18 month update

I still don't have pictures, but I wanted to post anyway. I've been fighting a sinus infection which is part of why I didn't get the blog updated over the weekend. Plus our power was out on Saturday from about 9-4.

Last Tuesday was Aaron's 18 month checkup. He was 26 lbs (around the 50th percentile), 33" long (about 75th percentile) and I don't know his head circumference, but it was at the 95 percentile. For height, he is hugging the 75th percentile curve pretty well, and she said if he stays on that course, he'll probably end up around 71" tall.

Unlike some of the exam rooms, this one had the light switch on the wall above the exam table, so Aaron spent a fair amount of the time we waited for the doctor (and some of the time while the doctor was in the room) turning the lights on and off. This is his favorite pastime and it was especially funny to turn the lights off while in his diaper at the doctor's office. Not so funny was having the doctor look in his ears.

Things went downhill from there. After the doctor left, the nurse came in for his shots. He got a flu shot in one leg, since it is that time of year, and then he got the DTap (the 4th, I think) and his first Hep A shot in his other leg. The leg with the flu shot was fine. The other one swelled up for a few days. He was also very fussy after his appointment and cried when I put him down for his nap.

On the plus side, the nurse gave him a book of shapes with fold-out flaps. It is part of a program they do. Starting at his 9 month checkup, he gets a book every time we go. I'm not sure at what age it is discontinued, but so far, he's gotten some books he really enjoys.

He has been jabbering more often, as if he is ready to start talking. And in the last week, he seemed to pick up a couple of new words, whereas he had been very slow to learn new words. His current list of words (and animal sounds is):

Mama
Dada
Papa
ball
duck
Ki - for Kim - his babysitter
dig (he can repeat it, but doesn't use it in context)
open (more like o-o, but he uses it in context)
star (possibly his favorite shape)
eat
bear (for teddy bears)
door (new in the last week)
key (new in the last week)
up (new in the last week)
hee haw (what the donkey says)
moo
baa
quack quack

Regarding his use of "open": Kim taught him to say "o-o" to indicate he wanted something opened - a box or a plastic jar. But he will also use it to ask you to take two Duplos apart for him or to tell you that you left a cabinet door open in the kitchen. In fact, he'll point into the kitchen and grunt and when you ask him "What? What do you see (or want)?" and he'll stop grunting and say "o-o" to tell you that he is pointing to the open cabinet door. Which you should close.

He is also very close to walking. The other night, he was standing against the wall in the dining room with Duplos in each hand. Then he leaned forward, away from the wall and balanced for a few seconds on his own. Then he seemed to realize he was on his own, and then he tried to walk to me - a few feet away. He took a step and a half before falling (I caught him) and we cheered him on so much, he kept repeating the act. Only he was so excited and laughing so hard, he couldn't really balance very well. But today, Kim took him to the indoor playground and he was doing the same thing there against a wall. And when they came home, she said he took a few steps in the dining room while he had a book in his hand.

He also seems to be going through a new phase on the social development front. He has never shown much stranger anxiety - in fact, sometimes I've thought he would happily go off with just about anyone. But now suddenly, when we are out at someone's house, he is clingy and cries if he can't see me - at least until he has time to warm up. Even this morning he had a melt down when Kim arrived. He might have the cold I had, so maybe he's not feeling well, but he's been like this on several occasions over the past 10 days and I'm starting to think it is a new phase. When we are at home and I want a hug or a cuddle, he shakes his head and pushes me away. When we go to someone else's house, he doesn't want to leave my side. I've always appreciated his independence, but I kind of like this phase. It's good to know that I am preferred over other mommies and children.

I'll try to post more pictures soon. One of the downsides of being sick is I'm way behind on work. I shouldn't even be writing this while Aaron is napping. I should be writing code.