Wednesday, April 20, 2011

James at 18 Months...

Height/Weight:

25 pounds, 12.5 ounces
32.25 inches

Naps:

* We're trying to go from two naps a day to one long nap in the afternoon. Sometimes this works out, sometimes it doesn't. (Sometimes he doesn't take a morning nap and then takes a short afternoon nap. This drives me crazy.) I can tell when it's time for a nap, though. He goes from zero to cranky in about two seconds.

Funnies:

* James has a new laugh. There's no way to describe it, you just have to hear it. It is hysterical. We can say, "Do your funny laugh!" and he'll do it and we crack up. He's so silly.

* If you ask him what the Easter Bunny does he says "Ha, ha, ha" and for "Hop, hop, hop" and he jumps.

* We were working on the sound a duck makes recently and every. single. time. I'd ask James out of the blue what sound a duck makes he'd say, "Oh!" It was funny at first and then it made me want to hit my head on a wall. He wasn't trying to be funny, he just forgot every. single. time. We've finally learned that a duck sounds sort of like "Wack, wack, wack." Ha! (Thanks to Aunt Melly for the duck pillow pet! You can squeeze the beak to hear it quack and James learned "Wack, wack, wack" quickly!)

* We've worked and worked on what sound a cat makes. We were walking through the neighborhood recently and I pointed out the Rhodes' cat walking through their bushes. He called out "Yow!" Every time I've asked him what a cat says since then he's said "Yow!"

Our Days:

* We usually get up between 7:30-8:30. James has his "coffee" (a.k.a. - two cups of milk...should you forgo this step there will be crying and gnashing of teeth). Usually, I change his diaper after the milk because he doesn't pitch fits about it then. He has breakfast next. Then we play. If he takes a morning nap it's sometime between 10-11. Daddy comes home sometime between 12-1 every day so we eat lunch with him. James plays or finishes lunch between 1-2. I usually put him down around 2pm every afternoon. There's no telling how long he'll sleep. Sometimes it's 2-3, sometimes it's 2-5. I get things done around the house and start supper during this time. Daddy comes home around 5:30-6 and the boys play while I finish supper. James has a bath between 7:30-8 and goes to bed between 8:30-9pm.

Favorite Foods:

* Chicken nuggets, buddy fruits (pureed fruit in a squeezable pouch...we LOVE these...Daddy doesn't because they're $1 each), cheese, waffles, goldfish, Italian food, baby food green beans, applesauce, milk, water, cookies.

Favorite Toys:

* Balls (bongs), water, Scout, remote controls, cellphones, books, tupperware.

Favorite TV Shows:

Mickey Mouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Arthur, Elmo on Sesame Street.

Accomplishments:

* We started potty training just before 18 months. So far, we've had mostly success! We have a few "accidents" in diapers and sometimes he tells me he needs to go when he really doesn't, but most of the time he's right about having to go! We'll work on tee-teeing in the potty soon. I think I'll probably have to let him play "nekkid" in the backyard a few times so that I can help him associate what he's doing since I can't tell when he's going. Hopefully we're seriously doing this!

Words:

* Mama, Mommy, Da-Da, Cacky (Ki-Ki), Poppy, YaYa, Papa, Paci (Tici), Dixie, Grandmama and Granddaddy (he says "Mama" and "Daddy" but we're working on it), Power (sounds like "Bower" - he likes to turn things on and off), cookie (although he says this through his nose...it's a crazy trick...I'll try to remember to video tape it), hey, bye, uh-oh, keys, cheese, and no-no are just some of the words he's saying.

Signs:

* Eat, More, Milk, All Done, No-No, Please, Thank You

Animal Sounds:

* Dog, Elephant, Fish, Cow, Duck, and Cat

Doctor's Visit:

* We saw Dr. W, Ms. Francie, and Annabel today for James' 18-month check up. Everything looked great and he's right on track (and maybe a little ahead!) of where he needs to be. They were SUPER impressed with his initiating potty training. They were quick to remind me that it may be a slow process, but we'll take anything! James had to have his finger pricked and he got another Hepatitis shot today. The blood work showed that he is VERY healthy. His hemoglobin and iron were great. Dr. W. asked if he had an iron pole in his room that he licked all the time or if I was only preparing his meals in an iron skillet. (Sidenote: I had NO idea that cooking with an iron skillet would raise your iron...never made the connection. Too bad the food from the iron skillet is not exactly healthy!) We don't go back to the doctor for a well-baby visit until he's two and we don't have to get shots again until his four-year check-up! Woohoo!

*** I'll try to add a few pictures later but wanted to go ahead and get this up. After naptime we're probably going to head outside to swing so I'll take a few while we're out! ***

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