17 Months

Age: 17 Months

It's nice how your cast matches the chair...we totally planned it, right, buddy?

Height: 31 inches

Weight: 12 kg (26.5 pounds) 

Favorite Activity: You are obsessed with wheels and tires of any kind. We went to school one evening to wear you out...er, play on the playground and you wanted to go see and touch every tire on every car in the parking lot. If something has wheels, you immediately go over and inspect them. Wheels have you fascinated, buddy!

Daddy mowed the lawn one evening. You loved standing at the window waving to him, banging on the window, and shouting "Da!"

Honorable Mentions:  You are a building machine!  You are going to be an engineer just like Daddy and your Uncle.

Sorry, buddy...the camera flash was going crazy.

Least Favorite Activity: You are not a fan of Daddy giving Mama a hug or a kiss. If you catch us, you will screech at your Daddy, rush over, and push him away from me.  Don't worry, buddy! There are enough hugs and kisses to go around! We think you just want Mama hugs/kisses, but it's still pretty funny to watch. Usually, once you've gotten Daddy out of the way, you lift your arms up so you can get hugs and kisses. (I secretly like that you are a Mama's boy...at least for now.)

Milestones: Baby's First ER visit which turned into Baby's First Splint which turned into Baby's First Cast. 

I had just changed into my pajamas and was in the guest room packing my one box for the night. You were walking across the living room and slid on one of your blocks. You fell, which you have done 1,000 times before. You cried as Daddy picked you up and comforted you. I came into the living room and you reached for me (nothing new). We went and changed your diaper and decided not to put your shorts back on. When we finished, we went back into the living room and read books. You cried the whole time. That is NOT like you. Finally, you calmed down some so I put you down so you could go play. That's when we noticed you weren't putting any weight on your right leg. In fact, you refused to put any weight on it. I looked at Daddy, Daddy looked at me, and off we went to the emergency room. We were so worried we forgot to put pants back on you. Sorry, buddy.

Four hours later...

Splint from hip to heel

The next day, we took you to an orthopaedic doctor (and a parent at Mama's work) and you came home with this:

Saddest, cutest cast ever...

They call it a "toddler break" which means they can't see a break on the x-rays, but since your bones are so tiny and flexible it could be broken and they won't know until it starts to heal. Therefore, they treat it like a break. We go back to the doctor in 2 weeks to have more x-rays done and see how your leg is looking. Hopefully, they'll take your cast off and not put another one back on.

I'm somewhat worried about how this will affect your walking development...but judging by how you're getting around with your cast, you should bounce back quickly.

New Activity: You have started grabbing our hands (or shirts) and pulling us where you want us to go. Where you want us to go is generally to the kitchen so you can eat or play. You love the kitchen. I swear, I'm going to sell all your toys and just let you play with the water bottles and pots in the kitchen.

Your shirt says, "Sorry ladies, Mommy says No Dating!"

Words: ham, done, pull, door, kitty, cheese, sad, nose, "Hi kitty!" "Oh dear!"  "Oh my!" "Hot dog!" maybe an I love you...your speech is getting clearer every day. Or maybe we're just getting fluent in Wombat!

Signs: Somehow, you have morphed "more" and "eat" into one sign. You sign "eat" while saying "more." It's hilarious but since we know you, we know what you mean and let it slide.

Yum, Mama!  Where has this rhubarb grape compote been all my life?! 

Sleep: The following conversation sums up your sleep fairly often this month:

Daddy: "So, he had a little dance party this morning at 4. You we're pretty out of it so I didn't bother you."

Me: "I was awake..."

Daddy: "You were!? You weren't moving much so I figured you were asleep."

Me: "I was afraid if I moved too much, you'd make me get up!"

Hehehe.... Less 4am dance parties, ok buddy?

Best Moment: One evening, we were sitting in the chair reading books, when all of a sudden you reached your hand toward my face. Generally, that is when you try to put your fingers in my mouth or yank my glasses off. But this time, you reached over, gently tapped my nose, and said, "Nose!" You can't find your nose, but you are an expert at finding mine and Daddy's.

So this thing dips the eggs in the dye, huh Mama?  Interesting...

Worst Moment: We have hit full on temper tantrums. Whoa, buddy. You have your Mama's temper. Luckily, you rarely show your temper unless we have you in a situation where you are having fun and then we have to either 1. Make you stop having fun before you're ready (the playground, playing at the soccer game and we wouldn't let you go steal the soccer balls the teams were using to warm up) or 2. Make you leave before you're good and ready. Daddy and I work hard together to not give in and we're hoping this will pass quickly.

"Hi kitty!"

Favorite Foods: Anything! I swear you act like we're starving you. You must have a hollow leg. You are a big fan of the organic fruit/veggie pouches that I found at the grocery store. Anything in a pouch you like these days! Pouch fruit and ham. Heaven knows you love ham.

Eating: Your favorite sign is eat. All you want to do is eat. I hope it's a growth spurt because I'm almost nostalgic for your picky toddler eating days!

"Look kitty, Easter grass!"

Teeth: Maybe we're done until 2 year molars? I hope, I hope.

Oh and this!

Can we just talk for a second about how incredibly smart you are!? I'm constantly surprised by what you are doing, what you can do, and what you know. While watching an episode of Super Why, Red was sounding out the word "stairs." When she got to the "T," you immediately replied "T!" When she asked what letter that was.

You continue to love letters. I found a board book I purchased way back when I was in college that has letters and sliding panels. Well, that book made me just about the coolest Mama ever. Mother of the Year...right here. Right now, you know 14 letters pretty consistently and 4 are still kind of shaky. Pretty impressive for 17 months old! (At least I think so!)

At the orthopaedic office, your doctor was fascinated by the fact that we were teaching you to sign.  "Is he hard of hearing?" He asked. Nope! We're just giving you one more way to communicate with us.  We think you're pretty cool...but it's always fun when you impress other people, too.

Last Night

So last night, this happened:

I have to say, buddy. You were a trooper for the 4 hours we waited in the ER. You smiled, you laughed, you only cried when you touched your hurt leg. Daddy is going to call one of the parents at my school today, who also happens to be an orthopaedic doctor/surgeon. He texted him last night and he said to have his secretary work you in today.

I think there's a tiny blue cast in your future, buddy.

Helping!

You have become quite the little helper. You are growing so quickly and while I love it, but it makes me sad. Where has my tiny baby gone?

P.S. Chairs are not for climbing, buddy. No matter what the other kids tell you.

16 Month Update

Age: 16 Months

Favorite Activity: You love letters. You can consistently identify P, D, T, V, C, E, O, B, and N. You love any of your toys that have letters on them. You will spend a significant amount of time playing with your letter blocks and your letter magnets. Often, you point to letters/words when you want me to read them. This happens at home and in public. You love letters and books and learning...that makes my Mama heart happy.

"Find the A."

Honorable Mentions:  You also love your cars/trucks. You make car noises and roll them along any reasonably flat surface you can find (including Mama).

Least Favorite Activity: Diaper changes are still at the bottom of your list, but I'll add diaper changes in public bathrooms as your least favorite activity. We usually avoid changes in public bathrooms because you get so upset. However, when we travel it can't be avoided. I will say you don't scream like you do when we have to leave a place/activity before you're ready. No, you just cry pathetically until it's over. It breaks my heart.

Milestones: Houston, we have a climber! And can I mention the letter identification again!? Your intelligence constantly amazes and terrifies me. You are going to keep Daddy and I on our toes. We also got our first iPads this month. You're already working them like a pro. You see how to do something once and that's it. You've got it.

Almost got it!

New Activity: Climbing. Sigh.

Proud of yourself, aren't you buddy?

Words: You're beginning to put two word phrases together. My favorite is, "Oh dear!" 

Signs: You haven't learned any new signs (mainly because we haven't taught you any new ones), but you're putting signs together with words which is adorable. You often sign "more" and say eat when you want more to eat. Oh! I think you're picking up "bath," after I signed it to you a few times.

Sleep: Generally, you continue to be a good sleeper. Your naps range anywhere from 45 minutes ( which makes for a very long day) to 3 hours (generally when you're sick or catching up on sleep). Two hours seems to be your standard nap length.

Hey, Mom!  Look, someone left something in here...

Best Moment: You have started giving spontaneous kisses to me. I must admit, while they're a bit drooly, I love them. Wombat kisses are wonderful!

Worst Moment: You have been sick with a stomach bug twice this month. I can handle getting thrown up on, but when you are so sick and lethargic, it breaks my heart.

Left: Pre-illness, Right: During illness
The eyes break my heart...

Favorite Foods: You love your veggies! I think peas are your current favorite.

Eating: You usually love to eat. Sometimes you display picky toddler tendencies (eh hem, broccoli), but for the most part, you are a good eater.

Teeth: I think you have one more tooth (which is coming in now) and your two year molars left. Hooray! Almost done!

16 Months

So you've been 16 months old for 3 days and your update is drastically lacking because you've had a stomach bug for 2 out of those 3 days. Yesterday, you threw up no less than 7 times. You're on a strict diet of Pedialyte today while we wait for this awfulness to pass.

The easiest way to tell you are sick is your lack of movement and the presence of your binky. Sitting on our lap is your current activity of choice, though every once and a while we see flickers of your normal self.

Changes

Well, Little Man, we are going on a new adventure. Daddy got a job! Hooray! Happy dance!

That means that come June, we're moving! <pardon Mama while she breathes into a paper bag> We are going to be an hour away from Grandma and Grandpa and only 4 from Granny and Grandad! Mama happy dance!

There is going to be a lot of activity around here in the next few months, Buddy, but Daddy and I believe this is a change that will improve not just our lives, but your life. Thank you for being so easy going and adapting to change. 

You love flipping your block bin over and climbing on top.  If you had your way, you would stand and jump on your bin.  Daddy and I are the funsuckers that make you sit.

We love you (even if you do climb on everything)!

Sickie

You came down with what we believe is the stomach flu yesterday, buddy. We're doing everything we can to keep you comfortable, but you're pretty pathetic. It breaks my heart to see you so sad and sick. Luckily, I leave you in the capable hands of Dr. Daddy while I'm at work.

The left is a picture from last week. The right is from tonight. The sad, sick eyes are the worst. I know you'll be back to yourself before too long, but I have to worry about you. You're my baby.