18 Month Old Toddler Update : Calvin Lee

Language has been perhaps the most exciting thing in these last 6 months. Around 16 months he had this huge explosion of language. All of a sudden he just started saying all kinds of stuff. He'd just choose random words from our sentences and say them. Anytime we say "say ___," he almost always tried to say it. 

The two words that really made me happy were "bus" and "breakfast." We try to watch the school bus come by on mornings I get to take him to grandma's. He points them out in books and on tv all the time now. They don't even have to be yellow, he still knows what they are. It's really cool. He kind of thinks breakfast can refer to any food, he uses it a lot, not just in the morning, but it's still such a big word, I was so proud of him for using it. 

In the past month or two Calvin has finally come around to story time. Before he would wander around or try talking over you the whole time you read to him. But one day it all just clicked. He sat down on my lap and listened and looked at the pictures and actually cared about story time. He would then grab books off his shelf and instead of simply throwing them all over his room, he would open them and look at the pictures and point out things. I was astounded and so glad we kept reading even though he didn't seem to care because it's all worth it now. I love story time with him.

He likes to brush his own hair. We're letting it grow out. I'm not sure what our end goal is, but I've only been tidying up his bangs so they don't get in his eyes and his neck just to make it look a little neater. His hair totally doesn't want to part on the side yet though. I keep hoping one day there will be enough there that we can part it, but without the use of barrettes, I'm not sure what his hairstyle is going to end up like in the future. 

He enjoys chewing on his toothbrush. He has so many teeth! We're just waiting on one little fang to come in. 

Around 17 months, he started making more noises when he plays with his toys, like he's actually trying to imitate the sounds those objects make. 

He's learning to be nicer to the cats. He pats them more gently these days. He's friendlier to dogs. He used to be afraid of them. 

He sounded like he was singing the other night. He definitely had a tune to his voice and what he was talking about. That makes me happy. I enjoy singing and it's cool to see that perhaps that's rubbing off on him, environmentally or genetically.

We're back to working on potty training. Around 9 months, we went through a phase trying to familiarize him with it, but there were some consistency issues so we pushed it off until a later time. He's been showing a lot of signs that he's ready to learn again. For now, we sit on the potty occasionally at diaper changes or when Calvin pulls the potty out and acts like he wants to use it. We're not pushing it just yet, but our goal is to really get involved after the new year. 

But he is still a boy. He is rambunctious and adventurous. He has only just learned how to sit still when it's time to calm down for bed. Otherwise, he is bouncing off the walls all day long. If he's having a bad day and every little thing seems to be getting to him, we try to get outside. Being outside can totally turn his day around. Even though it can be hard to get him to come back inside once he's been outside. He just loves to be outdoors. 

He's still only taking one nap per day, it's moved from 11 to more like noon. On our days off, he sometimes sleeps in until 8 or 8:30 am. He has to get up at 5 or 6 am with Justin and I during the work week, so I know that time difference messes with him some days. Bedtime has recently moved from 7 to 7:30 pm during the week or 8 pm on weekends. We like to put him down "early" so Justin and I still get some us time. We both agree that the extra hour or so after he goes down is necessary to keep us from parental burnout. 

He is great on the stairs. We live in a two story, so he was learning to do the stairs before he was walking. We have gates at the top and bottom and do still use them, but he's pretty confident in himself and Justin and I both trust him. It's not the end of the world if we leave the gates open. They're more for our convenience just so we know he isn't roaming free and getting into stuff he shouldn't. 

He still has days when he'll eat as much as a grown-up, then take three bites of dinner the next day. The doctor claims it's normal, but it drives me crazy some days! 

Every day I say he literally could not be any more handsome, yet he gets cuter every day! Seriously. I keep saying I don't know what we're going to do when he's a teenager, then Justin says he'll raise him to be nerdy and he won't get any girlfriends and that will solve our problems. Ha. 

It is unbelievable to look at pictures of him a year ago knowing that it's the same person! You don't see the changes on the every day when you're with him, but looking over time it is hard to fathom. I can't wait to see more and more of his little personality as the months go by. And I can't wait to see him as a big brother come springtime! :)

Love,

Alaina