Bringing Up Bittners: 18 Month Update

Connor is 18 MONTHS OLD!!!! He hit the big marker last week on the 11th and we were at the doctor on Friday for his check-up. Here are the stats from his latest well child check.

Weight: 21 lbs. 6 oz (3.7%) - All I can say is this kid doesn't stop!! Fat cells don't even have a chance to form ;)

Length: 2' 7.5" (26.1%)

Head: 19.29" (81.6%)

In case you haven't been keeping track of us lately here is what Connor is up to at 18 months.

Activities

As I mentioned, Connor is on the GO, GO, GO!!! He is still a curious boy and loves to explore everything he can. Now that the snow is gone he is LOVING being outside and running everywhere he goes. He is really becoming interested in cars, trucks, tractors, lawn mowers...anything with wheels that moves. I can see him starting to pretend with things more and more. He has conversations on his cell phone and will wander around the house saying "Hello...hello..." and then blab to 'someone' on the other end of the phone. He likes to pack things into a backpack and usually says "bye bye" when we put it on him, I guess he thinks he is going on a trip?! He pushes his vehicles around and makes car/truck sounds and still likes to read and be read to. He is also very fond of dragging or pushing around the broom, small vacuum or swiffer. He thinks it is a bid deal to do something that he sees Mommy or Daddy do. Oh yeah...he also likes to climb! He climbs into his highchair all by himself, onto the toilet, a chair or even the table!! He has not figured out how to get out of his crib...yet...PTL!!!

Words

I am loving this part the 18 month stage! I feel like he is really understanding so many words now and is starting to use more of them too!! Here are more things that we hear in addition to his 15 month list.

Flag - OBSESSED with flags and points them out to us on a daily basis anywhere we go!, Clock - Obsessed with these too ;) Amen, Ball, Kiwi - He says "Koo-wee" & it is on of my favorite things he says! Truck, Phone - Phote, Ny-ny, Socks, Bye Bye, Shoes, Hat, Coat, Binky, Moon - He usally says "Ah mooooot!!!!" I know I have posted about this...but he absolutely LOVES to see the moon! No...no..no - I think he hears this phrase on a regular basis :) "Daddy's _______" - He likes to pick up anything that he knows is Rick's and bring it to me and then say "Daddy's shoes...Daddy's hat...Daddy's phone", Pizza - Loves YELLING this word, Hot, Icky, Potty, Milk, Owie, Book, Vroom Vroom, Bug.

He continues to repeat or at least attempt to repeat almost anything we ask him to. He can say the names of all Aunties, Uncles & cousins as well as most close family friends. He enjoys looking at the pictures on our refrigerator and will randomly start saying the names of the people/kids he sees. I often hear the following during lunch time; Sy-Sy (Silas), Ry-Ry (Ryan), Moke (Mark), Bet (Bennett), Book (Brook), Emmy (Emily or Emory), Joe-Joe (Joseph), Beya (Veda), Kat (Katie). I am sure there are other words that I am forgetting, but you get the idea...vocab is expanding on what seems to be a daily basis and it is super fun & entertaining!

Eating & Sleeping

Connor continues to be a good sleeper. He still goes to bed at 8:00 PM each night and usally wakes up between 6:30 & 7:00 AM. He takes one nap after lunch every day which varies in length from 2 - 3 hours...occasionally stretched longer than that. He is still a pretty good eater too. We continue to offer him everything that we're eating and just find that some days are still far better than others. He surprises us sometimes and gobbles up wild rice or broccoli soups, but won't touch a plain old chicken breast or mashed potatoes (we have to doctor that stuff up a bit with BBQ sauce or gravy). Our biggest praise in the food department has to be our journey to integrate whole milk. After MANY months of mixing a berry smoothie puree into his whole milk I believe we are on the verge of Connor drinking and actually LIKING plain old whole milk! As of last week he just started asking for his milk which is a big change from the early days when he would shiver in disgust after drinking it!! As long as I can remember not to make a battle out of meal times I think we will do just fine (Mommy sometimes has a hard time with Connor picking up his meal but not really eating much...like I said, some days are just far better than others.) 18 months is great...we love seeing his personality come out more and more. He makes us laugh & smile and we are blessed to have such a sweet and funny child. What a gift from God!!

Connor likes to 'help' me do laundry...I tend to not work on it while he is awake b/c my folded piles never seem to stay folded for very long