18 month milestones

It has been a busy week to say the least, and even so a more busy month. I am so sad to say that I didnt have time to do Elem's 17 month milestones and I am so upset about it! The one goal I had since I cant seem to keep up with the scrapbook was to document monthly milestones so I could always and at any moment go back and recap what he was doing by each month. For the first 2 years anyways, that is my plan. So I made it all the way to 16, had to skip 17 and now we are on to the 18 month milestones. Insane, but Elem Zane is officially 1 and 1/2 years old! How weird to say out loud. Or in my head anyways. So although there might be a little gap in stuff, and it might seem like he jumped from last time, that could be because I didnt document. But most importantly he is still the smartest kid I know -I mean what mom doesnt say that about their kid. haha. But for real, I am amazed at the things he has been doing and saying, and lately he is just overflowing with new words, and actions that are so cute. 18 months is a big milestone in life and Elem has greeted the month with open arms and a happy face. Lots of laughter going on around our house, and lots of fits right along with it. A lot of frustration, but a lot of accomplishments, and appreciation for the small things-like being able to turn door knobs on his own, and tell me when he is hungry. Now that he can communicate, its almost weird to think when he couldnt. And now that he is literally running around and rough housing with little boys, its odd to think of times when he was learning to walk and trying to pull up. Such an amazing journey to watch him grow and learn, and help him master the small things in life. We love you Elem and are so proud of every little accomplishment you have made along the way this first year and a half of life. Mommy's baby is well on his way to 2 and not so much a "baby" any more. On to the good stuff:

Check him out: My little stud.


Stats:
-27 pounds 6 ounces
-34 and 3/4 inches tall last time he was measured
-size 7 shoe
-size 5 diaper
-size 18-24 month clothes, some 2T
-teeth: 16 total-12 full teeth, and 4 cutting at this very moment.

Large Motor
-Always on the run-never stops going, until he is pretty much forced!
-Mad man with a ball. Throws with one hand or both hands, aims, and gets it pretty far, and does over hand and underhand throws (usually overhand)

-loves to kick balls and tries to aim them in a certain direction
-has great balance
-can climb chairs, couches, stairs, etc.
-better at stepping down stairs, but still not completely good at understanding how far down he is stepping
-likes to ride on riding toys, can go forward backwards, turn them, etc.
-goes down slide by himself, needs no help, and goes over and over again
-tries to jump, kind of has the idea
-dances to music and claps and runs all at the same time
-makes balls in goal with ease
-can balance and stay in squatting position for ever!!!
-vacuums with our vacuum at least 3 times a day, pushes it by himself, and pulls it out of the closet
-crawl or maneuver under and around furniture and large fixtures
-pushes cars and trucks around the house
-spins around and round in circles till he falls down, and does it several times!
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Small Motor

-feeds self well and all by himself
-drinks from a sippy cup, and from a regular cup with ease
-draws and colors with markers and crayons on paper-stays on paper
-pulls caps off markers and puts back on
-pretty good at screwing caps back onto containers
-brushes teeth alone, and loves brushing them
-knows how to wash hands
-pulls socks off
-can turn knobs on doors, turn lights on and off, pull chains on fans, turn on night lite, turn on humidifier, all those little things he loves to work them
-plays well with blocks, stacking them
-plays well with legos, pulls them apart and puts them back together

Mentally-understands 2 and 3 part directions: like go put this in the trash, and then close the door behind you
-speaks 2, 3, and 4 word sentences: like," I want more momma", and "no no sage get back", and "I kick it"
-forming short and understandable sentences and commands

-point out and name people from pictures
-knows a lot of body parts: nose, eyes, ears, head, hair, teeth, tongue, toes, belly button, mouth, and peepee
-understands when he is peeing, and goes to sit on the potty to go (has not successfully gone potty yet. :(
-in the past week, started liking Barney, and actually watches the entire show
-imitates mommy and daddy-pretends to clean, cook, feed and stroll his baby doll, fix his hair
-picky about his foods, enjoys eating waffles every day, shares his food likes and disslikes verbally at any moment
-tells you when he is hungry by saying I wan eat eat
-knows just about all the kids at school's names-including the babies. So cute.

Socially:

-currently has a happy dance! where he runs his feet in place very fast and wavers back and forth from side to side at the same time (he will do the happy dance on command if asked. haha. very cute.
-loves playing with other kids-especially older kids
-enjoys parallel play, playing next to other children but not having to play with them
-will follow the crowd at any time-be it for good or for bad
-does tend to push and shove in group settings-he likes to be in control
-kind hearted. He pats on babies, gives them kisses, pets sage, loves on us, etc.
-always gives kisses and hugs
-very well mannered! Says please and thank you for things-such a good boy

Likes:
-outside-even if it is freezing
-eating :)-although he is a slightly picky eater, he does like to snack all day long
-foods: juice, white powdered donuts!!!, mashed potatoes, pasta, waffles, shredded cheese!, ranch (he just started liking this 2 days ago), oranges, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, turkey meat, hot dogs ....hmmm these remind you of anybody?
-sports: he is currently calling everything football-any kind of ball is known as football-he calls it foo-bol
-BARNEY! wow-I never thought I would say it, but we introduced Elem to the TV and to barney this month, and he is obsessed. He wakes up every morning and says "I wan songs", meaning I want Barney. He loves Barney-seriously.
-phones-still likes to talk on the phone, his new thing is telling people on the other end he is watching football.
-slides-he will go up and down a slide as long as you will let him these days
-being around other kids-he almost seems to get bored if he is not with other kids during the day
-kitty cats-his new favorite animal! Every day he asks about a kitty cat
-big trucks-loves them. He points them out all along the way to school every morning
-vacuum: everyday at least 2 times a day he comes running and says "bat-min" which means vacuum. If he doesnt see the vacuum when he is wanting it, there are serious consequences for Seth and I. So we vacuum.
-rough housing
-being tickeled
-belly buttons
-"choo trains", he can hear them from waaaaay far away at our house and calls them out every time. so crazy.
-sitting on the potty-not that he has used it correctly yet
-brushing his teeth, "bru tee" as he calls it
-coloring
-sissy. short for Cecilia. Elem loves his cousin Cecilia, and asks for her just about every day.
-Ice-likes to eat it any chance he gets
-favorite books: barney's wheels on the bus, brown bear brown bear, A day with Barney.
-to flush the potty




Dislikes:
-putting away the vacuum cleaner
-elevators-he is still scared of them, when the door closes he has a meltdown
-gymnastics class-I enrolled him about 2 months ago, and we only went twice. He loved all the things there, but he didnt like to go with the group, he had the worst fit he has ever thrown, so I did not return. haha.
-getting his diaper changed
-me trying to brush his hair
-sage barking at him for food-he tells her no and tries to kick her. It is so sad.
-going to bed-about half of the time he tries to stay up. This is a new thing, he used to love going to bed!
-riding in the car for any length of time. He is not so fond of the car seat.
-being corrected or told no. I am sure this is true for all kids his age, but he particularly does not like being corrected, especially when you continue to do it over and over
-getting lotion put on
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Well, it officially took me about 3 days to write this blog. That is just how busy I have been! So I hope I got everything to capture where he is currently, so I can look back and remember. Most importanly right now, he is just a human sponge. he soaks up everything we do and say. He repeats everything, just about any word you ask him, he answers "huh"? to anything he doesnt understand, he is speaking like crazy, and communicating with pointing and direction very well. I love the fact that we can have a real conversation with him and actually understand what he is needing and wanting pretty much at all times. on the flip side-no more baby. Every night when I give him a bath and I wrap him up in his towel, we look in the mirror at him and say, baby? while he is looking at himself thinking that is a baby in the mirror, I am always looking at how long he is and how he is over half my body! He is growing up so fast and before I know it he is going to be 2. So saying goodbye to the baby part of his life is kind of hard, but it is slipping away so fast that I barely have had time to let go of the baby things before they are just gone. My favorite thing about Elem at this age is his mumbling-jibberish I guess you could call it. I love to hear him come running down the hall and tell me something, and I can only pick out about 5 out of the 20 words he says. So I kind of know what he is talking about, but a lot of it is just mumbling. I love knowing that he is trying to communicate, and in his mind he is half way getting it out, but just not quite there yet. It is so cute to see the effort. Seth's favorite thing about Elem is night time craziness! After his bath and before bed time Elem gets insane hyper. He runs around the house, grabs a balls and says over and over "I kick it?" kinda like am I gonna kick it or thrown it, you never know! Seth giggles and giggles when Elem does this. Wet headed, dressed in pajamas, and smily faced is so adorable at nite when you would think most kids are doing their calm down routine. Instead we have wild man. But we love it. So those are our favorite things! We love you Elem.