12.17.2012

18 months...

can somebody please explain to me how this little boy is 18 months today? how? HOW? how is this possible?!?! if you couldn't tell, i am still in a slight state of shock about it. my little munchkin is transforming into a toddler right before my eyes. i still have a hard time saying that word...toddler. it sounds way too old. so to me, he is still baby Dylan. and probably will be until he is 14. sorry little man, i just am not ready to let you grow up yet.
since i haven't done an update in 6 months on this little dude, i figured i need to document what is new these days with this kiddo.
-he is, and has been walking, for a couple months. he is very into sprinting these days. that's his new thing, trying to run as fast as his brain wants too. we love watching him do this. his legs can't quite seem to keep up with his head. it's so cute. but before we know it, he will be full on running. yikes.

-he still loves baths. always has, always will. if we are ever bored at our house, we immediately turn on the tub and he is revvved to go. jumping all over me to get his clothes off as fast as humanly possible. then he jumps right in on his own. he is good at letting us know when he wants to get out too. he stands up, holds his arms out and grunts.

-he's mom and dad's little sidekick. while it's just us in the daytime, he will follow me wherever i go and want to be involved in whatever i'm doing. and when dad's home, he splits the time and whoever is doing something more exciting, he will go with that parent. i love having him come with me everywhere, it's so fun to have a little buddy who wants to be with you all the time.

-he's terrified of the vacuum and any loud noisy things. he automatically runs if he sees the vacuum  and if one of us is using it, he jumps into the others arms.

-still not talking quite yet. he says "mom" (and actually knows what this means, and i can't describe a better feeling than that) "dad" (he says this as part of his jabber, but if dad's in the room, he means him) and he will do monkey sounds (we taught him that last week and he loves it, it does the full "O with his mouth and everything, so cute!). and lots of baby jabber all.the.time. i'm totally okay with it. i love his baby jabber so so much. i am soaking up every little squeak while it lasts. he is going to be talking all the time soon and it will be gone and it won't come back. so jabber on little guy :)

-he's good at pointing to things he wants, like food or a drink. if you ask him where the light is, he points to it then claps for himself. he also knows where his bellybutton and nose are. we are working on eyes and hair. he should know those soon. he also points at mom and dad when asked where they are. and he has known what dogs are for quite a while.

-he's good at getting things you ask him too. if i ask where his ba-ba is, he automatically is on the hunt for it. same with his Pooh Bear and his sippy cup. he's also good to go get mom or dad if you ask him to find one of us.

-speaking of his ba-ba, he is still on the bottle. yep, judge all you want. but until you are in the situation you don't know how hard it is. we did a solid week of no bottle a couple of months ago, and that resulted in him having pretty much no wet diapers, and it scared me that he wasn't getting any fluid (he won't drink milk from a sippy, and barely drinks water from them, but of course loves juice in them). we are going to try again once he gets over this ear infection he has.

-he is still on a pretty good nap schedule (knock on wood). he still goes down around 10:30 and wakes up around 1. and then goes down again around 4:30 and sleep for an hour or 2.

-he is still in his crib. since i moved it away from the wall we haven't had another incident of him climbing out of it (again, knock on wood)

-he still loves the camera. when he sees us pull out or phones like we are going to take a photo or he sees my camera, it's all smiles.

-he loves looking at books, and is starting to love more and more us reading to him. he gets pretty impatient with us reading an entire story, so we basically point to and explain whats on the page and he is satisfied with that. but on his own, he will pull out all his books and look through them by himself for hours. he loves them.

-we don't watch Toy Story much anymore. shocking right? ha, we actually don't watch too much tv. we mostly just play and he's good to play by himself while i clean or do stuff around the house. he does like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a few other shows in the morning. and he's good to watch a Disney and still loves Toy Story, but i don't want him in front of the tv all the time so i broke the habit and it's been great.

-he is very good about putting stuff back where he got it. not all the time, but if he spills his cup of goldfish, he will pick up each one and put it back in the container it belongs in. or if theres a bin of toys, and he takes them out, he will put them back in. it's so sweet.

-still loves to get in cupboards and drawers.

-loves playing hide and seek. and loves being chased or chasing you. and he loves to play with little kids now.

-he's very good at imitating you if you grunt or growl or laugh or cough or sing.

-still has a slight preference for mom over dad.

-will definitely let you know if he doesn't want you to hold him or will cling to me if he doesn't want me to pass him to someone else.

-is happy as can be when he wakes up in the morning. he will still sit and talk to himself in his crib for a good solid hour before he cries for me to come get him.

-will come up to me and cuddle with me out of nowhere. this is the best. it's only for a few minutes usually, but i'll be sitting on the couch or laying on the ground doing something and he will come and either put his head on my lap and just lay there and look at me or if i'm on the ground he'll come and lay across my stomach and just smile and look at me and nuzzle. oh! i die!

sorry for such a long list of Dylan's newbies. i just wanted to document what i can think of so we can look back and read it. it's so fun to go back and read his monthly updates, so i want to do it every once in a while still.
Dylan, you are the sweetest little boy. you are at such a fun stage where you are so interactive with everyone you come in contact with, and you are so social! we love you more than words can say, and you make us laugh all the time. you are so smart, and know so much, and you are constantly soaking up little things we say and do and learn to do them. we love watching you grow every day, and love your happy little personality. you are amazing! we love you Dylie.
xo, mom & dad