18 months old!!

Stats: We won't have his 18 month appointment until this coming Monday, so I will post again after that.  All I know is that from holding him, he is definitely heavier, and I had to move his car seat to the next highest setting, so I know he has gotten taller!
****Update - at his dr's appointment on Monday, Feb 4 he weighed 23 lbs 10 oz, and was 32 inches tall.  He is doing some great growing!

Clothes:  Mostly18 month, some 24 month clothes.  Size 4 diapers during the day, size 5 night diapers at night.  We tried just plain size 5 diapers at night, but he kept leaking still! 

Sleep: Still about the same - he goes to bed between 6:45 and 7:00 and wakes up during the week about 6:45.  On the weekend, he usually stays in bed until about 7:30 am, sometimes he has been awake for awhile and just hanging out!  He loves to talk to himself and practice talking!  During the week he takes a nap from 1:00-3:00 pm at daycare.  On the weekend he takes a nap at 1:00 as well, but sometimes will stay in his crib until at least 4:00!  We have been blessed with his sleep!

Eating:  Lately he has been eating like food is not going to be around anymore.  At dinner he would just keep eating and eating and eating.....he loves cheese, deli meat (mostly turkey), cottage cheese, carrots, green beans, any vegetable covered in cheese, bananas (nana in his words), peaches, pears, eggs, and bread.  Other than deli meat he is not a huge fan of meat.  Sometimes he will eat it really well, sometimes he won't eat it at all.  For breakfast he loves when I give him pancakes and most recently has started liking dipping his pancakes in yogurt!  He also loves scrambled eggs for breakfast.  He has also recently started really liking whole milk.  Since we started him on it he would drink it, but not a ton, recently he has started drinking a lot more.  The biggest change in his eating these past 3 months has been the fact that we totally weaned.  After I got back from Chicago, I went back to breastfeeding in the morning.  He spent the night with Momma Morai on New Years Eve, so I decided that was the time to try weaning again.  So, we have not breastfed at all in 2013.  Giving up that last feed was hard - the first few mornings he would scream and hit me when he realized we weren't nursing.  He finally got better, and now it doesn't seem like a big deal.  I miss feeding him, but he wasn't being satisfied with my milk anymore, so I knew it was time. 

Milestones:  So many words!!  He still isn't saying a lot of words consistently, but he does consistently say nana (banana), ellow (yellow - we think), memo (elmo), ball, buh bye, agua, dun (done), mo (more) and of course momma and dadda.  He also tries to say so many other things!  The daycare he goes to speaks spanish a lot, so he is also understanding a lot in spanish!  I am so glad he is getting that so early on!  He understands pretty much everything we say, he just doesn't always do what we ask - just like any typical child, haha.  He currently has 16 teeth - the 2 years molars are the only ones he is missing.

He knows where his nose, ears, eyes, head, mouth, arms and legs are.

He had another ear infection this past month -  not fun at all.  I think this is his 6th round of ear infections.  We will be talking to the dr on Monday about the possibility of chiropractic care and/or tubes.  ***Update - at his appointment she said the next ear infection would bring tubes.  I am going to be calling a chiropractor to look into that route as well.*** I just want to get him some relief (and us as well).  Luckily he takes the medicine a lot better than he used to.

You are really good at feeding yourself with a fork and spoon, but has trouble putting the food on the utensil.  You drink out of a straw sippy cup and a take 'n toss cheap sippy cup.

You have started to become attached to a little puppy dog.  You take it wherever we will let you.  You love to give him a kiss, feed him, give him water, and give him his pacifier!

Firsts: Christmas in our own home (we went to Western KS last year)

What we are looking forward to: Colorado vacation in March!!

What we are dreading: Giving up the pacifier (he only uses it to sleep - nap and night).....

Miscellaneous: Ethan is so fun to be around.  He loves playing with his dump truck, building with blocks, and still loves to play with puzzles.  He loves to play with daddy, but if he wants comforted, mom is his go to.  He loves to walk around in our shoes - and he is actually quite good at it!  He also loves to watch videos of himself on my phone or iPad! 

Pictures to come later....

The Lake Christmas

A little while after Christmas we made our annual trip to KC to celebrate Christmas with the Doug & Maleia Lake family.  Things keep getting more and more interesting every year as we keep adding kids!  We had a great time shopping, eating at a fantastic restaurant (Cooper's Hawk) and just spending time with each other.

Grace and Ethan do really well together.

Enjoying his new dump truck.

Notice that they are all playing with their own toys, not with each.  Such is the life of kids this age!!

December random