Caleb at 18 Months

I guess it's about time I posted an 18-month update for Caleb! I really feel like he's changed a lot in the last month or two and is really growing out of that baby stage. Maybe that's why I'm having such a hard time cutting him off of the bottle. Yeah, that's it. :-)

Here are some recent stats and developments:

He had his check-up on January 6. Sadly, I can't find the info sheet with all his stats....it's around here somewhere and when I do I'll post it. But I do remember her saying that he looked like a 2-year old and I know his height / weight / head circumference were all 90%. He also had his last installment of shots until kindergarten. Yay! When I talked to her about the ongoing soy / sleep issues she said we could probably go to whole milk as acid reflux issues should be over by now. So that's what we've done, but he's still not sleeping great. She mentioned that night terrors can start at this age? So I need to do some research on that.

I feel like his eyes are turning a different color, possibly green? I'm not sure if you can see it in the first pic, but they used to be pretty blue-grey, but now they seem to have some brownish and greenish specks. I feel bad because I'm not really sure what color to call them!

He's coming up with and saying more words all the time. He still loves his blankie and has started calling it his "day day." Some time he'll look for it, making his "where'd it go" sounds and hand motions. It's something like, "waaay go ? day day."

His #1 favorite activity right now is playing in the fridge. He takes whatever he can reach out (primarily the condiments), lines them up on the table, and then puts everything back. And repeats. I pretty much let him do it sometimes; not really energy efficient or good for perishable food, but it helps me get dinner made or the dishwasher loaded sometimes!

His #1 favorite DVD right now is this one we have called "Boz: The Green Bear Next Door." It from the makers of Barney and it has songs etc. It's a Christian program and focuses a lot on values, etc. Anyway, it doesn't have the humor factor that Veggie Tales does, but it's cute and colorful and he LOVES it. So every morning the first thing he says when we go to get him is "Boz." Except he has a little bit of a lisp, so it sounds like "both." Cute.

He's getting really good at singing. He loves to sing when we rock him for his nap or bedtime, and will even call out requests. His favorites are Veggie Tales and Happy Birthday (the version about being a monkey and living in a zoo). He always belts out the last note with enthusiasm, and gets a few notes and words in between, too.

He's talking more and more everyday, and is starting to talk "for real" on the phone. He'll say hi, bye bye, jibber jabber, whatever...but he loves hearing real voices in the phone now. He also loves having these little conversations where he'll come up to us and say "Ma ma." or "Da da." and then once he has our attention he'll proceed to jibber jabber about something really important and is not satisfied until we reply in some way, like "ohh, really?!" or "sure!"

He really likes my hairdryer and begs for it whenever he sees it, so sometimes I put it on the lowest settings and let him "dry" his hair.

He knows how to say "cars" (more like "cah") and really likes playing with the Hot Wheels and ramps.

Sometimes when you ask how he's doing he'll give a thumbs up "good."

He has never been as into books as Gabe was as a baby, but now will sit through them and really likes them, especially the flip the flap books and anything with fur or texture on the pages (like his kitten book from Mimi).

Somtimes he insists on wearing his shoes around the house and will bring them to me to put on.

He finally has all the incisors. I don't remember the exact dates, but I think he got all four between 17 and 18 months...about one a week.

Like his older brother, he has become a big fan of juice. I guess I shouldn't admit that, but whatever. He asks for it all the time. We've become much better and using concentrate instead of boxes and just adding double the water.

The other night Dan was leaning back on the couch with his hands behind his head relaxing and Caleb crawled up and did the same. He thought it was hilarious. Tonight he did the same thing...too funny.