18 Months- March 24, 2016

Oh ya know... My baby turned 18 months old last week.  Of course the big excitement with this age is nursery.  He was excited to go and we were excited to send him.  Win win!  Normally as a mother the ages of 15 months- 24 months are hard months for me.  They are fussy from teething and want to be independent, but aren't very good at it yet.  They usually regress in the sleeping department and you get to spend a lot of time chasing them down and trying to figure out what they want from all of their grunting, pointing, and screaming.  But for some reason Declin hasn't been too challenging.  It is probably because he is my third and I have finally realized that it is just a phase that they will grow out of, but I also think there are a few factors that have helped make the transition from baby to toddler easier.

He is talking (ish) which helps us understand him.  Plus Addie is a huge help in keeping him out of trouble.  She loves being a mother to him and often wants me to go away so that she can mother him.  He is doing ok in the sleeping department and only wakes up once or twice a week for a cup of milk.  So while toddlers are busy we are enjoying this stage with him and watching him learn.

So far the hardest thing has been his terrible eating habits.  He is a very picky eater and has refused to be fed by anyone besides himself since 8 months old.  He wont even let us feed him a piece of candy from our hands.  He has to have it in HIS hand and then he will put it in his mouth.  He has finally gained some control with the spoon so things are not quite as messy as they used to be.  I know he will eventually eat his vegetables (because he will have no choice), but for now the only vegetable he wont spit out are carrots and peas.  And even then he has only started eating those in the past month.  Before that he refused anything that was not bread, milk, or fruit.  Grrr!

He loves baby dolls and constantly asks for you to find one, wrap it up in a blanket, and then let him rock it and show you how cute it is.  He also loves giving hugs and will make the rounds to every member of the family.  Once the hugging is done, he usually turns into a kitty and wants you to love on him all over again.  I love watching him give hugs because he seems to mature so quickly when he does.  Often times I am amazed he is only 18 months, but he is such a tiny guy people often think he is much younger.

He still enjoys sorting and moving objects in and out of different containers.  Because of this, he is a great helper when we are cleaning up.  He has started to love reading books and will actually sit still for a short story.

He also has the older neighborhood girls wrapped around his finger and they like to play "house" with him when they are outside.  This weekend when we would check on him in the backyard he was often wrapped up in a blanket laying down in the little play house as happy as can be.

We are so happy to have him in our family and enjoy his sweet spirit.