18 Months of Alex

My sweetie pie Alexander has hit another age-related milestone...18 months! It's hard to even describe this little character. I can tell you he's incredibly determined and strong, so if he doesn't want to do something, that's pretty much that. This kid can whine with the best of them too. For long, long periods. And I've never seen anyone shake their head with quite as much vigor. The harder he shakes it, the bigger his NO. Words are a pretty big issue. He's been seeing Fran with Early Intervention for about 6 weeks now, but of course, we're moving, so I need to get him transferred to the Natick Criterion group. Sometimes I swear he has phrases: all done, I did it, I want down, etc. but you'd have to be either me, Jason or Jen to decipher them. We're really working on pronouncing actual sounds instead of just babbling. It IS cute that he sticks his tongue out and pants when he sees a dog, but I think we should set our sights a bit higher ;)

Alex has two moods: happy and really not happy. He's either toddling around laughing and smiling or crying and whining. There's honestly very little in between. Here are his stats after his pediatrician appointment this morning:

Height: 34 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 28.14 pounds (90th percentile)
Head: 19 inches (75th percentile)
Shots: Just the flu shot
Diapers: Size 5
Clothes: Some 18-24 or 24 months, but they are getting tight. I've broken into the 2T bin for him.
Teeth: He's consistently had four on the top, four on the bottom, and all his first molars, but now there are definitely teeth coming in to fill the gaps and he is CRANKY.
Hair and eyes: still blond and blue. I think I will stop including this category because there are never any changes. But while we are on hair, here's a behind-the-scenes at the salon Alex goes to.

It's called "The Garage."

Loves to: use me as a segway. He'll lift his arms to be picked up, and then once comfortably on my hip, leans forward in the direction he'd like me to walk in. It's almost like he wants to get back down, but no. He leans and waits for me to move. Also loves to ride in his blue car, go down the big slide all by himself, and give kisses and hugs.

Naps: he's down to 1 long one - hooray! Which means mornings can actually be used for something. It's a struggle to get him past lunch and he is not above trying to fall asleep in his highchair. He's a great sleeper generally, up around 7:15 am, naps from 2-2.5 hours in the afternoon, bed by 7:30 pm and usually he doesn't make any peeps about going down or in the middle of the night.

Favorite toy: anything Ashton has. Also chalk.

Foods: Just like his brother, basically carbs and fruit. He's more of a dipper than Ashton was, so I can get him to eat cucumbers with ranch or chicken with some BBQ sauce for dunking, but basically things aren't pretty. I don't get it! I try to offer different things but I get so sick of scooping uneaten food off the floor that most days I say forget it.

Alex has gone international: His passport arrived this week, complete with this mug shot:

We're going to Aruba in November so he has to be legit.

Up next for my favorite 18 month old: getting a new room and deciding on a Halloween costume. I also signed him up for a home daycare for just Mondays starting after we move, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull the trigger and send him.

Overall, Alex is very aware that he choices now and loves to exert control over anything he can. He wants to do a lot of things himself, like brush his teeth (his top front row is VERY clean), hold an open cup (disaster every time) and put his shoes on (he can't). He tries so hard to keep up with his older brother and gets frustrated when I don't let him do the same things as Ashton. But he definitely has his own adventures. Here are some of my recent favorite pictures. Happy 18 months Alexander Michael!