Dean at 18 months

We somehow missed Dean's 15 mo. appointment, so we just had his first apt. in 6 months! Unfortunately he was 6 days too early for his 18 mo. shots (we went to his 1 yr. apt. a week late), so we just got his 15 mo. shots yesterday and will get his 18 mo. shot at his 2 year appointment.

She said he is picture perfect developmentally. She was really impressed with his verbal and comprehension skills, especially since boys are often a little delayed in those areas. She was also quite happy with his 4 lb weight gain.

12 month stats:
Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz (6%)
Length: 30.25 in. (60%)
Head circ.: 18 in. (27%)

18 month stats:
Weight: 23 lbs 4 oz (15%)
Length: 32.5 in. (55%)
Head circ.: 18 3/4 in. (44%)

What he's really like right now:
He is such a good natured and well behaved kid overall. He's quite compassionate and considerate for an 18 month old! Last week at nursery a little girl was crying because another boy was trying to hug her (but ended up just smothering and smashing her). When Dean saw her crying he went and offered her the crayon he was using! Also, we checked out this book at the library called Baby Happy, Baby Sad by Leslie Patricelli (I really love her books!). He tells the baby "ah-ee" (sorry) every time I say "baby's sad"! He'll also often apologizes for the vase the cats break in his Cat book.

He has his meltdown moments, but honestly, they've turned more to moments rather than days. I think part of that is due to my recent concerted efforts to keep myself from getting too frustrated with him (i.e. less voice raising, angry tones, etc.) when he's whining. I think the calmer I can keep myself, the quicker his craziness is diffused.

He sure is loving his daddy and will often talk about him (he'll say daddy and wave, or point out what items are dad's) throughout the day. I would say that "daddy" is his most used word right now. At night we've had the routine of brushing teeth, reading a scripture verse as a family, saying family prayers, and then saying night to dad. After that I take him to his room and read him books for about 15 min. and put him in bed. He is no longer content with this arrangement and is devastated (he has the SADDEST little face and cry, very genuinely distraught) if Matt doesn't come in one last time to say good night.

I have really noticed a jump in his comprehension. I'll ask him to get me things that aren't in the immediate area, and he often can figure out what I'm talking about. For example, we were in the living room and I asked him to go get the calculator that was on the floor in his room. He immediately went to his room and produced for me the calculator! This morning when I went to get him out of bed he was asking me for "goo". I wasn't sure what he was asking for, so he grabs his little orange book and opens to the orange juice page and points saying, "Goo! Goo!" I was proud of him for thinking of a way to make me understand!

He is in love with keys and the idea of locking and unlocking things. My keys and our door handles/locks are just a little too tall and a little too advanced for him, so after his appointment we went to Kid to Kid and they had an awesome lock/key toy for only $9! The Parents Animal Hospital. He loves locking and unlocking all the little cages (with a little help from me) and rescuing his little animals. I think it's really going to help him learn colors (we're just now starting to really work on them) since each cage has a specific key the same color as the door. He's played with it more than any other toy he has. Sometimes for 1/2 hour to an hour at a time! That's really unheard of for him with any toy.

My favorite new words of his are tortilla and burrito. He'll occasionally say tor-tee-a really well, but it usually comes out as "torta". Burrito usually comes out as "boota" or "bootoe". It is just so cute! My favorite part of this video is at the very end when he is done trying to say tortilla and he refuses and mouths the word "no". hahaha. He's so cute.

He's pretty terrified of bugs, especially flying bugs.

He loves drinking out of the spigot when I have the garden water on.

He can climb up and open almost anything! I've had to totally clear off one of our counters since he climbs up onto the back of the couch and throws it all off. Just tonight as I was making dinner, he climbed onto our 6 gal. flour bucket in our pantry, opened the sugar container, and was eating it by the handfuls! He always climbs on top of the table, and Matt gets very worried about that. I usually let him just play up there if I'm in the room (mainly to keep him out from under my feet!), but Matt REALLY doesn't want me to. He's very concerned Dean will fall off and die from a concussion. I've been trying to honor his wishes, but boy is it hard when Dean can so quickly climb up right after I take him down.

He's a sly one and loves to play games like "take mommy's shoes and run" as I'm trying to put them on. My favorite part of that game is when he says "Hey!" as he runs (imitating me). He still will say "nonononono" with a sly smile when he's doing things he knows he shouldn't.

I don't have to worry about him getting dehydrated! He loves drinking. He drinks about 2-5 cups of milk a day (when he wakes up, goes down for his nap, and down for bed), plus water, juice, and/or V-8 (he honestly loves V-8 and always asks for more when he finishes his little 4 oz. can) in between meals!

He's getting pretty good with forks (he really likes to spear his food) and is okay with a spoon.

He loves playing on my computer, moving around the mouse, typing, and pushing all the buttons on my monitor.

His hair is CRAZY long and I think we might just take the clippers to it tomorrow or the next day. It'll be his third hair cut, but I'm kind of sad at the prospect of going clipper short. Then I think, "Meh, it's just hair! It'll grow back."