January 21, 2007
Dear Mason II,
Happy Eighteen-Month Birthday!
Eighteen month statistics: Weight: approximately 31 lbs. ?oz. Length: ? inches. Diaper Size: 5 Clothes: 24 months or 2T. We go to the doctor on February 2nd, so I will have better stats then.
It seems as if it has been forever since I have written. I’m so sorry that I didn’t get to write a 17-month letter. The day before we left for Christmas my laptop died and it wasn’t returned until about a week into the new year. Work and travel also made life pretty crazy.
Your schedule seems pretty set now. You wake up in the morning around 7 or 7:30am. We nurse, and then you have a cup of milk and some breakfast. Lunch is at about 11 or 11:30am, and then nap-time is 12:30 – 2:30 (give or take 30 minutes). When you wake up from your nap you have another cup of milk and a snack of some sort, more on food in the next paragraph. We try to eat dinner around 5:45pm, and then it is time for bath, jammies, nursing and bed by 7 or 7:30pm.
The past two months have had some ups and downs with food. Some days for breakfast you will eat an entire kiwi and a one-egg omelet with spinach and cheese. Then on other days, you will only eat the kiwi. We really try to not stress over your food. We figure it is up to us when we offer food and what we offer. It is up to you to figure out how much (if any) you want to eat. We are still sticking by the plan to not become short order cooks. You either eat what we offer or you wait until the next meal. This has worked really well so far.
Your vocabulary has really started to come alive since Christmas. I made a rough list and you have about 20+ words and 20+ signs. It is amazing! I love the signs because you can sign words that you just could never say at this point. (For example: alligator) You often say the word and sign at the same time (For example: juice). You are starting to use the sign for apple when you wake up from your nap and are craving your little apple snack. Your dad and I need to learn more food specific words to teach you so you can tell us what you want.
You have become danger mouse! Somehow you learned the word “two”, as in one, two, three…. You only say the two part, and then you throw yourself off the bed or couch or some other tall object. So far, our reflexes have been up to the task of catching you.
We were lucky to spend 11 wonderful days in Las Vegas for Christmas this year. You immediately remembered playing peek-a-boo with Nanny and resumed your fun game. You also found all the television sets in the house and loved to turn them on and off. You received many wonderful gifts for Christmas including a sit and spin, several airplanes of various sizes, lots of little cars to vroom around, and your first huge Tonka dump truck. While we were in Vegas, you also swallowed a packing peanut and almost swallowed a Ny-Quil capsule!
Since we came home from Christmas, you have had a horrible diaper rash. As such we have tried to give you a good amount of naked time. Unfortunately, as soon as we take your diaper off you run into our closet and pee on the floor. I’m sure you will shirk with embarrassment when you read this in 20 years, but it really is funny. I have a hard time not laughing when you do it.
In the morning you are super hungry for breakfast so you drag your highchair into the kitchen while saying, “Eat” and signing “food”. Other times, you will try to crawl up and sit at the dining room table on a regular chair. At Christmas you sat in a regular chair at grandma and grandpa’s house. You also love all food that is round – mushrooms, olives, carrots, etc… You repeatedly ask for “ball, ball.”
I almost forgot to mention your teeth. It wouldn’t be the holidays if you weren’t teething. Between mid-November and January you got three canine teeth. That brings the total up to 16. That is all of them until the nasty, two-year molars start coming in. I’m not looking forward to that. It is so strange to see you with a mouth full of teeth. Last year at this time you just had two very tiny, very sharp bottom teeth.
You love to laugh and giggle. If I crawl on the floor and chase you, you will run into my arms laughing hysterically. You also love to tickle your dad. While you are having your diaper changed, you love to lift the side of his shirt and tickle his belly. You also love to hop on pop! He will lie on the floor and you jump on his belly. After a while you pause to take a little rest on top. It is so cute to see you flop down on him. The two of you also enjoy reading books at night while I am making dinner. Probably one of our most favorite things is that you have learned to give a hug and a kiss. You don’t do it on command just yet, but if we catch you in the right mood we might get lucky.
Today we celebrated your 18-month birthday with a beautiful snow shower. You had fun mowing the sidewalk while dad shoveled. This afternoon I also attended a baby shower for a dear friend, who has a baby your age and now her second one is coming in about a week. We talked about what a wonderful gift it is to give your child a sibling. Your dad and I certainly aren’t ready for that just yet, perhaps in another year or so. I hope that you are lucky enough to someday know the joy that comes from being a big brother. Until then, you are my one and only baby. Please don’t grow up too fast.
Love,
Mama
