18 Months (WAY late!)

 So, Tucker turned 20 months a week and a half ago, but I have a list of his 18-month updates already written out and I just don't want to forget what he was doing and into at that age, so I'm doing a way late 18 month post anyway.... Hopefully, VERY soon, I'll have a combined 19-20 month update. I say VERY soon, because as I read through my list deciding whether to do the post or not, I cannot get over how much he has already changed and grown! And when I read through his 17 month post, he is no longer near the same boy! In the past few months, he has grown so much! It really makes me aware of how badly I need to stay current on this blog....things change at the blink of an eye, and there is so much that I just want to bottle up and save!

1.  You are left-handed.  I read somewhere that you can't really determine what hand an individual will use dominantly until about 2 years of age, but there is no doubt you will be left-handed.  You are much better at fine motor tasks with that hand and it's the first hand you use to do things.  You shoot and throw a ball left-handed, eat left-handed, draw and color left-handed, pretty much everything.

2.  You picked up the saying, "Not nice!" from a good friend of yours, Walker Webb.  I think the time we spent with him in Hilton Head sealed the deal.  You use "Not nice!" when you fall or trip or bump into something.  You will 'tell' whatever caused you to trip or whatever you bumped into "Not nice!"  You will tell Daddy and I "Not nice!" if we do something you don't like such as take something away or prevent you from getting into something.  You use it pretty frequently.

3.  You think the sound of any bodily function is funny.  I completely attribute this to Daddy.  Now, don't get me wrong, you are polite about it.  If you burp or pass a little gas you will say, "Excuse me."  But then you crack up and immediately have to produce a fake burp, followed by more laughter.  Oh, and you don't stop there.  Then you want whoever is with you to also burp and say "Excuse me" (if they don't, you will remind them to!).  A few weeks ago, GG and your 2nd cousin Lindsey were down to visit from PA and as we ate lunch you made everyone go around the table and burp.  Daddy would have been so proud.  (Thanks, Daddy!)

4.  You are a Mommy's boy 100%.  Of course, you love your Daddy to the moon and back, but you are going through a huge Mommy's boy stage right now.  You want Mommy to be the one to do everything for you.  If Mommy's home, I gotta be the one to change your diaper, give you a bath, put you to bed, everything!  While I feel bad for Daddy sometimes because I think it hurts his feelings, I'm trying to enjoy it and soak it up because I know one day you will realize just how much cooler your Daddy is.

5.  You LOVE to be outside.  Almost immediately after breakfast you start saying "Outside!" and "Bye bye's!" begging to go outside to play.  We spend a LOT of time playing outside.

6.  According to your 18 month appointment, you weighed 25 pounds (40%) and are 33 inches tall (75%).  I'm a little skeptical on the 25 pounds....I think you're a little lighter than that.

7.  Your language has grown leaps and bounds lately.  At our 18 month check-up, the "developmental check-list" said you should be saying between 5 and 21 words.  That evening, Daddy and I tried to think of how many words you were saying.  We stopped counting around 30 something.

8.  Your favorite color is blue.  Anytime we ask you what color something is, you immediately say, "Blue" sometimes without even looking at what we're asking about.

9.  You love shoes.  You will get in your closet and pull out shoes and demand that they be put on.  (Mommy has to be good about putting up shoes once they're too small because you don't understand that concept and demand they be put on anyway!)  You try on Daddy and Mommy's shoes all the time.  You especially love putting on Daddy's shoes. 

Daddy's got some BIG shoes to fill, Buddy!

10.  You finally cut your bottom canine teeth.  Those canine teeth, top and bottom, have been on their way for months now.  The bottom ones have finally cut through and the top ones are not far behind.

11. You love to dance and have your own signature dance move. It's a combination of clapping, bouncing, and a little chicken wing thing thrown in for visual interest.


Here's your "chicken wing" thing!  Not sure what's going on with the facial expression; I think you were really into the music lol!  :)

12.  You LOVE your paci!  We have been good about only giving it to you during nap time and night time and it has never really been an issue through the day.  However, you have recently started asking for it through the day and will even go to your crib and try to get it out.  Every once in a while, you will walk out of your room with one in your mouth and I have no idea where you found it.  I've said this before, but I seriously think you have a stash of pacis hidden somewhere! 
13.  Oh my goodness, a HUGE update, we are completely done with nursing!  It happened at about 18 1/2 months.  I think I said in a previous post that if Mommy wasn't the one putting you to bed, you did fine without nursing.  Well, one night Aunt Shelby put you to bed while Mommy and Daddy were on a date, and the next night Daddy put you to bed.  So, after two nights in a row of not nursing before bed, on the third night, Mommy put you to bed and when it was time in our routine to nurse, Mommy said, "Tucker, nursies are all gone."  You said, "All gone?"  I said, "Yes Baby, all gone."  You said, "Paci," and I gave you your paci and that was the end of it!  I could not believe how easy it was!  I was prepared for a fight when the time came.  The next night, as we were getting ready for bed, you signed "nursey" and then said, "All gone" without me even reminding you that they were all gone.  You never demanded to be nursed or anything.  What's funny is at the most random times in the day or when we were just driving in the car, you would come up to me and sign "nursey" and then say, "All gone!"  It showed me how often you thought of nursing, which was several times a day.  But, you were fine with the fact that they were gone and you have never asked for it since the first night I told you they were gone.

14.  All day long, while Daddy's at work, you ask about him.  You'll say, "Da, car?"  And I'll say, "Yes, Daddy went to work in his car."  All. Day. Long.  Just goes to show you that even though you're a Mommy's boy, you think about that Daddy of yours all the time!

15.  We have learned the word "Mine!"  This has been a fun one, let me tell you.  Everything is "Mine!" 

16.  You say "No" in a really sweet voice.  It's like you're playing, but even when you mean it, you say it in this really sweet, sing-songy voice.  How do you correct something like that?!  It's so sweet!

17. You say and wave "Bye bye" to everyone!  When we leave somewhere, like a restaurant, you want to stop at every person along the way and tell them "Bye bye!" 

18.  You call me and Daddy "Ma" and "Da".  Yup, somewhere along the way we have been reduced to one syllable.  I'm not sure when this started, I think it has been longer than a month now.  And you say our names and want us to say, "What?" back, but you don't really want anything.  You just like the fact that you say it and we respond with "What?"  If we don't say anything, you will get louder and louder until we do. 

Oh my gosh, I could go on and on!  There is so much you're doing, and then again, so much of the things listed above you have already out-grown!  I love you Tucker Bug!  More than you will EVER know!!!