17 MONTHS

Growth & Appearance:

Because of the stress of this past month you have lost a little weight, yet you have continued to sprout upwards. Your height amazes me, and confuses others who often think you are older then you are.  Your hair flops in your eyes and the back is a mullet, yet I cannot bring myself to cut it.

I am afraid that you will have a permanent scar across your nose. I put Bio-oil on it every hour or so in the hope to fade it. Justin thinks maybe the scar is a good thing, since you are such a pretty boy. I also find it strange you already look so much like your Dad, and now you both have scars on your noses.

Eating:

The last two weeks have been full on with injury and illness, you have become a little fussy, but will eat if I spoon feed you. You like to hold your fork, but nothing much gets into your mouth. You are on the verge of eating everything we do; only your lack of teeth stops you. Rice, noodles and pasta are favourites; but you are a carnivore, as you go greedy on sticky ribs trying to eat and hold as many ribs as your little hands can. When we go out to eat you like to read the menu, often nodding as if, you are picking what to have.

You are still breastfeeding three times a day, each time before a sleep. Sometimes you scam an extra comfort feed. I know it will soon be time to stop, yet when I feed you, you will often sigh and then look up at me and smile. This makes me hang onto feeding you just that little bit longer.

Talking: 

You still do not talk much. But you enjoy singing and humming. You grunt a lot, and yet I seem to understand you. Most of the times, when we have trouble communicating you get so frustrated. You understand pretty much all of what I say to you. I will ask you things like “do you want yoghurt”, and you run to the fridge and try to open the door. So as little as you talk I am not worried as you seem to understand us. If anything is good you clap your hands, if anything is bad you do this throat clearing yuck sound.

When we are watching television or listening to the radio, is someone laughs, you will laugh along as if you get the joke.

Sleeping: 

This month we have taken a backward step in sleeping. You, again, will only have your two day naps in my arms, and you refuse to sleep in your cot and want to be in-between your Dad and I. As a general rule your sleep pattern is: wake around 6am, first nap for two hours at 8am, second nap around 2pm, then you tend to go to bed around 8;30. On a good night you will sleep until 3am, and want a cuddle, and then you will go back to sleep. On a bad night, you have been known to wake every hour. Very exhausting for me.

Development:

You are so active, running, and climbing. This month you are mimicking your Dad and doing push-ups, it is the funniest thing ever as you do them at warp speed. You also have a new ‘thing’ of running around the house with your arms backwards, palms up, hunched over. Tamika did this once and you mimicked her, now you do it all of the time for the laughs it gets you.

This month I started toilet training. If I put you on your training seat over the toilet you will pretty much ‘go’ every time, and then insist on loo paper to wipe. I think you have watched me too often. You have begun to give me hints when you need to go, holding your penis and complaining for a wee, and for poos it is kinda cute, you wave your hand in front of your nose and go “pooy”.

You love to put things in the bin, and will clap your hands after you have put what ever in the bin.

You have picked up on my OCD and hate stuff laying around, you will pick up Justin’s shoes and take them to him, as if telling him to put them away. You will also so this with any clothes Justin leaves laying around.

You are still biting us; we have no idea how to stop you.

Before your morning nap and night sleep I go through alphabet and number flashcards, you now will go and get them and put them on the bed. It is as if it is your way of saying I am tired.

You now reach up to hold our hands when we go for a walk, it makes me so proud how you do this. You know want to hold our hands. it is your choice.

I asked Justin and he said this month you seemed to get “heaps smarter”. I agree.

Favourites: 

You are still on the Casio several times a day. Music and dance make you happy.

You are a bit of a pampered boy, as you love to be moisturized, you will often get my hand cream and come and sit on my lap for a hand massage.

Even after your accident in the garden you still love being outside, playing in the yard. If not the yard, it is water, bath time, swimming lessons, days at the beach, all turn you into a happy boy.

You are my little shadow, what ever I am doing you are there. If I am cooking you like to sit on the bench and cook with me. Doing the housework you like to walk behind the vacumm cleaner and push it, Hanging out the washing you like to hand me one peg at a time. You are my little helper. 

You love it when we change the sheets on our bed, as this means you will get lots of games, hiding in the sheets and being thrown in the air on the sheets.

You love it when Justin and I throw you to each other. You are a bit of a thrill seeker.

I got the idea for this list/layout from Ashley over at theStork and the Beanstalk. Thank you Ashley it is so much easier to remember everything the last month has bought in changes when I follow your idea.