18 months

A few weeks ago Ashton decided to turn 18 months old. I don't know who gave him permission to do this, it was not me.  With this milestone age, my sweet baby toddler has turned into this ferocious little dinosaur who wants to do WHAT HE WANTS TO DO. And RIGHT NOW. It has been a challenging "all about me" age because he's learning his independence and insists on trying everything for himself. He mimics being on the phone and using keys to open the door, and the best part of his day is getting up on the little stool in the bathroom to "brush" his teeth before bed.

18 months has brought an easily discernible list of likes and dislikes that I thought I'd share with you.

LIKES

1. Sour cream.

To borrow Frank's tagline, "he puts that sh*t on everything." I've actually seen him make entire meals out of it. And two nights ago as I was making his dinner, I poked my head into the living room to see what he was up to. He had pulled the Desitin out of my diaper bag, squeezed some onto his hand and was licking it. I waited for the moment he realized it wasn't sour cream, but that never came so I had to yank the tube out of his grubby little fist. Well, he didn't like that too much, which brings me to the next item on my list.

2. Whining. A favorite pastime. Ashton just looooves to walk around and whine. We never know what it's about or what he wants but it is brutal. It reminds me of this clip from Dumb and Dumber except the sounds go on for way longer.

3. Snack Art. He's still very into organizing and grouping things and leaves behind little gems like this.

A genius at work:

His "Shoe Surprise" series has been tremendously popular. Most famous works are: "String Cheese in a Stride Rite", "Teddy Graham in a Loafer" and "Goldfish in a Sneaker" as depicted below.

At first glance, these pieces appear incredibly complex and many have struggled with their interpretations. Alas, they are shockingly simple. The artist hand-placed a single snack tidbit into a shoe and left it there.

4. Compartmentalized food. Most meals consist of little things all separated into their own cups. I have actually read that the best thing you can give a toddler is an ice cube tray with a different snack or piece of food in each hole. I haven't had to resort to that yet - little cups are satisfactory (for now). Breakfast for one?

5. Footwear. I did a previous post on boots and boy he just can't get enough. His boots, my boots, anything that can go on his feet really.

6. Baths. Fastest way to turn off the aforementioned whining and clean off the aforementioned sour cream.

That thing between his feet is not a poop. It's a shark.

7. Waving and saying "Buh bye" even when no one is going anywhere. It's like "Sorry to disappoint you Ashton, but..."

Other likes: trying to stick his fingers in places they don't belong (like electrical outlets), pressing buttons (literal and figurative ones), and climbing on anything that gets him at least two inches off the ground. Oh, and mirrors and/or looking at pictures of himself. This does not come from me.

I am not going to spend too much time on Ashton's dislikes actually because I prefer not to re-live diaper changes or haircuts. He screams and writhes during both and it's just a horrible time had by all.

Basic 18 month old stats:

Teeth: still holding steady at 10
Height: 34 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 28 lbs 5 oz (95th)
Head: 19 inches (somewhere in the 70's)
Feet: 6.5W but wearing 7's
Naps: 1 in the afternoon
Meals: 3, plus snacks, and getting very, okay, PRETTY good at using a spoon and a fork
Words: Ba-ba (bottle), da-da, ball, car, and when you ask what sound a cow makes, "mmmmm" and a duck "cack cack cack!" His receptive language is much better and he understands most everything I say.
Diapers: size 5's, 6 overnights
Clothes: 2T
Toys: I need to get him some new toys :-/ He's outgrown pretty much everything and I know he would love a play kitchen and a little barn with animals in it. And more puzzles. For now the Home Depot Work Bench from Grandma has been a total favorite!

It's been almost six months since I started at Bentley and we said goodbye to Tate. One month already in our new house. Time marches on...