I can’t believe you’re 18 months old. That’s one and a half years!
You’re stubborn to a fault. I suppose that’s partially my fault, genetically. I think your terrible twos are starting early. You went almost a whole week without eating any meat, just because you didn’t feel like it. Of course, this was the week after the pediatrician told us you needed more iron in your diet, too. You also wouldn’t drink the Nutri-Pals vanilla drink I bought for you, even when I mixed it with your milk. You didn’t detect it in your yogurt, though. It seemed like the only thing you would eat without a problem was cheese, though I managed to sneak some mandarin oranges and wheat thins in here and there. And you don’t want any help eating, so your bowl of soup went to waste.
The rocking horse is a bit tall for you, but you still manage to climb on and off. You knew how to rock on it the very first time you climbed on!
A few more words have entered your vocabulary just in the past two or three days. Cookie. Click. A few syllables that pass for thank you. You’ve given your best shot at gentle and Chapstick. (That last one makes you laugh every time.) And you’ve started trying to sing along with your favorite songs. You have a beautiful little voice.
Your favorite TV show seems to have shifted from Go, Diego, Go to Wonder Pets. You’ll sit and watch the whole show – the only time you sit down and rest all day long! The rest of the time, you are still very busy. You’ve always been busy. I’ve given up trying to clean during your nap, because you like everything better on the floor, and you manage to undo all of my cleaning efforts in less than two minutes. You don’t mind stepping on your toys; you seem to aim for them as you walk.
Socks and shoes don’t stand a chance. I find you barefoot after every nap, and you usually manage to take your socks off and hide them on different ends of the living room, too. You also like to stash snacks in little hiding spots for later – especially crackers and cookies. (You’ve only recently been introduced to cookies as a special treat, and you love them!)
You love to play on Mommy and Daddy’s bed. It’s so much fun to watch you jump and make yourself fall and try to do flips. You like being tickled, too. And you’ve reached the point where you won’t fall off the edge of the bed because you’re very careful and know that you could hurt yourself. (This is helpful when Mommy has to use the bathroom.) You could probably walk up the stairs without someone walking behind you as a spotter, but I’m not ready to take that chance. You’re terrified of walking down the stairs, but I’ll keep trying to teach you. When I’m sitting on the floor or on the bed, you like to sneak around behind my back so you can play with my hair. I have to remind you quite often to be gentle, not to pull my hair, and not to hit me. You tend to get excited and hit me on the back; it doesn’t hurt, but I can’t let you get in the habit of hitting people.
You finally let us brush your teeth! I got some Koala Pals training tooth gel from Melaleuca, and you love it. I think the bristles of the toothbrush tickle your gums, because you laugh as we brush your teeth. You like to hold the toothbrush yourself, as well. It won’t be long before you’re able to brush your own teeth, although we’ll still help you for a while to be sure you get all of your teeth. We think you have all of the teeth your mouth can hold right now, so it’s good to keep them clean!