{Elijah James - 18 Months} | The Paul + Charity Show

Elijah James, you are 18 months!

Photo Credit: Wilder Arts Photography

You are healthy and growing well! At your 18 month appointment you weighed 29lbs, 5oz (96th percentile) and you are 33.5 inches tall (84th percentile). Papa and I have been so excited to see your growth these last few months. Your personality shines as your grow in your abilities and interests.

Your vocabulary continues to expand. Just a few months ago you had only 3 words, now you also say "owl", "ow", "chicken", "Turkey", "Duck", "Papa", "Dom". You have clear sounds for words that you trying to master such as: please, shoes, downtown, barn, apple, banana, cheese, milk, and water. You are also signing "please" and "potty". You can also make a "ruff ruff" sound for a dog and "moo" for a cow. It is becoming clear that you understand quite a bit of what we say to you and can follow short directions.

Your favorite things these days are listening to music, swinging at the park, playing Peek-a-Boo Barn on our phone, and applesauce. Your favorite song is Downtown by Macklemore's & Ryan Lewis. You will stand at our Amazon Echo and yell Downtown multiple times a day. When we play the song you bop your head, stomp your feet, or stand in place and sway to the music. As soon as the song is over, you are asking for it again. You love dancing. Recently, you've started asking to move from one swing to another. You often run straight to the swing when we get to the park and start signing please. You also loving playing a game on our phones called Peek-a-Boo Barn. You ask for it throughout the day and as soon as you get to play it, a big smile comes on your face. Your favorite food is without a doubt applesauce, you ask for it with every meal. You love the songs Row Row Your Boat (which you call "Row Row") and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (which you call "itsy"). When we sing Row Row you often sit on our tummy and ask us to move your arms like you're rowing a boat. You're face lights up and It is adorable.

Tantrums are increasing as we set boundaries. You are often upset when we tell you that we are "all done" with something or when we are done swinging at the park. You typically get upset if another kid shows any interest in a toy you are playing with.

Your sleep has been great. You will sleep around 11-13 hours a night and take one nap during the day. You really settled into a smooth schedule over summer break. You are up between 7 and 8am and you take a nap around 1pm. It has been so nice to have the consistency for planning out our days. When we tell you it is "night night" time you start heading to the stairs. Sometimes you stop and give Charlie a kiss before you head up.

Speaking of Charlie, well you really enjoy "playing" with her. Which really means you terrorize her. You chase her with any toy you can push, you throw your plastic balls at her, you grab at her paws and ears and you give her kisses. Charlie enjoys when you give her treats and throw a tennis ball.

Elijah, you have been a pretty independent kid. You really enjoy finding something to do on your own. However, you have gotten better about asking for help. You do this by signing more and making an "h" sound. You also love helping out any way you can. I typically have you help throw your diapers away, put recycling in our can, or closing the refrigerator door. Papa often has you help load and unload the washing machine and has you put your clothes in the laundry basket each night.

Your last few months have been full of adventure. We traveled out to the East Coast for your cousin Brendan's High School Graduation, you joined mama on a women's retreat, you spent a week with mama in Alaska, and you have had lots of play time at the park and at local water parks. You had an overnight stay with the Kaetzels so mama and papa could celebrate their anniversary and you spent time with friends in Lake Chelan.

In the next few months we think you are looking forward to seeing your school friends more often and having mama home more during the week.

Here are few photos from the last three months.