18 months

Our little baby is growing into a boy. Henry has changed a lot in the last month. His personality is showing even more now that he uses a lot of language and likes to be independent with things.

Stats: Henry went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and weighed 22 pounds even. He has his 18 month check-up later this week. He wears 18 month clothes (some pants are too long) and size 3 or 4 diapers. He just got some size 5 1/2 shoes.

Schedule: Henry is sleeping very well for both naps and night time. He goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until approximately 6:00 am. This actually varies quite a bit. I usually go get him sometime between 6 and 6:30. He sometimes wakes up closer to 5:30, but talks and sings songs in his crib and sleeps a little more. His nap is usually from about 1:15-3:00 in the afternoon.

Henry still nurses four times a day, although there have been a couple times lately when he wanted to play or do something else so he only nursed for a minute and then came back later wanting to finish.

Feeding: Henry is a great eater. He eats a plant-based diet like we all do. In the last week some of his favorite dinners have been chimichangas (filled with rice, beans and salsa), teriyaki chickpeas and rice, balsamic lemon chickpeas, baked potato with broccoli, and pasta. Some of his other favorite foods: blueberries, broccoli, peas, corn, sweet potato, soy or coconut milk yogurt, bread, crackers, applesauce, cereal. Henry drinks out of a straw cup and can use a spoon by himself. He is learning how to drink from an open cup, and I fear I may never be able to have a drink again without him insisting on drinking from my glass.

Language and Cognition: I have stopped trying to count Henry's words. He has well over a hundred, maybe closer to 200 now, but I really have no idea. He labels pretty much everything around the house, toys, food, actions like "play", "eat", "sit", "stop", "go", body parts (arm, leg, feet, head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, belly, neck), descriptive words like hot/cold, up/down, in/out, on/off. He is regularly using 2-word phrases. Some of the most recent were: bye Daddy, open door, shoe feet, ride car, ball there, no Celia (telling Nonna that Celia wasn't home). He has also started using 3-word phrases. In the last few days he has said "stroller ride, no" (Haha- to tell me he didn't want to go in the stroller), "bye, see ya later!", and "play ball Celia". Henry has started using his language to tell us about things that have happened. For example, when he said "play ball Celia" he was upset and trying to tell me why. He and Celia had been fighting over something, and I took Henry away into the kitchen and he was trying to tell me he wanted to play ball with her. Or another day Chris gave him a piece of his bagel, and when I commented that Henry had some bread he said "Daddy", to tell me Daddy gave him the bread. Henry can also have simple conversations with us now, which is pretty fun.

A couple of other things have changed in the last month. Henry now likes to sit and read books with me. We've started reading a book or two before his nap in the afternoon. Another thing that's changed this month is Henry's level of independence. We gate off the stairs, but other than that he is independent in moving around the house and playing by himself. I check on him and know where he is, but it's very rare that he gets in any trouble. He plays in the family room, the living room or the kitchen with blocks, balls, a car, or in the play kitchen. He spends a lot of time pretending to cook and eat, or having a tea party. He sings and talks to himself while he plays, and he can keep himself busy for long periods of time. Speaking of singing, Henry has a cute little singing voice and since we sing all the time he has started singing too! He sings while he plays. He sings in the car. He sings in his crib when he wakes up in the morning. In another few years he'll be singing harmony with Celia and me.

Motor: Henry has started trying to walk up the stairs instead of creeping. I think he could do it if his legs weren't so short. He can use his feet to push his little car forward now when he rides it. He still likes to sit in chairs like a big kid. He can now get into the chairs at our kid-sized Lego table, and he really likes to sit there and play. He's gotten more coordinated at throwing.

Keeping himself busy. 

Doing some work with Daddy.

Eighteen months is one of our favorite ages. Henry is walking, talking, climbing, playing less like a baby and more like a little boy, remembers things and comes up with his own ideas, sleeps well, and is just generally a happy and fun little guy. At the same time, he still has those chunky little baby legs and baby belly, soft baby skin, downy hair, and is so sweet and snuggly. Chris and I have been saying daily that he is so cute right now and at such a good age.