The Boy is 18 Months!

Brooks is 18 months!

Here are some of the faces of our boy...

 Happy Brooks.

 Tired Brooks.

 I'm ignoring you because I don't want to do what you are asking me to do Brooks.

Curious Brooks.

Brooksie Boy turned 18 months old on May 27th. I'm a little late because we were still in Minnesota then. But he tuly is 18 months and as active, opinionated, and sweet as ever. He is a wild man. Probably a typical boy, but he never.stops.moving. He always has somewhere to be, or something to explore. If he isn't supposed to be doing it, he probably is. He has strong opinions. He knows what he wants, when he wants it, and he will let you know. He is a little bit of a hot head, and he can throw a tantrum like he's getting paid to do it. Usually I don't, but sometimes I kinda' like his feistiness. It will serve him well someday. I'm just praying that he is not more stubborn and persistent than me, or else we're in big trouble! Thankfully, he is also the sweetest little thing. He has a lot of love to give! He gives hugs and kisses, and looks adoringly into your eyes. He winks, and smiles, and laughs some huge belly laughs.

As I said, he has opinions, so the things that he dislikes are clear. He doesn't like having things taken away, especially the pacifier and his freedom. :) He is getting much better about putting the pacifier back in his crib when asked, but he usually huffs and puffs about it for a few minutes afterwards. He very much dislikes being let out of the stroller, or carseat, or shopping cart, and then having to get back in to it. Once he is out, he wants to be free for the rest of the event. He still puts on a huge show whenever I change his diaper. It's still a battle that I am losing. It's terrible, but if it continues, I think it will help motivate the potty training for both of us. He is not a fan of vegetables. He won't eat them at all. I put them on his plate, and he ignores them. If I try to feed them to him, he either pushes my hand away or spits them out. Someday, he won't have a choice, but for now, we are trying not to force the issue.

The things that he likes are also clear. His favorite toys are still cars. His ambulance is his very favorite, but Lightning McQueen is a close second. He is really loving to read lately too. Especially about cars. :) He will settle for pretty much any book, but if he has a choice, it will be either the "Cars" book or a "Little Blue Truck" book. He also enjoys animals. He likes to get up really close to dogs on the street and pet them. He loved the cats, TC and Garbe, at the Barlow's, and Fluffy at Super Grandma's Farm. He also liked the chickens at Tony and Ingrid's house. He loves to walk and run outside and in the halls of our apartment. He loved the tricycle at Grandma Susan's house, and also likes to try to ride Kylie's scooter. He likes to wrestle with daddy and Kylie. His favorite foods are PB and J sandwiches, scrambled eggs, hummus, spaghetti, and pretty much any kind of fruit!

Brooks is continuing to reach many new milestones. He has not only gotten really good at walking in the past few months, but he is also running. He is a good climber, and is pretty safe going up and down stairs by himself by crawling. He tries to jump, but can't get his feet off the ground. He is starting to use a spoon. He is doing a fairly good job with it...He gets about 50-75% of the food in his mouth. He is starting to want to color and draw when Kylie does, but he doesn't understand how to hold a pen/marker. He grabs the very top and usually ends up not coloring anything! He is not much of a talker yet. He has some words (probably 20-30 or so), most of which only our family can understand. His most clear words are "car," "mama," "uh-oh," "out," and "go." Some others that he also says are "hi," "Kylie," "dada," "let's go," and "cookie," on a regular basis, but those aren't as clear to an outsider. He uses a few signs, "more," and "all done," but he mostly communicates in grunts and points. He can definitely get his point across loudly and clearly with his method though. His receptive language skills are fun to see too. He understands many different commands, and it's fun to see him do what we ask him to do. It's also funny to watch his reaction when we ask him to do something that he doesn't want to do. He will ignore us by turning his head away, breaking eye contact, and giving a little grunt. He knows several body parts and animal sounds as well. Brooks is a decent eater, not fantastic, but okay. He eats three meals a day, and a couple of snacks. Usually breakfast is his biggest meal, and supper is his smallest. He likes milk and drinks about 16-20 ounces per day. He is also a really good sleeper. He sleeps from about 8:00pm-7:30am, and naps from about 1:30pm-3:30/4:30pm. Brooks had his first real hair cut on May 25th. Jon buzzed his hair off, and it's super cute! He also grew 4 more teeth. Those pesky incisors came in during the month of April, so he is up to 16 total. He is wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 5 shoes, and size 4 diapers. I'm not sure on his height and weight, but he has an appointment next week so I will report back then. Please pray that he has gained since his last appointment!

We love our sweet and sassy little man so much! Watching him grow from a baby to a toddler has been so fun! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful son! We love you more than words can say, Brooks!