18 Months Old

Well, not quite, but tomorrow morning I will be! And today is Grandpa Coble's birthday. I got to talk to him this morning and told him what a cow says, blew kisses, and said bye bye :) Mommy and I were supposed to go to the zoo this morning, but poor Gabo came down with a stomach virus. We hope he's feeling better REALLY soon!!!!! So mommy and I went shopping instead. I got some new spring/summer clothes and shoes :) All my clothes that fit have long sleeves and my pj's are almost all too small to zip anymore. Mom's doing laundry while I sleep so I can maybe wear some of the new clothes tomorrow.

I had my 18 month checkup on Thursday and all looks great, EXCEPT that I have a DOUBLE ear infection! I haven't been sleeping well the past week or so - waking up 5-6 times a night and sometimes staying up for several hours at a time, but that was the only sign that something wasn't quite right. I have also been putting my hands in my mouth, which everyone thought was due to teeth, but now we know better. Mom felt horrible when the doctor told her that :( I have a feeling we'll be calling the doctor a lot more in the future for something as simple as a change in sleeping pattern! I finished day 3 of my antibiotics and have been sleeping a little better, though I have been REALLY fussy at bath and bedtime.

Anyway, I'm 22 lbs, 14oz, and 32.25" tall. 75% for height, 25-50% for weight - right on track :) The doctor wants me to stay dairy free at least until I'm two, then we *may* start to slowly re-introduce foods with casein in them (probably start with butter and yogurt, but will take a while to try straight cow's milk again). I suspect that I still get some dairy at daycare in foods like waffles, pancakes, and other foods that are baked with either milk or butter, but it's so hard to completely cut those out. Mom makes me dairy free pancakes and dairy and egg free french toast and freezes a bunch for home, but that doesn't exactly work at school!!! The doctor said we could try to introduce eggs once I get through my ear infection, so we'll see about that. I have to have my ears checked again in a month since I never really showed signs of infection in the first place.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and we've been able to go outside a lot. Mom took me to the Adventure Playground the other night while daddy went for a run at the soccerplex. It was so much fun and I had a FIT when mom put me back in the stroller. I've perfected the art of tantrum throwing :) Arabelle and I are going back to the playground tomorrow and mom tells me we're going to have a picnic lunch there - I can't wait!!! Maybe Belle will show me a few things since she's a little bigger than me :)

Here are some pictures from Zachary's birthday party a few weeks ago. Zachary's mommy is my favorite teacher at school :)



I'm a budding musician! I think mom and dad need to get me a cowbell or tambourine to take to the soccer games - what do you think?



Mommy caught me! I was listening to music on her iPod while sitting on the potty :)



My first attempt at corn on the cob. I did pretty well except the few times that I tried to eat the end of the cob. Yummy corn.



I don't want ANY help eating anymore. I even feed myself my oatmeal in the mornings.



I got one shoe on, but couldn't figure out how to get the other one on!



My new table! Mom bought me a stool to go with it, but it tips over pretty easily, so she put it away. We just have to wait for the normal chairs to come back in stock. But I can still use the table while I stand.



My new easel is awesome :)



We've eaten dinner outside the past few nights. Hooray sunshine!



Enjoy the spring weather everyone!!!

Moooooo!

I am very enthusiastic when you ask me what a cow says... Dad's trying to teach me how to BAAAAAA as enthusiastically, but we're not quite there yet. I also know what a duck says and what a pig says, but I have trouble oinking :) Here's a quick video in case you don't believe me.



I've had a fun couple of weeks! Last week I got to go to Zachary's birthday party at Romp and Roll. It's a big gym where the kids can run around and climb on things and have a great time. My favorite activity was the rock wall - I'm going to have to take daddy back there some time to watch me. My friends from school were there and so were all of my favorite teachers! I absolutely loved the balloon that he gave me with a goody bag full of play doh, a duck, a finger puppet, and some snacks!!!!!!! I had never played with play doh before, but I think I liked it...



Here are the photos of my latest art projects. Mom got me a set of watercolor pens - they're markers that are filled with water and you dip them in the color pots so you can draw on paper. Mom and dad were both surprised that I had enough dexterity to get the tip of the pen in the paint pot.



When I get really excited about something, I clench my fists and smile and make a really funny face. It's pretty cute :)



I figured out how to feed kitty, even though mom and dad don't like me to because I give kitty LOTS of scoops instead of the one she's supposed to have.



I got a new bookcase in my room so I can put my toys and books away :) I had to take a break from organizing to take a sip of water.



I'm getting much better about brushing my teeth. After my bath, mom and dad put my jammies on and then I brush my teeth while mom dries my hair.



Now that the weather has finally gotten a little warmer, we've been able to go outside a lot more. Dad's in the thick of training for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler and thankfully has been able to do most of his longer runs outside. He did 8 miles today - that's so far, but he's doing great!!! Mom doesn't run nearly as far, but she took me out for a quick run the other day and I fell asleep on the way home. It was tough to navigate the stroller around the piles of snow, so she had to walk more than she wanted. This morning, mom took me out for a few miles around the lake where she and dad used to live. The snow piles are melted, but there was a downed tree and a collapsed sidewalk which made it a little more difficult.



My hair is long enough now that I often wake up with horrible bed head!



I got my first fat lip the other day :( I was running on the playground at school and fell and hit my lip on a car. They had to apply pressure to stop the bleeding and I was happily eating by the time mom came to pick me up. All in all, it didn't bother me too much.



This weekend was a blast! Yesterday, Jay and Molly came to play with me for a while. Mom and Molly took me to a children's consignment sale and mom got me an outfit, 2 pairs of shoes, and 2 books for $11 :) I got to hang out on mom's back in the Ergo and had a great time. After my nap, we went to Arabelle's 3rd birthday party! She was so nice and shared all of her toys with me. I met Jamie and Jayla and we all played together pretty well. I was pretty happy all evening except when Max (Ken and Marie's dog) stole my potato chip. That made me cry, but mom gave me another one and all was better. This morning, I figured out how to put my shoes on by myself! I only got one on, but I managed to get it on the right foot and got it fastened. Today, mom took me to IKEA and met Molly there. We had fun and got a few new filing cabinets, a table and stool for me, and an easel. I haven't seen the easel yet, but mom tells me that I'll like it. The stool is somewhat of a disaster as I've already fallen off of it a few times. Mom's going to have to go back and get the chair with a back (they were out of stock) sometime. I think I'll adjust to daylight savings time just fine - I only napped for a short while today on the way to IKEA, so I was ready for bed at the normal time, despite the time change. Hopefully there won't be any further adjustments.

Hope everyone is doing well! Hugs and kisses...