18 Months Old

Here is the best shot I got of Noah on his one-and-half birthday. It was an unseasonably warm fall day, so we celebrated 10-10-10 on the Greenbrier River Trail. It has been almost one year since we moved to the Mountain State and it has flown by. You never realize how quickly time goes by until you have children; I'm sure of it!

Stats from the 18 Month checkup:

Weight: 23 lbs 6 oz. (25%)
Height: 32.5 inches (50%)
Head: 46 cm (10%)

On his list of developmental tasks, Noah is beginning to get the idea of eating with a fork or spoon but isn't quite there yet. He "helps" Mommy do the laundry by pulling everything out of the washer, which actually is helpful as long as he is pulling out the clean things that I am ready to put in the dryer! :) He imitates us by blowing his nose when we sneeze, and fake coughing when we cough. His walking is excellent and he is quite the marathon runner, even if it is a little awkward. He LOVES climbing stairs. It got quiet one day (while Jeremy was letting him play in the front room without keeping his eyes on him) and Jeremy discovered he had climbed all the way to the top of the stairs by himself and was hanging onto the gate at the top. Nearly gave me a heart attack! (Our stairs are hardwood with ceramic tile at the bottom--not baby friendly.) And he is able to go down while holding onto our hands. He is speaking about 7 or 8 words pretty well now, at least we can understand them. And there are a few other things he says that I am certain mean something important to him, I just can't figure them out yet. He still does not have any strong attachments to objects (other than a love for his paci). He has not learned to say "no" yet and I'm not sad about that one. He does not resist going to bed, and is usually tired enough that he is excited to go. Noah has turned into a great sleeper, most of the time. He is starting to learn to go get objects when we ask him to. His favorite thing lately is putting on his shoes. He brings them to us and cries if we don't immediately put them on. Instead of saying "yes", when we ask him if he wants something, he just laughs with excitement that we understand what he means and are going to let him have it. :) We have busily been trying to teach body parts and animals and animal sounds to him. He still does not say Mama or Daddy but clearly knows those are our names.

I was warned by the doctor not to get into "the baby olympics" and make a big deal out of who does what and when. I was mostly just concerned that his speech might be delayed but it isn't. There are just a few things we need to keep an eye on. The age at which you walk and talk, though it makes for some nice bragging, is no indication of future intelligence. (After all, my mom boasts that I walked at 10.5 months, and I am clearly not a rocket scientist.) Aside from all that official stuff (that I got from a handout at the doctor), he is loving the Baby Einstein "Baby Macdonald" video these days. Completely mesmerized by it. And totally delighted when I say the names of the farm animals or mimic their sounds for him. If your toddler doesn't have this DVD, it is a must-have. Noah still adores the outdoors and we are soaking up as much of the pretty days as we can before the ugly winter hits. His baby-sitter is so proud of him and remarked the other day that he is turning into "a sweet little boy." (Well, I always thought he was one but anyway...) She said he is starting to play with the other kids more and isn't so annoyed by the older kids "messing with him" anymore. :) Noah is very friendly with strangers out in public but generally doesn't want anyone to pick him up until he has spent plenty of time with them.

He is so much fun. We spend time playing, wrestling, and learning new things, amongst all of our daily chores and errands. Noah is a little joy.

That's all I can think of for this post, but there are so many more for me to get caught up on! Too many pretty days :)...