Dare is just shy of 18 months now. I have not taken the time to document some of his accomplishments yet, and thought I should do it before I forget.
Words he says:
Ball: Ba
Bogey: Boyee
Mom: Ma-mama or Mommo
Dad: Da-ee
Bike: Bi-ee!!
More: Moh
Bottle: Baa
Wow: Wow
Oh no!: Ut oh!
Yum: Ummm
Dog: Dah
Hot: Ha! Ha! and then he blows...
He understands everything that we say. He has one chore which is to take his wet diaper to the trash can, and his dirty ones to the outside bin (of course on that one he has assistance).
He is still obsessed with his blankie and will drag it around with him everywhere he goes. He is especially concerned about where it is when he is tired or cranky. We have, for the most part, taken away the binkie, except for nap and bedtime. He still takes a bottle, but for the most part, only first thing in the morning and then one right before bedtime at night. His bedtime routine starts at 8 pm with bath time, and by 8:30-8:45 he's usually in bed. I still rock him while he takes his bottle, sing him the angel lullaby that my mom sang to me, and then he's ready for the crib. I love this time with him. He's such a sweet boy.
He does the SIGNS for:
tired, hungry, more, thirsty, ball, dog, thank-you, please, bird, banana, book, read, doll, horse, full, help, hurt or ouch, bike, cookie, apple, ice cream, candy, bear, cry or sad, play, sorry, socks, shoes, milk, bath, be nice or be soft, all done, and he loves playing peek-a-boo. He absolutely LOVES his "Signing Time" DVD's, and will watch them over and over, never getting tired of them!
We play the game "where is your..." and he knows all his body parts:
head, hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, lips, teeth, tongue, belly, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, and bum. He either points to each of them, or shows me when I ask where it is. When I say lips, he makes fish lips, when I say teeth, he chomps his teeth, when I say tongue, he sticks it out, and more often than not, when I say nose, he takes the opportunity to stick his finger up one of his nostrils as far as possible, and then he laughs. Such a silly boy.
PLAY:
He loves all his zoo animals that he has in the play room. He is especially fond of the elephant. He will try to carry them all at once, making for one frustrated little boy, because it just isn't possible to hold them all! He has a lion, tiger, alligator, gorilla, elephant, zebra. giraffe, and rhino. He loves soccer balls, basket balls, footballs, baseballs, golf balls, his red ball, his yellow ball, and his kick ball. He knows which is which, and will play with them appropriately...IE: throw the basket ball in the hoop, kick the soccer ball, hit the golf ball with a club, and bat at the baseball. He also plays with every ball inappropriately... CHUCKING each of them as hard as he can throw...which is hard! We have learned to duck, and watch ourselves. I am trying to teach him everyday what it means to be "soft" and "nice", not just how to sign it! I am also getting very good at re-directing attention, and moving on to something else to distract him from the destruction zone he seems to frequently create.
Just like DADDY:
This is what he wants most. He follows Ryan everywhere. He wants to sit by him and watch sports, chop wood with him outside, dig in the dirt with him when he is planting, or landscaping, water the plants and garden with the hose with him, use the tools, push the wheelbarrow, hang out in the garage and the shed..... EVERYTHING that his dad does, he wants to do as well.
With his Mommy:
As for me, he likes to mimic my cleaning. He will (in his own way) ask for a cleaning cloth so that he can wipe the counters off, or the floors, or the walls. He will notice if something is spilled and wants to clean it up. He likes to "put on his own makeup" with the brushes I allow him to play with. He loves looking in the mirror (he sees me do this a lot in the mornings), and make faces at himself. He likes to vacuum and sweep, and is chomping at the bit for his turn to clean the toilets. I won't let him do this yet. Hopefully he'll maintain this enthusiasm for cleaning as he gets older! He loves anything that I have that his a lid on it. Chapstick, hairspray, lip gloss, lotions, soaps... He wants them all, and has one determination: to remove the lid, and then put the cream or gloss, or spray in his mouth. I must maintain hyper-vigilance over this little man at all times when I know he is in the vicinity of these items. He throws the most DRAMATIC fits when these "toys" are taken away from him. Dare also likes to dance in the middle of the kitchen floor with me. I turn the music up nice and loud, and we have our own little dance off. He laughs and giggles, and loves it. He tries to mimic every motion that I make. For anyone who knows my "sweet dance moves", they will also know that a true professional dancer is in the making! Watch out!
HA!!
It is amazing in such a short window of time, how much is happening in his little life. He has already brought more smiles and happiness than we could have ever known any other way. We sure love our little man! And with happy hearts, the journey continues...
