It’s been a busy month – I’ve been learning and growing a lot, and right after I turned twenty months old on January 22, 2015 my daycare decided to move me up to the toddler room, so I’m officially one of the big kids now!

I’ve continued to add to my vocabulary, and some of my new words include: wind, water, moon, sit, knee, peacock, hair, garbage, walk, home (oohm), noise, bag, window, and spoon.  I’ve also become proficient at combining my words to create two word phrases, such as “big truck,” “more juice,” and “no noise.”

A relatively new trick, I’ve discovered shapes, and can correctly identify at least four of them consistently: circle, star, diamond, and triangle (or “nanginoo,” as I call it).  I enjoy putting my shapes in the shape sorter, and am getting much better at matching the shapes to the correct holes.

I have also discovered a deep and abiding love for the Elmo song.  If I so much as glimpse an iPhone I begin begging the owner for “La La La.”  When it plays I squeal and dance around, and I sing along with the lyrics.  I can probably listen to it 15 times in a row without getting bored … the song is that great.  I like to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle” as well, and I know pretty much all of the words.  Sometimes I fall asleep in my crib at night by singing it to myself.

One of my new favorite places to hang out and play is in my tent (pictured below), which my Aunt De and Uncle Charlie got for me.  I like to bring a selection of my toys into my little lair and then call out for a friend or two to join me for a play session.  Usually, I bring all of my toy pots and pans with me … it’s a great place to cook!  I also love to ask for a boost so that I can peer out of the window at the very top of the tent, and say hello to those suckers stuck outside.

Current likes: helping (throwing away garbage, sweeping, whatever Mommy and Daddy are doing)!

Current dislikes: still not a big fan of diaper changes, if we’re being honest.

Pssst, who’s there?

I turned nineteen months old during Hanukkah this year, and right before Christmas/New Years.  I didn’t get to enjoy my Hanukkah presents very much, though, because I had strep throat and had to go to the hospital for an IV to prevent dehydration.  In spite of my sickness, I rallied in enough time to fly down to D.C. to spend Christmas with Mommy’s family and then down to Florida to visit Papa and Yaya.  The pictures below are me in Florida, after I began feeling better.

I have so many new words now that it’s hard for Mommy and Daddy to keep up with counting them all, but they think I probably have close to 75.  Some of my newest additions are: tunnel, noodle, Cheerios (ee-oohs), hot, cold, bear, chip, blanket (bink), pee-pee, potty, hat, cookie, birdie, sun, and toy.  And of course Mommy’s FAVORITE is that now when someone says “I love you” to me I’ll say it back (Laahhh-dooooo).

As you may have noticed from my recent vocabulary additions, I’m starting to show a little bit of interest in the potty, and I ask about pee-pee a lot.  I’m not potty training yet, but I’m taking the first step in that direction!

In other news, I can count to 10 all by myself, but having some assistance helps because sometimes I get excited and skip from four to eight.  I also really like to sing, and can be heard singing the “clean up” song to myself when I’m picking up my toys at night before bed.  I’ve figured out how to open and close doors, too, so now there’s no stopping me (except with a baby gate … those things are no joke)!

Current likes: ketchup (I’ll eat almost anything as long as it’s covered in ketchup)

Current dislikes: strep throat and hospitals

I’m officially a year and a half old!  At my eighteen month doctor’s appointment I weighed in at 25 lbs 12 ounces, was 32.75 inches tall, and had a head circumference of 19.5 inches.  This puts me in the 60th percentile for height, 70th for weight, and 98th for head size.

I’ve been very chatty this past month, and I now have a vocabulary of more than 40 words (new ones include: yeah, no, star, up, down, eat, outside, juice, and hat).  On October 27, 2014 Mommy asked me a question and I answered “yeah.”  She thought it was a fluke, but I repeated it several times after that, and just like that, we had a breakthrough in our communication.  I’ve always been willful, but now that I’ve figured out how to say “yes” and “no” to things I’ve been making my opinions known even more!  I’ve also figured out how to call people (and inanimate objects) when I want them, so I’ll sing out things like, “oh, Dada!” “oh, car!” and “oh, juice!” when I want them.  I can also identify most colors by pointing to them when asked (I get blue, green, purple, and yellow right almost all of the time.  I’m pretty good at red and orange, but sometimes they stump me).

In perhaps the cutest development ever, Mommy has trained me to run squealing across the room into her arms when she asks “can Mama have a … huggie????”  80% of the time this ends delightfully, with her catching and cuddling me, but because I am not exactly a proficient runner yet, the other 20% of the time I wind up tripping myself en route to Mommy and sprawling face first on the floor.

And speaking of being accident prone … I took a big spill on November 21, 2014 (the day before my eighteen month birthday) when I figured out how to climb out of my crib.  I landed on my head and wound up with a big goose egg on my forehead above my left eye.  I cried pretty hard, but fortunately I was uninjured; Mommy and Daddy are hoping I’ve learned a lesson and won’t attempt this again!

Here are some photos of me taken by Mary Nichols on November 30, 2014 – about a week after my 18 month birthday.  Thank goodness that forehead bruise was almost gone by the time I had my picture taken!  I can also be seen showing off the results of my first haircut, which I had on November 26, shortly before these pictures

Current likes: stacking things

Current dislikes: gravity, being redirected or told “no”

On October 22, 2014 I turned seventeen months old.  My biggest developmental leap since last month is obviously the fact that I can walk now, but I’ve also acquired a lot of other skills.  For example, I now have a vocabulary of more than 30 words (new ones include: more, hello, apple, block, eye, and Elmo).  I can also tell you what a cow, sheep, dog, cat, horse, and duck say.  I’ve been practicing feeding myself with a spoon, and all the ladies at my daycare are pretty impressed with my yogurt self-feeding abilities.

Speaking of feeding … daycare held a Trunk-or-Treat party on Saturday, October 25, 2014, and I went dressed as Mommy and Daddy’s chief minion!  My hat was Mommy’s first crochet project, and it came out pretty well.  It was an adult sized pattern, though, so it came out a little big, even for my huge head!  I didn’t get to eat any candy this year, but I was pretty happy just to walk up and down the driveway and see all the other kids dressed up in their costumes.  Happy Halloween, everybody!

Current likes: balls, Halloween

Current dislikes: tripping myself (guess I need more practice at walking)

On September 25, 2014 (Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year) I took my first real steps at a little over sixteen months old.  That weekend we went to Quackles to buy my first pair of “real” Stride Rite shoes. I’m already trying to run, although I haven’t quite mastered walking yet … and Mommy and Daddy predict it will be another month before the calluses on my knees are gone!

On September 22, 2014 I turned sixteen months old.  This was a month of pretty major transitions, and a few illnesses.

On August 28, 2014, just after I turned 15 months old, I caught the Cocksackie virus from my friends at daycare.  I had a pretty high fever (over 102 even after taking Motrin) which made me feel pretty yucky.  That fever broke, but it was followed by a rash.  Strangely enough the rash never appeared on my hands, feet, or mouth, but was instead mostly located on the backs of my thighs.  I subsequently wound up with an ear infection (which has become typical for me … it’s my third ear infection already!)

And while I am surely picking up germs at daycare, I’m also picking up … ladies!  I found my first girlfriend this month and her name is Azalea.  Of course I cannot pronounce Azalea, so I call her “Ah-ya-ya.”  She’s a worldly older woman – two whole days older than I am!  According to my teachers at school, I am pretty taken with Azalea, and I even call out for her when I wake up from my naps.

I gave up my final nighttime bottle this past month (my very last one was on September 10, 2014) so I have been working on establishing a new bedtime routine.  Now I put on my jammies and read books with Mommy and Daddy while I brush my teeth.  I get very excited about reading my “bees,” and ask for another after another after another!  I love reading Sandra Boynton’s Moo, Baa, La La La, and I like to participate in the reading.  If you say “Moo,” I’ll respond “Baa, La La La!”  Similarly, I like to help Mommy and Daddy count, and when they say “One,” I say “Douuu” (two).  I have about 25 words total now (new ones include: all gone, YaYa, cracker, ta-da, in, bye, Mimi, Opa, and wow).

Oh yeah, and I am almost walking.  Stay tuned – I think I’ll finally get it this month!

Current likes:  My books!  Pat the Bunny; Pat the Zoo; and Moo, Baa, La La La are special favorites

Current dislikes: Cocksackie virus

This is the face of a lady-killer

This past weekend I went apple picking in Syracuse – it was awesome!  I especially loved the tractor ride out to the orchard.

Well here I am, a quarter of the way through my second year already!  I’m still healthy and strong – at my fifteen month appointment I weighed 24 pounds 12 ounces, and was 31.25 inches tall.  While my height and weight have plateaued a bit, my head circumference still tops the charts, at 19.5 inches.

I’ve adjusted really well to my new daycare, and they even report that I’ve figured out how to “blow kisses” to them.  I can also correctly point to eyes, noses, mouths, buttons, and watches on command.  I have other gestures and some baby signs (like the one for “more”), but mostly I like to chat out loud.  I have about 15 words that I use correctly all the time.  My new ones are tree (“dee”), book (“bee” or “booka booka booka”), hi dude, uh-oh, and sky.

I now have all four of my one year molars, as the top two came through on July 31, 2014, shortly after I turned 14 months.  I like to feed myself fruits (strawberries, raspberries, and mandarin oranges are favorites), cheese, peanut butter and jelly, scrambled eggs, and some other foods.  I still have one bottle of milk before going to bed at night, but I’ll be giving that up now that I’m a big fifteen-month-old.

I took my very first steps on August 9, 2014, but it’ll take a lot more time and effort before I’m able to walk unassisted.  So for now I’m practicing to defend my title as the fastest crawler on the East Coast!

Current likes: feeding myself (as long as it’s one of ten pre-approved items)

Current dislikes: diaper changes, walking

Oh, hi!

There was a lot of change in the air this past month!  I started my new daycare on June 30, 2014, moving from a group home setting where I was the only baby, to an infant room at a daycare center where I will have five little friends exactly my age.  With the daycare move I simultaneously went from taking two naps per day (at 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) to one longer nap around noon time.

I’ve also given up all my daytime bottles.  I don’t like drinking milk out of a cup, so I really only have 8 ounces of milk per day now, in my one remaining nighttime bottle.  I’m not crazy about self-feeding yet (with the exception of yogurt melts, puffs, and other snack foods), so Mommy and Daddy were pretty excited to discover that I’ll pick up grilled cheese bites and strawberries.

I’m not walking yet, but I’m making some strides in that direction, standing and balancing and cruising around on the furniture.  I stood unassisted for several seconds for the first time on June 26, 2014 and figured out how to climb the stairs on all fours two days later.

I’m a little chatterbox, and although I only have about 10 “real words” – new ones include lights (“yights”), “papa,” and “off” – I like to practice reading books by holding them up and unleashing a stream of gibberish.  I also like to play games, and initiate peek-a-boo a lot with my blankie in the mornings.

Current likes: sharing everything, the B-I-N-G-O song

Current dislikes: teething canines (I got my lower left on on July 20, 2014) – even worse than molars!

Hi all!  I’m thirteen months old now, and I have nearly that many teeth (ten in fact, and two of them are molars!)  My lower left molar broke through my gums on June 8, 2014 and the right one appeared shortly thereafter (around June 14, 2014).  I like to show off my new teeth, so I spend most of my days smiling my huge grin.  I love interacting with people, and the three new words I’ve learned to say in the month since my first birthday – “mama,” “dada,” and “hi” – reflect that.  Sometimes I call my dad “mama,” though, no biggie.

In addition to using my seven words, I also learned how to point this month.  The first time I pointed (June 6, 2014) it was at some helium balloons left over from my first birthday party.  Balloons are fascinating.  They’re my nemeses.  I desperately want to touch them, but the minute I do, I get mad that they’re touching me back.  So now I’ve taken to pointing at lots of things and grunting a question (“huh?”) when I see something I want.  I want pretty much everything, by the way.

The past month hasn’t been all roses.  It started off on a tough note when I caught a bad case of croup on June 4, 2014.  I had to go to Express Pediatrics and I was pretty under the weather for a few days after that, but I made a full recovery.  It got better from there … I spent my thirteenth birthday (June 22, 2014) at the beach for the first time.  Loved it!

I’m down to about 19 oz of milk per day, and the rest of what I’m eating is still purees and limited finger foods (I’m pretty resistant to the notion of eating what my mom and dad are having for dinner).  Still no walking, either – I simply can’t be bothered to try yet, and I’m pretty stubborn!

Here are some pictures of me as a thirteen month old on a recent trip to the Finger Lakes (wine country and the Corning Museum of Glass – what’s not to like!)

Current likes: Playing “fetch” with myself, sand, and anything sung to the tune of Old MacDonald (or as I call it, “EeeAyeYooo”).

Current dislikes: croup and molars