Nicholas is 18 months old already? Really? Wow. Matthew and I look back and have a hard time realizing that the chubby, floppy baby boy we held just two winters ago is this talking, running, crazy little boy that we chase today. He has grown into a really awesome little kid. He loves to share, run, play chase, talk, hug, read books and climb. Come along with me as I give you a glimpse of our one and a half year old!
Some days he eats everything in sight, other days he hardly eats anything at all. He still refuses to eat vegetables but will eat any fruit. He feeds himself with a fork and spoon and also has mastered “dipping” things into ketchup, salsa, etc. One night he dipped honey chicken into berry yogurt… that was pretty gross but he seemed to enjoyed it.
He LOVES to read books. It is commonplace for him to go through 8-9 books several times a day. He grabs a book from his book basket (which is as big as the toy basket), backs up and plops himself onto your lap and patiently waits for you to start reading. He has to turn the pages and often skips to the end but usually goes back to see the middle parts. He learns more things to point out every day. Sometimes he will sit and read to himself. He is actually doing that as I type this. He is on book #4.
Nicholas’ vocabulary has expanded a lot in such a short amount of time. He also signs a couple of things- more, milk and done. I don’t think I’ve ever listed his words before so for posterity’s sake, here we go!
- Mama, Dada, Dad, Daddy, Bubba, hi, oh, bus, truck (sounds like duck), gate, jump, shoe, please, sun, yes, cup (sounds like stup), down, up, yay, kitty, Zoë, fish, and just today “ta-da”!
He also says something that sounds a lot like “dup” or “dumb” all day but we have yet to figure out what he is saying. Maybe “dump” as in dump truck? Bubba is our personal favorite. One night we were going through words and we said “Mama”, he replied with “Buma” and just kept saying it. It was hilarious! He also has a few phrases; “I did it!”, “oh boy”, “all done” and “what’s this/that?”. He loves to look through our scrapbooks and point to “dada”, and sometimes mommy. He is all about Daddy at this point, except at bedtime. Every day around 5:45, he stops what he is doing and says “dadda!” and runs to the window to watch for him to come home. Then he tackles him at the door! It is precious!
We are in the trenches of the “terrible 2nd year”. That whole “terrible two’s” thing is crap… it starts much before their 2nd birthday. Nicholas could win an award for the shows he puts on. If we ask him to do something he doesn’t want to do he pitches a major fit! Well, perhaps the case is more, when we don’t do what he wants us to do, he proceeds to hit us then melt into a boneless, wailing, crying, flailing mess on the floor. It is a rather lovely sight. Fortunately he only does this performance for his dad and I. He still bites, but time outs seem to be more effective (meaning he cries when he is there sometimes, realizing it is a punishment) so we’ll see.
He runs everywhere! And man is he fast! He has also started jumping. Sometimes off of the end of the couch, but we’re working on that one. He puts the throw pillows down to cushion his landing at least. I actually am not sure that he feels pain. It sounds crazy I know, but spend a day with him and you may agree. He takes what look and sound to be nasty falls, sometimes right onto his head. But he just gets up, brushes himself off and moves on. My heart has skipped a beat, a year has been taken off of my life and 3 gray hairs have sprouted on my head but at least he is fine. He does the same thing with scrapped knees too. He catches himself with his hands, gets up to wipe off his hands then goes about his busy day. I usually don’t notice skinned knees until bathtime because he just doesn’t cry when he falls. Little tough guy. I will admit I would like him to be scared of things sometimes… for his own safety! That probably comes with age.
I know we are biased but we think he is just so smart! He does puzzles all by himself now. He takes the pieces out, then replaces them correctly. Twisting each piece till it goes in. He helps us set the table each night by taking the ketchup, his cup and napkins to the table. He its at the big boy table at Ms. Irene’s house so no more highchair! We are working on getting him his own table for home too. He loves to climb into the chairs and eat at the table. He is listening very well too. I’d say 85% of the time he will do what we ask the first (or second) time we ask.
His understanding is excellent. He helps a lot more with getting himself dressed and undressed, he puts things back where he got them, puts clothes away in drawers, helps me with laundry, closes doors when asked, knocks on closed doors, points to things like buses, trucks and tractors as we are driving (can we say BOY!), and the best of all- will give hugs when you say “i love you!”. It is my mission to get hm to say it back! We think certain consonant sounds are difficult for him since he can’t move his tongue up to touch his teeth or the roof of his mouth yet… after next week though!
He would live outside if we’d let him. He squeals with delight when we say “outside!”. Every morning he brings me his shoes… but it is only 7am and we are both still in pajamas! So I sort of ignore the request and find something else to play with. So then a few minutes later, he brings my shoes. Like I wasn’t getting the message with just his, so maybe if he brings mine I’ll get it. He tries to put his on by himself but velcro can be tricky.
He is wearing big boy pajamas. I was hesitant to move away from the footed sleepers that he has been in since birth, but his toe literally poked through his 24 month sized sleepers so one night Matthew convinced me to try a tshirt and pant combo. He did just fine! I was afraid to change anything in his bedtime routine since he has been sleeping so well- crazy mommy, I know. He always surprises me though! And he looks so darn cute in his pj’s! I got him a new set for his surgery… they have a gorilla on them and say “Tough Guy”. I think they are rather appropriate.
He has all of his teeth until the 2 year molars. He has a couple 1st year molars still coming in, but all have broken through. I have no idea how much he weighs and how tall he is but I bet it is a lot! I am thinking that his weight percentile has gone up. His surgery is next week, so I am hoping they weigh him before that. If not, his check up is on the 15th so we’ll find out his stats then.
That is our little boy in a nutshell. Each day is a gift with him. I’ll admit, life is far from a field of daisies every day but the happy times far outweigh and outnumber the hard ones. And when he flashes that smile at you, you cannot help but have your heart melt and just smile back.
Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Bubba! We are so proud of you!
Thanks for a great weekend, everyone! Love you guys!
