Okay, so he's closer to being 19 months at this point, but I can't miss his 18-month update. Parker is 18 months!
He is a strong-willed child. He knows what he wants and he is very insistent about it. If he doesn't want something, he grabs one arm at the elbow and turns his body (like he's shaking his whole body instead of just his head) and says "no, no." But he is also a happy child. He loves to laugh and he loves to smile, and he loves to make others laugh, too.
He talks a lot (usually one word at a time) and though everyone might not understand what he is saying, he has many, many words (I'd say over 40). Some words are not as easy to decipher as others....like "Am-may" is "ambulance" and he calls cats "meow" instead of saying "cat" (and sometimes "meow" sounds like "milk"). For some reason, he calls Thomas "Poppy." And if he sees a cow, he says "Boo" (instead of "moo"). Many times I don't realize he knows a word until he uses it and I look and see what he is seeing and say, "You are right!" He is very observant of the world around him. At his 18-month well check, the doctor said he is way past where he should be in terms of his language development (he should have 5-10 words).
Though his language is advanced, he still hasn't mastered the skill of walking. He walks fine, but he is still a little wobbly sometimes. He doesn't really run; his fast-walk is still a bit flat footed.
He is a good eater and will eat many things, but not vegetables. He will not eat anything that is a vegetable, except for sweet potatoes (and sometimes mashed potatoes, and always french fries (not that that is a "vegetable")). He loves bananas and other fruits though. He also drinks his milk well (not something his brother will do). He is a bit hit-or-miss with meats at dinnertime. I don't know what it is, but he often times won't have more than a bite of meat at dinnertime.
I think this is about the age that Thomas started learning his colors and letters. Parker takes a more creative approach. In the bathtime every night, instead of telling me what the letters are, he tells me instead that the "F" when laid on its side is a "choo-choo" and the "V" is a "boat." The "L" is also a boat. It's funny. It's hard to find that line between encouraging creativity and teaching the fundamentals!
He loves to go outside; though sometimes he prefers to push his tricycle than try to ride on it. He loves bubbles and playing with our dog, Sully. He gets such a hoot out of throwing her ball to her and watching us do the same.
He is still a great sleeper, though lately he's been testing me a bit. We went to the mountains last weekend and he learned that if he stood up and cried, someone would come back to comfort him. So he did that pretty much every night this past week (I'd put him down and he'd go down easily, and then moments later he was standing up crying. I'd go back and comfort him for a few minutes and then say, "You ready to go to sleep now?" And he say, "Yeah" and lean into bed.). Hopefully this won't last much longer. I love my rock-star sleeper!
He pretty much only naps once a day now. I'm not so much this was his own decision as much as something born of necessity because we are always out and about in the morning, but it has been an easy transistion for him. And generally it means I can put him down around 1:00 and he'll sleep until around 4. Then he goes to bed for the night usually sometime around 7:15-7:30.
He is such a love. He is so sweet and loving and he just melts my heart. The best start to my day is walking into his room to a jubilant shout of "Mommy!!!!" Every day it's like he couldn't be any happier than to see me walk through his door in the morning. It's a great way to start the day.
He wasn't much into taking pictures this month. In fact, he was pretty set against it:
But I finally got him to calm down and smile a little bit:
He still has not had a first haircut. Some days I'm ready to take him, and other days, I just can't do it!
When he is tired, he sucks his right thumb and twirls his curls in the back of his head with his left hand. I'm afraid that if I cut his hair, it will be like taking away his favorite blankie and he won't sleep again!
Such a little love!
Parker is a beautiful, loving, kind child who has blessed our family in so many ways. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get around to this update (and it's probably because these boys who I love so much wear me out each day!), I'll try to do better next month!
