeh" even though only one is named Tassie. He loves to let Sonar kiss him all over his face and in his mouth. It is so gross.

...legos. Anna never really played with legos so this is interesting to me. He has really just gotten into loving books too. We've been reading "Carry Me" and "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus" which he loves to say "NO" to each time the pigeon asks if he can drive the bus. The books by this author are so cute. Anna especially likes Knuffle Bunny right now, where the pigeon makes an appearance on a kid's t-shirt.

...to ride in the sling and almost prefers it over the stroller.


At 18 months we are "dealing" with...

...rashes. He has very sensitive skin and I am still dealing with the rash issue. As soon as one gets cleared up another starts. I took him to get tested for food allergies last week. The chlorine free diapers didn't help so we are back to Luvs, cheaper.

...taking the binky away. We are working towards only doing binkys at night. He is still teething though so sometimes I like to let him have it so he isn't chewing on me or the furniture. Anna had her's until she was 2 1/2 which was too long and only at night for a long time, but I'm not in a hurry to take it away yet.

Funny story about that binky - when we were at the lab to have his blood drawn for the food allergies last week an old lady was in the waiting room. While I was chatting with the ladies who worked there the old lady was talking to Carter. She asked him what was in his mouth and if she could have it. Well Carter took it right out and tried to give it to her. She didn't know what to do. She was telling him no thanks which I'm sure confused him. She looked at me and said "Usually they don't take it out when I say that!" I thought it was pretty funny. I ask for it all the time so he is used to giving it to me. And he actually hands it to me or Kevin quite a bit to give it up on his own.

...potty training? no not yet. Kevin tried to put him on the potty last week and he freaked out so I don't think he's ready for that yet. Even though you can tell when he's peeing because he grabs his diaper.

...serious separation anxiety. He wouldn't even ride in the grocery cart tonight. I'm building some serious biceps. It's cute when they love you so much but also slightly annoying when you can't walk two feet without having someone latch onto your leg.

Excluding the Lois part I literally live this every day.



But mostly everything he is doing at this age I find fantastically adorable.

Two nights ago he waved and said bye bye to everyone in their seats as we trekked up the stairs from the Royals game. It was pretty freaking cute, especially since we were only going for a diaper change and not really leaving.

******

Looked back at pics of Anna at this age. She loved dogs at 18 months too. This is her with Roxy.