IEK is a year and a half (18 months OMG)

Oh my goodness!  I cannot believe my little man is 18 months old.  I feel like I was pregnant not too long ago.  Time truly flies when you're having fun.  Life has been even more exciting over the past few months.  My husband and I enjoy him so much and we feel blessed to be his parents.

He loves to walk, run, climb, sky dive off the couch without a parachute.  LOL.  He loves to throw a ball and attempt to play basketball.  He loves splashing around in the pool and bath tub and any body of water, really.  We use the Puddle Jumpers as a life vest and he seems to like it.  Sometimes he just wants to walk around the house with it on.  He likes to climb up and down the stairs independently.  In fact, he pushes me away when I try to help.  It initially hurt my feelings but now I'm excited about his bravery.  He is strong as an ox and when he wants me to go somewhere, he gets behind me, pushes my legs and says "go, go, go."  So...we have a tent in our living room.  Yeah, I know it's silly but I bought it for my husband a few years ago and we never used it.  I thought it would be fun to put it up temporarily so that our little booger could crawl around in it.  Well it's been a few months and it's still up.  And he loves to play in it.  He loves rolling around with his dad in it and dragging his toys in it.  Gone are my interior decorating days.  It's all about fun and convenience.  Well, my house is still organized and clean but just more appealing to kiddos.  He can jump (although not very high, hehe).  He likes piggy back rides.  He prefers playing outside over playing with electronics.  He almost never watches TV and he's not that interested into the i-pad.

He's still going to a small licensed home daycare.  His caretaker is lovely.  She looooves him and he looooves her.  He still whines a bit when I drop him off in the mornings but whenever I pick him up in the evenings he doesn't want to leave.  He gives her like a million hugs before we go.  It's so sweet.  He also gets along so well with the two little girls that are also there.  I think this was the best environment for him.  However, now that he's getting older, we're thinking about putting him into a more formal preschool.  We read to him at home and of course we talk to him a lot.  She also teaches him a lot too but we feel he needs a little more structure.  Whenever we move, which will likely be around when he turns 2, we'll make the transition.

He's a social butterfly when he wants to be.  When he's well rested and mommy or daddy are close by he's very social.  Always waving hi and bye, flashing a smile and twisting his head to get someone's attention, flashing his 8 pearly whites.  These are some of the ways he flirts (lol) or just try to connect.  So, he does this thing that we find soooo hilarious.  Whenever I take him out and he sees a white guy he points and says "daddy."  If we are in the supermarket he'll point to a dozen guys before we check out and say the same thing.  It's hilarious but it's kinda embarrassing because he says it really loud and they look at us like we are crazy or they just laugh.  My husband says he does the same thing whenever he sees a young black woman.  Too funny.

And yes, he's talking a lot.  He says at least 20 words.  Some of his favorites are dada, daddy, mommy, mama, nonna (grandma), book, baby, cup, dog, doggie, up, keys, kiss, cow, nana (banana), goat, clock, shoes, socks, Eliza, juice, cheese, ice, swing, night-night, bye, hi, hello, more, wa-wa (water), glasses, nose, eyes,  mouth, ears, moo, ruff ruff, baa (sheep sound).  He can say a few phrases too like night-night dada, love you, bye bye ma.  He can point out many body parts including eyes, nose, hair, mouth, head, belly, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, teeth, booty (yes, we taught him booty).  He understands way more than what he can say.

He's a big help.  He loves to help sweep.  Whenever I grab a broom, he has to get one too to help.  He doesn't go anywhere near the vacuum though.  He's a bit of a neat, organized freak.  If there's a crumb on something on the floor he picks it up and gives it to me.  He closes drawers that I leave open.  He'll make a mess with food while feeding himself but when he's done he'll out to me to clean it.  Whenever I give him tissue he tries to blow his nose and wipe it.  He also tries to clean the table although he makes more of a mess.  He helps me with laundry too.  Whenever I takes clothes out of the washer I give them to him and he puts them in the dryer.  If I'm busy and he's not helping sometimes he'll tantrum but if I engage him in helping he loves it.  I know this will not last.  One day when he's a teenager I'll be begging him to clean his room. Ha!  Oh, he also likes to help me get him dressed and undressed.  I still have to chase him down to change his diaper most of the time.

He's still a great sleeper.  Bath time routine starts at 645pm or 7pm and he's in bed by 730pm.  He wakes up at 630am. We rock him while singing to him before bed but he's usually completely awake when we put him in his crib.  He just lays down then goes to bed.  Whenever we travel (which has been very often over the last 6 months) it usually takes a day or so to get him back into his routine.  He's flown on an airplane 6 times round trip so far.  One of those trips was from North Carolina to California and he did fairly well.

He's a momma's boy but he loves his papa too.  He's such a sweet boy.  He loves to cuddle before bed.  He loves to hug and gives kisses.  He's always smiling and laughing.  He loves being goofy and goofiness (just like his momma and papa, but more like his papa).  He loves to read books while sitting in his mama's lap.

He still has long brown hair.  He hasn't gotten his first haircut yet.  I've been convincing his dad to delay it.  The front of his hair is pretty straight although it's been curling a little in the summer (more like big waves).  The back has verrrry soft, loose spiral curls.  I wash his hair about twice per week (one wash is only with conditioner and the other wash is with shampoo and conditioner).  We use the California Baby conditioner.  I don't put any other product in his hair.  I think he's looking more like me the older he gets.  He has big brown eyes and the longest eyelashes known to mankind.  He's such a cute little stinker.  I just love him!  I am so thankful for the life I'm blessed with.



Mrs. K