EIGHTEEN MONTHS!!!

 Paxton is a year and a half old today!  He is officially closer to two than one.  I really can't believe that it has already been a YEAR since his six month birthday party!  This is a really fun age but also a very difficult age.  He is very strong-willed and loves climbing things and trying to get to the street.  We are still trying to implement a discipline system that works for his limited understanding.

 At 18 months, Paxton:

•  is trying to say everything we say.  A lot of his words are different variations of "dada", but we can tell by his inflections that he is trying to say what we're saying.  His new words lately are "oh yeah", "bye bye", "mmmmm" (more or milk), "giiiiirl", "love you", and God. 

•  likes to try to communicate with us by saying things he knows we'll repeat back.  If he's in an unfamiliar environment, he will say things like "giiiirl" or "oh boy" to me so that I will say them back.  He also does this if he can't see me but knows I'm close.  So a lot of times I will be in the bathroom doing my hair or putting on makeup and he will be standing on the other side of the baby gate yelling "girrrrrl" at me.

•  is learning how to use a spoon to feed himself.  He has been able to put a loaded spoon into his mouth for quite awhile, but we stopped there since he would always take the spoon out of his mouth and throw it down.  I tried again this past week and he will now consistently put the spoon in his mouth and then put it back in the bowl.  We also worked on loading the spoon and he can do that to a certain extent.  He is getting a lot better at not throwing things when we tell him not to.  He will sometimes take the spoon or his cup and act like he's throwing it, but as long as we tell him to put it down or in his mouth and then praise him when he does, he obliges.

•  Walking, running, climbing and dancing constantly.  He is always moving.  He very rarely will sit and play with a toy.  He will dance almost every time one of his musical toys starts playing.  He climbs on the couch and jumps on it every chance he gets.

•  Still has some 12-18 month summer clothes that fit but is mostly in 18-24 month clothes.  He has some 3T shirts that are a little big but definitely wearable.  He moved up a whole shoe size in one week and now is wearing 6.5s.  He is still in size 4 diapers. 

•  is starting to be attached to the two Aden and Anais blankets that we keep in his crib.  He brings them into the living room or pulls them out of his crib to play with.

•  still only has eight teeth, four top and four bottom.  He is drooly right now, so we're hoping that eventually he will get his one year molars.

•  is going to bed a little earlier, usually around 8:30 and still sleeping until 9:00.  He usually takes a nap at 12:30 or 1:00 until 3:30 or 4:00.

•  will hum the Clean-Up song when I tell him it's time to clean up.  Every once in awhile he will help, but mostly he just hums the song and follows behind me dragging everything back out.

•  loves burgers, jelly sandwiches, black beans, mandarin oranges and Mexican food the most.  He also really likes blueberries and pasta.

•  is obsessed with his new ability to drink from straws.  He will try to drink out of any cup with a straw.  He had his first juice box on Friday morning and drank the whole thing in about thirty seconds.  He also prefers anything that we're eating over anything that he's eating.  I made him some amazing pasta on Thursday for lunch and he was eating it happily.  Then I sat down with my PB&J and he started fussing for it.  He ate PB&J for lunch. 

•  thinks "no" is a game.  When we tell him no, he usually laughs and keeps doing what he's doing. 

•  can point to his hair, tummy, belly button and feet consistently.  If he's in the right mood he can also point out his eyes, ears, mouth, tongue and teeth. 

•  likes to go his own way.  When we let him walk on sidewalks or down halls, he will take off in the other direction.  We will say "this way", then he will say "this way" and go his own way.  It almost always ends with us picking him up and him throwing a fit.

•  still loves to be read to.  He brings us the same few books over and over (his favorite is his Bible book from Uncle Mason which is how he learned to say God).  He will turn the pages at his own rate and gets mad if you don't say something for every single page.  He goes forward and backwards and constantly points to things and says "what's this?"

•  has an amazing sense of humor.  He loves to laugh, and when we do something that makes him laugh, he wants us to repeat it over and over.  He loves to be tickled. 

•  is just the sweetest little boy I can imagine.  He gives kisses to every baby he meets.  If he is in a situation he isn't sure about, he comes to me to sit on my lap, or holds his arms up to be picked up.  He holds my hand every night when I rock him before bed.  He has never been a cuddly kid, but he sure does have his moments where he melts my heart.  He is definitely a challenge sometimes, but he is the perfect little boy for us.