18 Months

As of February 20th Andrew is officially 18 months old and closer to 2 than 1. Let me break down into tears for a minute here. My baby isn't such a baby anymore!! He walks and talks and he's even beginning to lose that baby face I love so much! Pretty soon he'll be graduated and out the door. (Or maybe just two years old, whichever comes first.)

Andrew's 18 month check up was the 25th of February. We were lucky because his appointment fell right between the two HUGE snowstorms, so the roads were clear and offices were open. We didn't have to switch schedules around or try to find another time to get in to see the doctor, which I was incredibly grateful for. The week before the doctor's office closed for two days due to the bad weather and then it closed again the day after his visit because of snow!

Ryan took him to this check up, and despite losing a shoe somewhere between getting out of the car and getting back in, everything went fairly smoothly. Andrew lost his shoe, not Ryan. And it's become sort of a trend for the little man. He loses a shoe, only the right one, fairly often. But that's not the point of this post.


Our main concern going into Andrew's 18 month visit, was his head. From about 6 months old until this appointment, the doctor had been monitoring his head growth. When he was 6 months old his head jumped from average size to off the charts. We were told that he could have any number of conditions, or it could just be a big head. But since he was developing normally, it was just something we'd watch. There was talk of doing an MRI nearly every appointment just in case. But my family has a history of big heads, I was tested for all kinds of things as a kid, and it turns out I just have a big head. So does my dad, and his dad. So I wasn't too worried about all this talk of "big head" problems. Andrew is right on treack for all of his developmental milestones and I was not too keen on the idea of sedating him and putting him through an MRI when I knew the chances of him having something were slim. Luckily for us, his head seems to have leveled off and the doctors aren't "watching" it anymore. So he's just a big headed kid like the rest of us!


Everything else checked out just fine. He weighed 24 lbs 2 oz (48%) and was 32 1/4 inches tall. (26%) His head circumference was 20.1 inches (>95%) which was no big surprise.


Here's some of the things he's got going on at 18 months:

• Size 5 diapers
• 24 month shirts 18 month pants (although they seem to be getting a tad short on him lately)
• He can name most of his body parts
• He loves food, pretty much any food
• Blocks are one of his favorite toys. He builds towers and stacks them for a long time, either by himself or with some help.
• Brushing his teeth is one of his favorite activites as long as he can hold the toothbrush. He's not a fan of Mom or Dad brushing his teeth for him.
• He has proven that males must have some predisposition towards balls and cars because those are also on the favorite toy list. And he makes the cutest zoom noise when he has out the toy cars.
• He's a daredevil. He loves to jump off of or onto furniture. In fact he and Sarah have made a game of taking apart my wicker chairs and jumping from the chairs onto the scattering of cushions and pilows on the floor.
• Sarah is still his favorite person. He is always following her and asking where she is if she's not there.
• He loves animals and is in the process of learning animal names and noises. Some of my favorites are his cat noise and his monkey noise!
• He likes to be Mama's helper with chores. Give him a paper towel or a broom and he is so happy! He also enjoys doing laundry and loading the dishwasher. I hope that's something he still enjoys in a few years.
• His vocabulary is exploding!!! I think he has a least 2 new words a day, and heaven help me if I don't understand him. He'll just repeat it over and over and over.
• His new favorite toy is Buzz Lightyear. Not sure where he found this little toy, but he's attached himself to it and he'll say "Buzz Buzz Buzz" all the time. 

Andrew's a typical 18 month old. He's a toddler but he hasn't lost all of his baby tendacies just yet. He loves to run around like a crazy man and you get bonus points if he can run naked right after his bath. But he also loves to give hugs and kisses and snuggle up with you. He is incredibly sweet but can have a wicked tantrum if he wants to. But having this little guy in our lives is definitely a fun and exhausting ride!