18 Months Old

Our little guy is growing up way too fast! Connor turned 18 months old today :) We didn't do much. Just had a relaxing day at the house. Well, not really relaxing. He's fighting allergies/a cold, so he wasn't in the greatest of moods. I had wanted to do a little photo session, but he wasn't the happiest today. Plus with the runny nose, he was VERY red and splotchy under his nose/on his cheeks :( But I figured I'd do a little session today, and then in a week or so when he's feeling better, do an actual session at park or something.

These ones were just taken in my neighborhood...

Just some things to remember about Connor at 18 months old...

- along with the body parts he already knew... this month he's also learned belly button, fingers, and toes (he'll point them out when you ask where they are)

- if you say "Connor, where are you?" or "hide" he puts his hands over his eyes, and peeks out at you between his fingers

- he HATES it when I get hurt. If I stub my toe, or fall, or trip, etc. and cry or just act like I'm in pain, he will start crying and get VERY upset until I reassure him I'm ok. So if I get hurt, I usually just hide the fact that I'm hurt and just say "I'm ok... Mommy's ok, don't worry!" and then go in the other room and cry (or scream!)

- if you ask him to do "crazy feet" he jumps around the room shaking his feet, and goes crazy!

- he loves purses, baskets, bags & anything else he can carry. He will also find necklaces, bracelets, belts, shoes, etc. and try to put them on :)

- he still LOVES balloons and now flags. When we're driving, he will find and point out every flag and balloon and yell out "fla" or "boom" until I acknowledge that I see them too

- he LOVES the color pink. I don't know why, but he giggles and gets all happy when he sees something pink. And if we're at the store, he always wants the pink pillows, blankets, clothes, etc.

- he started potty training himself this month. One day, he was just sitting there pulling at his diaper, and pointed to the bathroom. So I took him in there and sat him on the potty, and he peed. He's continued to do so, and has gotten pretty good at it (as long as we're at home and he doesn't have a diaper on). I usually just let him run around naked at home, and he only has 1-2 accidents a day. I still put him in diapers for nap time, bedtime and when we go somewhere. He even poops in the potty too :) When we first started, I would just remind him every 15 minutes... but now he'll run to the bathroom on his own, or yell at me til I realize he has to go. He doesn't like sitting on the little potty chair though... but he can't get on to the normal toilet on his own yet... so it does make it a little difficult at times.

- I was still nursing him at nap time and bedtime up until a few weeks ago. I thought it was going to be torture when it came time to wean him, but he actually weaned himself. He just decided one day that he didn't want to nurse and he hasn't nursed since. I was a little worried that nap time/bedtime would be more difficult because of it, but he's great. He takes 1 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon, and all I do is lay him in his bed with his blankets and paci and he goes right to sleep. And then at bedtime, I just give him a bath at 7:30... read him books at 7:45... and sing him 2-3 songs at 8... then lay him down while he's still awake... leave the room, and he goes right to sleep :)

- he's still obsessed with water. All he ever wants to do is play in the water hose outside, or play in the bathtub, or play in the sinks in the house.

- he's learned a few more words this month... he says "fla" for flag, "I can't" (I have NO idea where that one came from... and he even whines as he says it!), "where are you?", "where go?" (where'd it go?... when he's looking for something), "Hi, how are you?" (when he talks on the phone) & "meow" (when you ask what a cat says)

- when you tell him it's time to say prayer, he will fold his arms. As we say prayer, he usually mumbles something along with us, and then when we say "amen" he says something.. not sure what, but I'm assuming his form of "amen".. VERY loudly!

- I think Connor has a little bit of OCD. He HATES it when anything is out of order. He hates when he's dirty, or anything else is dirty. He'll get a wipey and clean his highchair tray after he eats, and then go around the room cleaning all his toys with the wipey. If a cupboard gets left open, he'll whine at me and point to it, until I shut it. He picks up EVERY fuzz or anything else small on the floor, and come hand it to me. I noticed a lot more when I was in Utah this last week. There were 2 lights next to each other in the hotel room. And if only one of them were on, he'd whine and cry, pointing at the other one, until it was turned on too. He puts everything in order (shoes, toes, etc.). We were at Sam's Club and we were eating lunch. There was a little bit of water on the floor, probably from an ice cube dropping and melting. And the whole time we were eating dinner, he was pointing at it, whining. Finally when we were finished, I got him down... he grabbed a napkin, and cleaned up the water spill! Silly little boy!

- most of the time he's an absolute joy to be around... but of course the terrible 2's have already hit. He's into EVERYTHING and when I take him away from something he shouldn't have, he has major meltdowns/screaming tantrums.

- he is always my little helper. He wants to help me make dinner. He helps me clean the house. Today he even started peeling paint off of the wall, and brought it to me all proud with a smile on his face, like he was doing something helpful. (and no, I didn't want the paint peeled... and now I have a 5-6 inch circle of missing paint in my laundry room.. grr).

He's the funniest little guy around and loved by everyone he knows! You can't help smile at the many funny things he does! :) I can't believe how big he's getting, and now his 2nd birthday is now just around the corner! Where did my baby go?!?