18 Months

One and a half! Wow, I can't believe it. This month Ryan has really kept me on my toes, which is a little hard to do these days since I broke my foot 2 weeks ago at Crossfit :( He has the absolute best and craziest personality I could have ever imagined for my child. He is such a lovable and sensitive little boy, always giving hugs and kisses and just loves to snuggle. He is also a HUGE dare devil. This past week he was climbing (or attempting) to climb on anything and everything. Just this afternoon, he was trying to balance himself between the couch and the coffee table (like he was trying attempt a dip)- ahhh! He is also very trying at times, always testing my patience and pushing the limits, as I am sure most toddlers do. He does, however, HATE getting in trouble and will literally freeze in his footsteps like a deer in headlights whenever he gets called out on something. It's good that he has a healthy fear of getting in trouble and doesn't like to disappoint, but I hate that he is afraid of us!!!

He is really becoming self-aware and acts like he is a mini-adult at times. Last night, my mom was giving him a bath and he pulled off his shorts, which he loves to do now, and once his diaper was off he said "Pee Pee" and then proceeded to tinkle all over the tile. On top of that, he thought he was hilarious. He has really been into telling us when he goes #1 and #2, which is helpful but I definitely don't want this to become a habit. After the bath, we put on his pjs and not 10 minutes later, this is what ensued. After first, he unbuttoned his pjs and thought he was in trouble, so he immediately wanted them back on. I think he then realized he was doing something big, so he decided to do it again, but this time all the way until he had them off!

What a crazy dude. Apparently, this is becoming his new favorite thing because not 5 minutes after being awake this morning, he did it again! Once he was down to is diaper, he tried to take it off as well (not a good habit!). So I gave him a tiny pop on the bottom and he must have thought it was pretty funny because he started walking around the house spanking himself and then spanking other things laughing hysterically. GREAT!

He also likes to try and climb on top of things as well, as seen below :/

We were at the doctor's office last week because he had some bad mosquito bites but turned out he also had an ear infection. That didn't slow him down because he was obsessed with carrying my purse around. He is really into picking up heavy things and walking around with them - huge 2 gallon Ozarka bottles of water, chairs, the scale, whatever he can get a hold of. Our little Hercules! Or should I say my little shopper!

Still his go to move when he gets in trouble!

He is really getting into his blocks these days. Loves to build tall towers then knock 'em down, all boy!

His favorite "toy" right now is his lunchbox. Whenever he sees it, he has to have it and carry it around. I have been telling him that it is only for school, so that maybe he will be excited for school, but it hasn't seemed to work yet.

 "Off to work, bye Mom!"

MDO is getting a little easier. The time he cries from when I leave apparently is getting shorter and shorter, which is great, but the drop off still isn't any easier. It's only been 4 weeks, so I am sure it will get better over time. I think he is having more fun though and actually naps there, which is shocking to me. After the first day, he has napped everyday since. Granted some of those naps are only 45 minutes, which makes for a crazy afternoon later that day; but other days have been almost 2 hours! He loves the playground, the music, and hopefully the new friends!

His stats this month include:
Height - 36 inches (99.75%)
Weight - 26 lbs 8 oz (59.27%)
Head - 20.24 inches (99.63%)

We did his head measurement twice because she didn't think the nurse did it right. But no, it was right, his head is just ginormous! Other than that, he is right on track. I think some new words this month include: Poppy, GiGi, Allie, Keys, Kneecap (random, I know. He is just obsessed with them), Bumblebee, Apple, Open (Opi), Door, Pee Pee, Poo Poo, and Bo Bo (for my foot). Other than that he is really into just mimicking what we say until it becomes part of his vocabulary. He knows all of his body parts and can point to them. He also can follow pretty much any simple instructions (when he is in the mood, of course). He still loves his books and is really into cars (pronounced cooooooows). He loves to go look at them through the window and really loves Wes' truck and has to go outside to see it everyday pretty much. We got him this little play table for his half birthday and he seems to think he is such a grown up now!

Happy 18 months, buddy. We love you!