18 Months!!!

I can't believe we're already at another big milestone. Jack is now 18 months old!! Wow! This is such a super fun age and I also know that I am extremely lucky. Jack is such a good boy and at times when I'm overwhelmed or frustrated, I just remind myself of how lucky I am. He is really sweet, gentle, and inquisitive. Of course he has his moments, but for the most part he is really good. I'm so lucky to have such a sweet boy!

Jack loves daycare and his buddy Isaiah (who he calls eye-yah). Isaiah just turned 1 about 2 weeks ago and he's a pretty quiet, laidback guy. Jack is really good with him and gently pats his head. It's so cute! He's a big boy but not rought at all (which is good because he could probably really hurt someone). He's like a gentle giant! :) The only problem with him loving daycare so much is he doesn't want to leave and more often that not, I have to carry him out the door crying and trying to wiggle free. It breaks my heart, but he's fine as soon as he's strapped in his seat. He does get excited to see me, he just doesn't want to leave.

Jack is obsessed with balls and cars. He calls everything a car and when I tell him something is a truck he says, "No, car!". Unless something changes, we're going to do a Cars theme for his 2nd birthday. :) He's getting pretty good at throwing a ball and he has so much fun doing it. He'll throw it and then laugh. He's also good at handling a ball and just this morning he had one in each hand. I have a feeling he's going to be good at sports. I bought him his first soccer ball as well as his first baseball bat and ball set. He's already got a little football and basketball, as well as a golf set. Up next: a hockey stick! :)

Jack still loves pushing and pulling things around. He has a whale ball popper that he pulls behind him and he carries one of his golf clubs almost everywhere. Whenever we go to a friend's house, he immediately goes for the toy lawnmowers, shopping carts, strollers, and anything else he can push around. He loves having something in each hand if he can manage it!

Jack is saying a lot more coherent words. He still babbles a ton and it's really funny to hear all this nonsense and then a clear word afterwards. I wish I knew what all the babble was! I try to write down new words or signs as I notice them, but I'm sure I'll miss some of them. Here is a list of the words Jack is saying right now:
*ball, balloon, buckle, bubble, car, bye, hi, night night, cat, dog, duck, bottle, meow, woof, more, no, cracker, cheese, cookie, apple, banana, milk, hot, cold, bike, potty, hat, light, eye, nose, mouth, belly button, hand, hat, shoes, boy, girl, baby, mama, dada, grandpa (papa), stop, go, uh-oh, keys, spoon, cup, bowl, hot dog, door, dark, cool (yes, he says cool and it is so cute!), purple...

And the words he signs:
*bird, cat, dog, more, thank you, please, grandpa, milk, food, ball, cheese, cracker, banana, apple, ice cream, cookie, bread, cereal, hot, cold, eat, tree, potty, stop, go, bike, train, girl, boy...

These are the things I notice he'll say and/or sign on his own without prompting. He repeats and imitates a lot now, but these are the words he knows. He says bubble, baby, and purple very clearly and they are his first double syllable words. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things because he knows so much now. He actually signs and says the word together, which is so cool! Especially for dog, cat, hot, cold, and the various foods. I love when we're in a store's freezer section and he says cold. His eyes go big and he shakes his arms (the sign for cold). It's so funny! We have animal magents from Melissa & Doug on the fridge. He takes the zebra and holds it out to me while saying dog. I tell him that it's a zebra, and he literally yells, "DOG!" while patting his leg, which is the sign for dog. He doesn't get upset or violent, he just wants me to know that it is a dog. And he wants confirmation that he's right. He's stubborn like his mama! ;) Despite thinking the zebra is a dog,  I know he knows a lot more than I realize. It's amazing! He still loves his Signing Time dvd's and I think that it has really helped him to build his vacabulary. It's also helping him with word recognition. We're only on volume 6 (started with 1 in January) and there are over 12 volumes, so we have a lot more to learn!

Jack is a very silly boy and makes me laugh every day. He went through a phase where he was putting random things on his head and saying hat, but now he finds an actual hat to put on. He loves playing peek-a-boo, climbing up and going down slides, knocking down his blocks, dancing, and eating. Man, does he love to eat. When we go downstairs in the morning, he immediately goes into the kitchen wanting food. When we get home at the end of the day, he goes right to the pantry and pats his hand on the door and whines until I open it and give him a cracker. I feel like he eats so much, but he eats everything I give him. Hardly anything gets wasted. He eats a lot of fruits and veggies and he loves carbs (bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, etc.). For protein, he eats beans, meat, and eggs. His favorites are fruit, carbs, and dairy (yogurt and cheese especially). I'm really happy that he's such a good eater and eats a wide variety of foods that are mostly healthy. I'm just surprised by the sheer quantities of food that he can consume in one day. I'm also surprised by how much he wants to eat. I've been watching his portion sizes more closely and using the divider plates so he doesn't eat too much of one thing.

I guess that brings me to his stats. At 18 months, Jack:
*is 28 pounds! (75%)
*is 34 inches tall! (90%)
*has a head size of 19.5 inches (90%)
*wears size 24 months and 2T
*wears a size 6 diaper
*wears a 5 1/2 extra wide shoe (we can only shop at Stride Rite since he can't wear regular size shoes)
*has all of his baby teeth except the 2nd year molars
*Sleeps from 7:30pm-6:30am (give or take a half hour)

The doctor is pleased with how he is growing and the nurse said he's like a 2 year old! He didn't need any shots at this visit, thankfully, and the next visit isn't until he's 2. The nurse suggested I have someone come with me to hold him down because he's so big and she doesn't want him jerking his leg and getting hurt. That's crazy!! He's never had any problems with it before, but maybe I'll take her advice just to be safe.

In 18 months, Jack has never slept anywhere other than at home either in my bed or in his crib. I'm also the only one who has ever put him to bed and while that's not going to change anytime soon, we will be going away from home for the first time. My whole family lives in upstate NY and I haven't visited in 2 1/2 years (since Christmas 2008). This Friday I'm getting a rental car and Jack and I are making the 6 hour drive! My family has a big picnic every year for the 4th and I'm so excited to go and for everyone to meet Jack. It's going to be a very short and tiring trip though. We're driving up Friday, going to the picnic Saturday, seeing some friends Sunday morning, then driving back that day. He does really good in the car and I've got plenty of road snacks. I'm hoping to only need to make one stop, but that might be wishful thinking with a toddler in tow. We'll see how it goes! I'm really excited and only a little nervous!

Jack, you are my shining star and I'm so lucky that I get to be the one you call mama. You make life so much sweeter and brighter! I love you all the way to the moon and back!

Happy 18 months!