Daniel at 18 Months

We had our 18 month well-visit today and Daniel 22lbs 9.5oz (28%), and 33 3/4" long (89.8%) and with a head circumference of 18.6". He has been fairly steady in his height since birth, but his weight has dropped precipitously over the past few months. Mostly because hes just had a non-stop series of ear infections, and each time he gets one, he doesn't really eat for a few days to a week. So I am hoping that once we get his tubes in, he will start gaining weight normally again! Not that hes abnormally small for this family, the other two kids were (are still) small too! 

Daniel is a very communicative child. He can now sign 'more', 'all done' and 'milk.' He loves to nurse while holding puppy, and so he will very often find puppy, come over to me, sign 'milk' and point at the couch. He wants me to nurse him on the couch while he holds his puppy. The man knows what he wants. He can also say "a-haaa" for 'yes' and shake his head 'no.' "Wa" = water, "Buh" = balloon, "Bahl" = ball, and "Pupah" = puppy. He also hums the song, "Yellow Submarine" regularly (Nora learned it in preschool). There are many more words he can say, and most I can understand. He will say these words and if I don't guess the word he is saying right away, he will continue to say the word, increasing in volume, until hes shrieking, until I guess correctly. Its a lot of pressure!

His communication skills are improving every day. The other night he came up to me and pointed to his diaper. He'd been having farts all day and hadn't pooped yet so I figured he was due for one. I asked him, "Did you poop? Do you want me to change your diaper?" At that moment he let out a little grunt and I said, "Oh, you are pooping right now! Well let me know when you're done and we can go upstairs and change your diaper." He waited a moment, then started walking away, toward the stairs. I asked him if he was ready to change his diaper and he pointed upstairs. Then we went up and cleaned up. Easy peasy! Its so nice when they learn to communicate their needs instead of just shrieking at you!

He has started flopping to the floor, whenever event take an unsatisfactory turn in his favor. My favorite example from the other day, was when Daniel and I had just gotten out of the shower 20 minutes before Michael walked through the door, after finishing a bike ride. He came in and said that he was going to hop in the shower. Daniel made a noise indicating that he too would like to go to the shower. Michael responded, "oh you want to take a shower?" Daniel squealed in glee and started running toward the stairs to head to our shower, but Michael said, "no, you just got out of the shower. You're going to stay down here right now." Daniel flopped to the ground and wailed, as though the entirety of his little life had been ruined. There is no doubt that he understood everything that was said! And his tiny tantrum certainly made his feelings on the matter clear!

He gets into everything, but especially loves the pantry. The other day I head some crinkling in the hallway, and knowing that was trouble, I came around the corner, to see that Daniel had collected for himself, an assortment of treats from the pantry: coconut, chocolate chips, sugar and chopped walnuts. He was desperately trying to open at least ONE of the bags. He will also often help himself to cans of soda or grab the baking supplies. Especially sprinkles. He loves those. Its good that he can't open any of these items - YET. Its only a matter of time. He drives me crazy and keeps me on my toes. I have a running clock in my head and if I haven't seen him in at least 5 minutes, he is nearly guaranteed to be into some kind of trouble. Its constant!

He loves helping out with the laundry. He can add dirty clothes to the washer and helps push the button to start the machine. He can take wet clothes out of the washer and put them into the dryer, close the door and start the dryer as well. Of course this is all with my assistance. But he has done this enough times now that hes memorized where the appropriate buttons are. So he puts his little finger on the button, and I push his finger and the button to start it (it takes more pressure than hes able to provide). Then after the clothes are clean, he loves to help me sort and put away the clothes as well. Its so cute to see how excited he gets to help. It must make him feel big, which is by far his favorite thing of all time!

He is adamant about doing things that the other kids do, as well as being treated like a big kid, whenever possible. To this end, he refuses to sit in his booster seat anymore, or wear a bib. Instead (even though I was not personally ready for the change) he insists on sitting on a regular chair sans booster seat, as well as at the counter on a stool like a big kid. He must also eat the same foods as the other kids, even if he does not particularly like said food. 

Daniel is a little kid with a big personality. He wants to make sure that he is seen and heard, and that his feelings are considered with equality. He wants to have his hand in every pot, and he is a eager participant in any family activity. Will and Nora adore him and he definitely adds a certain zest to our family!