18 months!!

Nate has now been out in the world twice as long as he was in my belly. He is so old!! His 18 month appointment was this week, and here's what he's up to:

He is getting the hang of simple puzzles and the shape sorter. Last week, he could only put the circle in the shape sorter without help; the other shapes, he needed someone to show him which spot to put them in. This week, he's doing it all on his own. He has finally realized that the pictures in the puzzles match the pictures on the pieces, so he can tell where each piece should go. The hardest part is getting them turned straight. After each piece he gets in (even with some help turning), he claps and yells "YAY!!!!"

He has found a love for tickling his Mama and Baby Brother (and sometimes Baba). He gives his Baby Brother lots of hugs and kisses, but only after tickling him. We have been working on "gentle," and he seems to understand what it means.

Nate's really interested in body parts these days. He can point to seven, and he asks about all the rest. He points to something and asks, "What's that?" Then I name the body part. We play this game a lot. His favorite body parts to ask about are Rodgers' nipples, my belly button, and his own penis.

We have been planning to get rid of the paci soon. Then, his daycare teacher told me today she hasn't given him his paci for naps this week, and he's still napping great! These days he's chewing on it more than sucking anyway. His Dr confirmed that he is working on his next set of molars. To which I say: bring them on! Let's get those last teeth in before Baby Brother is born!

Nate's Dr is very satisfied with the way he's meeting milestones. She is impressed that she has only ever seen him for well-child visits. He's had lots of sniffles and a couple of low-grade fevers since going back to daycare, but his little immune system fights those germs very well! He always gets better before we feel like he needs to see his Dr. He only had one shot this time - Hep A - and he's basically done with the shots on the US schedule. At 24 months, he will probably be getting typhoid and yellow fever in preparation for moving to Kenya.

His size stayed in the same percentiles between his last appointment and this one. Basically, he's average height (32.5"), a little bit skinny (23 lbs 15 oz), with a big head (19.75"). He's wearing mostly 18 month clothes. He has a few longer, button up 12 month shirts he can still wear (most of the 12 month shirts wouldn't go over his head anymore before they got too short). He is in size 6 shoes and size 4 diapers.