Developmental Update 16-17 months

It's hard to believe my baby will be a year and a half old soon!  He still amazes us every day.

Between May 24-June24, 2010 Ethan accomplished the following developments:

-learned to say a lot of new words.  I have a running list and his vocabulary is up to over 35 words (already posted.  This post has been in draft for a while).
-learned to run in place after we asked him to.  A family member asked us why we taught him this and the only reason I could think of is that it's funny to watch.  It's so cute to see him follow direction and move those little legs!  Yes, he's our entertainment.
-learned to hike a ball (another really funny thing to see)
-says "hot" for both hot and cold.  He was also saying "up" for both up and down but learned to say "down" too.
-we survived our first night away from Ethan.  We have gone to weddings and concerts where we've left him with family during the late afternoon and returned home after midnight, but we were never away from him for more than 24 hours before.  Ethan's great aunt and uncle came to stay with him and all 3 of them had a great time at home while Matt and I enjoyed our time in State College.
-is obsessed with playing outside.  He stands by the door and begs us by saying "owside".
-is mimicking us all the time.  Matt was doing push ups one day and Ethan tried joining in!  Now he'll practice his push ups if we ask him to!  Again, pure amusement.
-learned to climb down stairs in a safe manner.  He was attempting to go face first and it was scary!  After some prompting of "feet first" and "on your belly" he can safely make it down the stairs with our hands in reach, just in case.
-started walking up the stairs instead of crawling!  He holds our hands, the wall, or banister rails.  Watching him do this really makes him seem like such a big boy!
-says "two" whenever we are counting things, such as his toes.  He has started to do it on his own now too!
-recently started to enjoy watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 
-has very sweet morning and bedtime routines.

Morning:  Ethan wakes us up between 6-6:30am. Matt brings Ethan, a banana, a sippy cup of water, and Kix into bed with us.  We DVR Wheel of Fortune from the night before and play it every morning while Ethan eats his banana and Kix.  After he's done eating he cuddles up to us for the rest of the show.  Every time a commercial comes on, he lets us know (usually our eyes are still resting) by saying "uh oh". 

Evening:  Play outside, dinner, play inside, bath.  After bath time we let him run around naked while we attempt to apply his lotion.  We put his diaper and pajamas on him.  Then we cuddle in our bed while we watch a few minutes of Deal or No Deal and he drinks his hemp milk.  We go to his room to read books and a few more cuddles before he points to his crib to let us know that he's ready for bed.  He's in his crib soothing himself to sleep around 8:15pm. 

We love that he is a cuddly kid and especially enjoy that time since he's no longer nursing.  I didn't think we would introduce television shows specifically for him until after he was 2 years old.  The two game shows (and Mickey at another random time, usually morning while I'm getting ready) have become part of our daily routine.  It works for us, we're ok with that, and I don't feel bad about it anymore.  He isn't being babysat by the television, it's for limited amounts of time, he has plenty of independent play and play time with mom and dad, along with other positives (outside, books, etc).  I saw a commercial for Jeopardy where a contestant said he learned the alphabet by watching Wheel of Fortune.  He said the act of the Wheel of Fortune contestant would calling the letter, Pat repeating it, and then Vanna showing the letter all helped him learn the alphabet.  Maybe Ethan will be a contestant on Jeopardy one day :)

Enjoying bubbles at Jill and Mark's Memorial Day party

His first time playing in a sprinkler and he LOVED it! I was surprised at how quickly he went to it and started playing.

His first time playing in a sprinkler and he LOVED it! I was surprised at how quickly he went to it and started playing.

Playing ball is still his favorite. He loves throwing and kicking.

First time in his pool.
All of his loves surrounding him... us, balls, bubbles, water, and music! We was playing the "air piano" to music our neighbors were playing :)

Running around at my surprise 30th bday party. 

Watching the World Cup with Daddy.










For the record, I despise the new changes to uploading pictures to post using blogger.  In each of my recent posts, I can't get captions under the photos, somehow a picture is posted then doesn't show up, and it's just an overall PAIN!

Ethan's current vocabulary

At 17 months Ethan has more than 35 words.
He says the following without prompting:

Bubble
Uh-oh
Ball
That ("what's that" combo sounds like "at's that", and "that's a ball" combo sounds like "at-sa ball")
Apple
Mmm (whenever he's hungry, as a yes response if we ask him if he wants to eat, and when he smells something good)
Da-da
Daddy
Up
Down
Basketball which sometimes sounds like baskeeetball
Choo choo
"Owside" for Outside
Tree
Pool
See (we hear "I see" when he wants to see the photos/video on the camera/computer)
Hi
Bye-bye
Deal
"Dat Doo" for thank you
Hot
Beep
Toot (yes, he tell us)
"Scuse" for excuse me...after he toots
Poop (he combines "I poop")
Pee Pee (As in pee pee on the potty.  Sometimes he says "peep" instead.)
"pee-ew" (His sandals make his feet stinky!)
Maaa (but only when he's mad or whining)
Bowl
Two
Hat
"Scoo" for school
Keys
Boppy/Bobby for Mommy

The next list are words he says when we ask him to say them:
Vuv for love
Ba-Ba for Mama
Arpame for airplane
Help

He's starting to become a little less shy with talking around other people.  He saves most of his words for us when we're at home and he's most comfortable or in the car.  He does not say yes or no yet but smiles and giggles when the answer is yes and shakes his head no.

A new Bobby

It seems Ethan has forgotten how to say the "m" sound, except when he is upset.  He used to say "Mama" but recently if you ask him to say Mama, he says "Baba".  If you ask him to say Mommy, he says "Bobby" or "Boppy".  If you ask him to say Moo, he says "Boo".  It's all very cute.  Today he reached for me and whispered "Bobby".  It melted my heart.  When he's upset or tantruming he'll yell or whine "Maaa"  or what sounds like "Mom mom moommm" but only then do we hear the "m" sound.  I have no idea how long this phase will last but I don't mind being his "Bobby" one bit.  Actually, I love it.

Developmental Updates, 15-16 months old

April 25-May 24, 2010, 15-16 months old:
-started saying "baby" whenever he sees one.  This turned into calling anyone his size or smaller "baby".
-starting to run more often and running faster
-loved eating his buckwheat pancakes with a fork.  This started when he asked me for my fork.  I was surprised at how quickly he picked up this skill.
-we started weaning.  I hope to create a post specifically on our journey through weaning but for now I'll summarize and say that weaning was necessary.  I was too sick from my pregnancy to continue Ethan's allergen-free diet.  I NEEDED a cracker, toast, etc.
-he nursed one last time and now loves hemp milk
-ate hemp milk ice cream for the first time.  He made a confused face after the first bite but then loved it and asked for more.
-started eating Clif's Kids Organic Fruit Strips.  He loves them.  At first we peeled the twists apart or broke off small pieces for him but a few short weeks later he can handle the whole fruit strip on his own.
-started eating organic corn tortilla strips
-learned to blow on food to cool it down.  He touches it, says "hot", and knows to blow on it to cool it down!
-started pointing to his crib at the end of our bedtime routine.  We put him in completely awake, say "I love you" and "nighty-night" and he falls asleep on his own, very well.  This was huge for us b/c nursing made him drowsy at bedtime and we were concerned b/c there was no more nursing.
-fell in LOVE with watching Deal or No Deal.  He looks at the television and says "deal!"
-we stopped using a sound machine at night.  We used to use the Homemedics Sound Spa Lullaby set on rain every night, all night.  Matt forgot to put it on one night and Ethan didn't sleep any differently so we stopped using it. 
-he loves eating with utensils.  He eats applesauce and other pureed foods with a spoon very well.  He started to refuse to eat some vegetables such as carrots and green beans when they were steamed and cut up for him.  He gladly eats them pureed on his own so we continue to give him purees.  I know it sounds crazy to give a 16-month-old pureed food (especially one with 16 teeth!) but he's getting the vegetables he needs, mastering a new skill of using a spoon, and gaining confidence with this new skill.  It's a win-win!
-walks all over the house while kicking balls around
-started following a couple of two-step directions
-started saying "baskeeetball", especially during bath time when playing with a set similar to this.  He actually went through a stage where he hated bath time and this toy stopped the screaming and crying.
 -started engaging other children in play.  We still see parallel play during play dates but it's neat to see this social skill developing.  He tries to get other children to chase him, play peek-a-boo, and other games.
-started playing the "air piano" when he hears music.
-He loves to play outside.
-He mastered kicking balls (from golf balls to his big orange ball)

Practicing kicking/dribbling the ball. 

 Ethan's favorite game in May... Matt runs and kicks the ball while holding him.  Ethan gets to enjoy the game w/o doing any work.

Mastering using utensils

Cuddle time with Momma when I wasn't feeling well.













 He still enjoys his toy piano when he's not playing the "air piano".

 First hemp milk ice cream treat

 

Developmental Updates, 14-15 months old

March 25-April 24, 2010, 14-15 months old:
-attended his friend Jackson's first birthday party.  He napped through the first half of it!
-gained a lot  more balance
-standing for even longer period of time
-took 3 unprompted steps
-said "uh oh" all the time
-ate Oatie-O cereal (which contains rice and he seems to be fine with the minimal amount in it)
-took 5 unprompted steps as he walked toward a ball to kick it!
-celebrated his 2nd Easter.  He loved the plastic Easter eggs and called them "balls"
-since he couldn't have a chocolate Easter bunny candy or anything like that I let him lick some of the batter from his buckwheat cocoa cake (no eggs or other harmful raw ingredients so no worries)
-ate ham at Easter and really enjoyed it
-lower left cuspid FINALLY broke through which makes for tooth #16.  Once these newer teeth are fulling through it will give us a break from teething until his two-year-old molars start coming in.  Ethan has been teething nearly non-stop for nearly a year!
-learned he was going to be a big brother.  Well, really he has no idea but WE learned that we're having another little miracle.  More on that in another post.
-said "choo choo" for the first time.  He loves going grocery shopping and watching the choo choo in Wegmans.  We went to another store for a few things mid-week and he looked around for the choo choo.
-walked across a room on his own ... took about 15 steps
-learned to stand without the help of furniture or someone else
-learned to stand, balance, and throw a ball over his head
-started walking everywhere and barely crawling.  He went from taking 3 steps to barely ever crawling in 3 short weeks
-loves playing in the shower while we shower and then running around naked afterward.  This is the first time he ran/walked really fast.
-tried quinoa pasta but he wasn't crazy about it
-started eating oatmeal on 4/16/10.  We later learned that this was a huge mistake.  More on that later.
-started calling the vacuum "bubble".  He LOVES the vacuum at home and loves to chase it around while we vacuum but can't quite pronounce the word yet so it sounds like bubble.  Even though he loved the vacuum at home he was afraid of the one at school for a while but overcame that fear.
-ate chicken breast and enjoyed it
-Ethan had his 2nd stomach bug.  Poor baby was sick for days.  I was also sick from my pregnancy and we needed to rest on the sofa so I turned to the television.  Initially we weren't going to turn on the TV for his viewing pleasure (special shows just for him) until after he was 2 but desperate times called for help from the television.  First I tried putting on Sesame Street for him but he wasn't interested.  Second I  tried Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then a few other cartoons but he had no interest.  My son LOVES gameshows.  His first favorite was Wheel of Fortune but he also enjoys Family Feud.  Thank goodness for the Game Show Network!

 

Developmental updates, 13-14 months old

February 25-March 24, 2010, 13-14 months old:
-upper right cuspid broke through
-ate tater tots
-started walking while holding our hands, then only one of our hands
-started walking more steadily with a push toy
-started taking bites out of larger chunks of food instead of trying to shove the whole piece in his mouth
-said bye then buh-bye
-making the "s" sound then laughing.  He cracks up when we say "ssssnake!"
-said "uh uh" for "uh oh".
-ate broccoli for the first time
-lower right cuspid, tooth #15, broke through
-started pushing cars
-repeated us when we said "baby"
-made kissing sound for the first time
-started walking a lot while holding only one of our hands for balance
-took a few prompted first steps between mom and dad
-started standing by himself for longer periods of time
-repeated us when we prompted him to say "up" and "hot".  Whenever he would whine for us to pick him up we repeated the word and asked him to say "up".
-started kicking a ball while we helped him walk (holding his hands and walking with him).  Yes, he learned to kick a ball before he could walk on his own :)
-took 3 steps in a row with our prompting (asking him to walk between us)

A title!!!

I did it!  I think I fixed my missing title issue on this blog.  After some google searching I found the answer here.  I don't know how in the world I changed that at some point but I'm so happy to have it fixed.  The lack of a title was irritating me and I was frustrated with not being able to fix it.  I was avoiding blogging but hope to be back soon.  We have a lot going on right now and those are the things that are really keeping me from blogging but I think my energy is returning...