Smunchie
Face is now 18 months old. 18 whole months since he came earth side. This feels
like the last milestone before we just start sticking to years. A lot has
happened in the last 6 months. I have started working part time. We started
using a babysitter occasionally. Joey and I have started a new and exciting
journey of growth through some intensive therapy. So what is 18 month old
Perrin like? Well….
He is very
communicative, though he is still not incredibly verbal. He has several words,
but his annunciation is so that a person on the street probably wouldn’t
recognize any of them. However, he also signs a lot.
Among his
verbal words are: llama, giraffe, turtle, puppy dog, kitty cat, fishy, yum,
snack, other side, no, um-hmm, please, cheese, night night, bye, high five,
Mama, Daddy, Granddaddy, Mimi, Gigi, Diggle, chicken, duck, cow, rhino,
dinosaur, teeth, eyes, nose, toes, owl.
He signs:
More, please, thank you, elephant, bird, duck, chicken, frog, pig, cat, hot,
giraffe, sad, help, hurt, outside, all done, plane, hard, potty, happy.
Speaking of
potty- this kid is freaking teaching himself all about the potty. Potty
learning was not even near being on my radar. We have done very relaxed/part
time style elimination communication since he was about 8 months old. He has
known what the potty is and what it’s for and used it off and on since then.
But lately he will tell me before he pees and ask to use the potty. In the past
week there has been a couple days when his diapers were mostly dry for the day.
It seems surreal that diaper laundry might soon be in our (well, Joey’s) past.
He still
nurses like a champ. Some days less than others, but he loves his milkies. And
yes, he still nurses at night. But luckily he is also still in our bed with us,
so I remain pretty oblivious to most of his night time snacking. I feel like 6
months to about 14 months was a really good stride for nursing. We had figured
things out for the most part and it felt easy and was relaxed. It’s still easy,
but now we are navigating toddlerisms like setting personal boundaries and
using respectful manners (i.e. “milk please” or “other side” instead of
“AAAAHAHHHHHHHH!!!!” and clawing at my shirt). Also, as his mouth changes and
he slowly (oh so slowly…) gets more teeth, his latch goes through stages of
being fairly uncomfortable.
So. Many.
Feels. Huge, terrifying explosive feelings trapped inside a tiny toddler body.
Oh my goodness. But he’s learning to recognize them in himself and others and
can identify happy and sad.
Favorites:
Book: Nose
and Toes, Animals Everywhere, Farm Book
Music: Shake
it Off, the new Foo Fighters, Godsmack, the princess potty at Target
Animal:
Llamas, otters, and rhinos.
Toy: Blocks,
train, puzzles, balls
Activity:
Swinging, anything with water, reading books, throwing stuff
Food:
Cheese, apples, green beans, broccoli, yogurt, mandarin oranges, bananas.
Dislikes:
the carseat, being stung by bees, fake Cheerios
Stats:
Height:
About 35 inches
Weight: 28
lbs. even
Eyes: Bright
blue
Hair: White
blonde
Teeth: 8
(all the incisors)
Shoe size: 7
Clothing
size: 2T
Other fun
tidbits- Perrin has started to do some imaginative play. He will feed his toys
and make smacking sounds. He likes to help me cook and has gotten really good
at cutting veggies and mushrooms with a butter knife. He also loves getting his
nails trimmed and painted. I swear it’s the only time this kid will sit still.
He can climb the ladders on the playground all by himself and now he sits on
the big kid swing, too. He can almost jump, but doesn’t quite get both feet of
the ground. He is really, really into high-fives. Like, we have to high-five
all the mannequins we walk by in a store. He’s a pretty cool kid.
