18 Months

This picture was taken today at lunch when Alex decided it would be a great idea to smash his lunch into his face rather than put it in his mouth.

Our darling boy is now 18 months old. I think I might have been more excited for him to reach this milestone than to reach one year. As always I cannot believe how quickly it has come. One reason I was so excited is now Alex gets to go to nursery. He went on Sunday for the first time and as we guessed, he loved it. Brandon and I took him and started introducing him to the teacher. As soon as he saw the toys and the other kids he squirmed in my arms until I finally put him down. He didn't even look back. Later on I came back to check on him and watched as he happily played toys. I was worried that if he saw me he might get upset and want to come with me. However, he did see me and acted as if he had never seen me before and went right back to playing. Although it makes me a little sad I am so glad he is a happy, independent kid.

We also had a check-up at the doctor this week. Here are Alex's stats:

Weight - 25.5lb (45th percentile)

Height - 32.5 in (58th percentile)

Head - 19.7 in (95 percentile)

It has been so much fun to watch Alex develop his personality and explore the world around him. He is a very active kid and this was one reason the doctor thought he might not be talking as much. He is too busy being crazy and active. He does say a few words. He regularly says: uh oh, please, Daddy, up, go, Boo, bye bye and all gone. And on occasion will say: thank you, Mommy, Amen, Grandpa, Yankees (we have been working hard on that one) and probably a few other words I can't think of right now. He will also roar when you ask him what a dinosaur says.

He is still an awesome sleeper. At night he usually sleeps from about 8:00 to 9:00 the next morning. He always takes at least one nap and will still occasionally take two.

His attention span has improved a ton in the last few months. He will now sit still and let us read a whole book to him. (It used to be just a few pages). He has also really gotten into watching tv, which I don't know how thrilled this makes me. When he first gets up in the morning the first thing he does is run into the tv room and wait for me to turn on the tv. We usually watch the Disney channel. He especially loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. After about a half hour or so he remembers he is hungry and runs to his high-chair. He will also sit and watch whole movies. He loves any of the Toy Story movies and Tangled. This is great for when I am trying to cook dinner and I need him to be distracted for a few minutes.

One of my favorite things about Alex is how sweet he is. He already plays really well with other kids. He loves to give kisses to all of his family members and will even give kisses to Boo on the mouth. I love having him with me throughout the day as I run errands. I love watching him learn and grow and see the kid he is becoming.