Sleep: Sleep is sleep. Same old, same old. We have an occasional wake up in the middle of the night which leads to Joe getting up, which leads to Barrett coming in our bed. Once or twice a month of bed sharing is fine by me though. He is still going strong on 2 naps about 1 1/2 hours long each. We can skip the morning nap and move his afternoon nap a bit earlier with no problem if we need to. Unfortunately if we do that, he will still only sleeps that 1 1/2 hour usually. Maybe by the summer, I'll succumb and get him on a 1 daily nap schedule.
Food: Again, like recent months, this is the frustrating section. Last week, B had goldfish one night, applesauce another, and absolutely nothing the next. Tonight, he had 4 helpings of spaghetti. The next time I serve spaghetti, he probably won't touch it. In my head, I don't stress about it because if he is hungry, he'll eat but for my Type A personality, it's so hard for me to not get annoyed. He gobbled up his tortellini one Friday night recently and then at dinner at the Maschings the other night, he had a fantastic tantrum when I even dared serve him tortellini. So…..he seems to be a normal picky 18 month old.
Teeth: Barrett has 2 more teeth in addition to the 8 he had before. I don't know what they are called but they are two bottom teeth that should be next to the pointy guys. (Scientific enough for you?) Those same teeth on the top are poking through but not all the way, just yet. We had a large stretch of sickness (fevers, puking, hives, etc) and I'm chalking many of those symptoms up to teething. These molars (?) are probably the hardest time he's had in the teething category in terms of behavior.
New words: "MY ball" is one we hear very very frequently. He shoots his basketball at the hoop and then instead of getting it, he says "my ball" as if to summon one of us to retrieve "his" ball. And every ball, he comes in contact with is "my ball." We went for a jog last week and the high school boys were practicing at the ball fields. One of them hit a fly over the fence and it rolled down and in front of our path. He screamed "My ball" as we passed by. Sorry buddy, not yours. To go along with the sports related words, he also yells "I made it." Not necessarily in congruence with when he actually makes the shot, but it's cute nonetheless.
A fun new word Joe and I have been taking advantage of is the color, "yellow." We will point to an object that is yellow and ask B "What color is that?" His answer? "Yellow!" He looks like the smartest kid around, of course! Next, we pick another colored object…say a red one. "Barrett, what color is that?" He replies, "Yellow!" Doh! It's the only color he knows so every color is Yellow! It's one of those little cute phrases that you almost don't want to ever leave. In addition, he will answer our questions with a real "yes" or "no" answer. He's been saying Yes and No for a little while but it's so crazy to ask him something and get an actual answer. "Barrett, do you want more broccoli?" "NO!" "Barrett, do you want more corn? "NO!" "Barrett, do you want a cookie?" "Yes!" Along with food names, B can say "Cheese." Sometimes in response to getting his picture taken or if we ask if he wants some cheese, instead of saying yes, he says "cheese!"
I might have mentioned this in the last update but B can also say "Elmo" and does so whenever he sees him, either in a picture or on YouTube. Joe and I thought it was the coolest thing when Bubs started saying "Oh toodles!" when watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He and I were doing puzzles one night while Joe was gone at a work meeting. We had MMC on in the background and B seemed to not be paying any attention. All of the sudden, he looks up and says "Oh toodles" and a second later, I hear Mickey say "Oh toodles!" I realize this is probably the lamest thing but it's so freaking cool to see your kid comprehend something like that. Lastly, "row row" is used quite frequently. I try to sing to Barrett most mornings on our 5 minute drive to daycare. Anytime I finish singing "Row, Row your boat", within seconds, Buddy responds with "Row row?" (like a question and he heightens the ending like you would when asking a question) as if to request I sing it again……which of course, I do.
Speaking of songs, Bubs is learning and enjoying his music class so much. B will do his own rowing motion when I sing "Row, Row your boat"….sometimes. Of course, I've tried to get him to do it for others and he just stares. He also uses his hands to climb up like a spider (as much as a toddler can on his own) and holds his arms in an 0 above his head during "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". He loves the ABCs and I sing them to him every time I put him to bed. It's his "calm down" song and something I sing when he is especially frustrated to get him to relax.
This month has been fantastically fun but also very challenging. As he gets smarter, he gets more frustrated that he can't get across his opinions as easily as he would like. This leads to some fun tantrums. Thankfully, they have MOSTLY been short and sweet, not lasting for an excessive amount of time. Everything I read about this age is that they are trying to be independent but have a hard time displaying their emotions so we try to be patient and let him do his thing until he gets over it. I know it's going to get much much worse. In addition to the tantrums, patience is not one of Barrett's best traits. If he's hungry, you better have his food for him and Right.This.Second. Actually, whenever he decides he wants something, you better give it to him Right.This.Second. One of the big issues, is that he wants what the grown ups have. If he catches you with a real glass, you better believe he is getting that glass, or he'll whine and scream until he gets it. It's not at all about the actual drink, it's about that darn cup. He's demanding as all get out!
Barrett does not like Good-byes. If he's the one leaving, he can't get his coat on fast enough but if someone has the audacity to say bye-bye to him and he has to stay there? Oh, no you di'nt! Most of the real tears we get out of him are when someone he likes leaves. He is also the token kid who freaks his freak when daycare says it's time to come inside after they have been playing. Yippee! Now that weather is nice, every single day that I go to pick him up from school, the only comment the teachers have is that he hates coming inside. His classroom has a full glass door that looks and opens out into the courtyard and play space. B will just sit at the door and look out…like all day if they let him (which they don't, obviously).
Some small medical issues we are dealing with this month is crazy dry skin and an endless amount of boogers. Otherwise, pretty sick free (which I'm sure will change since I actually wrote that out).
Favorite toys this month: the basketball hoop, of course! I have a hard time imagining this not being in our daily routine. He also loves bubbles. He hit the jackpot lately on gifts of bubbles which is going to be perfect now that the weather is so nice. We might include them in our nightly routine. He also loves stickers. We went through our last book pretty quickly, so I need to stock up on some more. This month has also brought about his ability to complete puzzles. It's probably the thing that he gets the most frustrated with when he doesn't get it right away but he eventually manages to form it into the right spot. If he can't do it the first try, he usually takes out his frustration by slamming the piece at the open hole and trying to force it to go in. Someone has to sit by his side to encourage him with each piece or he just throws them and gives up.
Lastly, I need to mention one of my new favorite Barrett quirks. He's always had this cute but weird and funny run. He's starting to lose it but what he's added is that when he's excited he does this skip/hop sort of run. It's usually accompanied with giggles and it's my favorite thing in the whole world. I need to get it on video.
Another half a year down, I'm enjoying watching him grow so much!
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