One and a Half

I thought we just celebrated his first birthday but here we are at one and a half.  Time flies when you are having fun.  Tomorrow my little man will turn 18 months and boy has he changed in these past 6 months.  He has gone from my little baby that didn't even know how to walk to a bustling toddler that has his own set of opinions.  Everyday Austin turns more and more in a little boy and it's been so interesting to watch.  He loves all things boys whether its trucks, cars, or trains.  He also still loves Sesame Street and now he has his own little village of characters that he plays with just about everyday.  Austin loves animals and can make just about all of the sounds that they make.  His favorite buddy is still Moxie.  Moxie  is very tolerant of Austin and will hang around especially if he has food.  Austin loves being outside running around at the playground, or blowing bubbles, or drawing with chalk.  He loves playing chase and just laughs the whole time.  He doesn't really run, but he speed walks. Lets just say he can get away from mommy if he wants to.  Luckily he doesn't try to run away from me too often.  Austin loves his mommy and daddy very much. He is very lovey especially at night before bed when we read books.  This kid loves to read!  Right now his favorite books are The Cat in the Hat and Pete the Cat.  We ask him questions about everything in the book and he points and repeats things.  Its so cool.  He probably has them memorized in his head like we do!  One big change lately is that Austin is talking!  He really started imitating things that we said around 17 months and each week we get a few more words.  I would say he probably has about 10-15 words now with his favorites being Uh Oh and iPad.  He is starting to repeat everything so we need to start being careful what we say.  Austin definitely understands a lot more then he says so its actually nice to be able to semi communicate now.  He follows commands which makes getting things done a lot easier these days.  With communication also comes opinions.  This has been something I have had to get used to.  He used to just do whatever I wanted.  To be honest we have had it pretty easy when it comes to toddler tantrums, but he does have his occasional screech or outburst when things don't go his way.  Luckily the remove from the situation and distract tactic has worked for the most part.  It seems like with toddlers you are just always trying to find what works best for your kid so that is where we are now.  To be honest I have the most loving and happy little boy about 90% of the time so I can't complain. 

Austin's Stats at 18 months
Height 34.5 inches (95%)
Weight 29.7 lbs (90-95%)
Head 48.5 (50-75%)
Clothes 2T
Shoes 7
Loves all food.  Favorites are fruit and milkshakes.
3 small cups of milk a day. 
Sleeps about 11 hours at night.  Naps 2-3 hours in the afternoon. 
Doctor Harrison said he is right on track with verbal and motor skills.
Very social with other children.
Very curious and wants to do everything we do. My big boy ;)