Playing in the Sand at Shoreline Park

My New Bistro Grille

My mommy got me this "manly" kitchen so I could practice being a good cook like Daddy.

Watering the Plants

Now that it's warmer out, Daddy lets me help water the herbs and plants in the backyard. It is my most favorite chore.

Watch out wizards. . .

Here comes Zachary Potter!

Love Our Kitties

We have two kitties - Gizmo and E'bi. Gizmo is tortoise colored (black, brown, tan, & white), and E'bi is all black with a couple white spots (one on her neck, and one on her belly). They're my buddies. Gizmo likes to play hard-to-get, but I have fun chasing after her. Sometimes she'll chase after me if I'm dragging a balloon string. E'bi was my mommy's "baby" before I came along. We both like to cuddle with mommy. I like to use E'bi as a pillow cuz she's so soft. While daddy was getting ready for work this morning, I wanted to pet E'bi so I climbed onto the bed where she was sleeping and proceeded to gently pet her and amazed my daddy by saying, "I pet E'bi. She's soft."

Monterey Bay Aquarium Playdate

I got to go to the Aquarium again. This time we met up with mommy's friend from grade school who recently moved up from San Diego with his wife and kids (Mikaela, Joshua, & Lukas). We had lots of fun. Lukas is only a couple months older than me. We really enjoyed the Sea Otter exhibit. After our playdate, we ate yummy pizza at their house.

The Stats, Just the Stats

I had my 18-month check-up today. The doc doesn't think my reoccurring hives are hives at all. I've got an appt next week to see the allergist to see if we can find out what's going on. This latest batch has been quite itchy. Keeping me up at night. On top of that, I've got another cold with a runny nose and another sore throat coming on. Other than being sick, the doc says I'm growing and developing just fine. I'm 34-1/2 inches tall which puts me again at the 95th percentile for height, and I weighed in at 27.5 lbs so I bumped up to 75th percentile for weight. Course, I got to *stand* on the scale with my clothes on this time so that might have skewed things a tad. I got two more pokes - Hep A and DTaP. Mommy says I was a trooper once again - only cried during the injections. There was a little girl before us who kept crying all the way out of the clinic. No more official immunization shots until I'm ready for kindergarten. Yippee! Course, mommy will probably make me get flu shots every year, but I can handle one measily shot.

Rebel Without a Highchair

A Year and a Half!!!

I'm 18-months old today. My checkup isn't till next week, so I don't have any new stats. But I figured I'd at least start on an 18-Month Update...

MOVEMENT: Mommy says I've regressed as she'll often find me crawling around . . . pretending to be a cat or cow, "meowing" or "mooing". But mostly, I run around to get from place to place. I'm getting quite proficient at hopping and jumping. When I want to be silly, I like to spin and twirl around. I especially like it when mommy or daddy spins me around. I like to help mommy sweep and wipe my hands & clean my tray when I'm done eating. I can climb onto the couch and into my parents' bed.

COMMUNICATION: I've been working on my 3-word sentences these past few months - "I get down.", "I got it.", "I broke it.", "I want it.", "Where is it?", and most recently "I love you." I say a new word or two almost every day. I like to repeat whatever words my parents say, especially when daddy is driving in annoying traffic, much to his chagrin. I say "thank you" often. I still sign some words quite frequently like "milk", "airplane", and "more". I've created my own signs for "help" and "spin" which I use quite often, too. I can identify several more body parts now like mouth, teeth, lips, chin, hair, fingers, hands, knees, and feet. I also like to make animals sounds when asked "What does an X say?" like horse, cow, cat, dog, duck, sheep, chicken, sea lion/seal, chimpanzee/monkey, pig, bird, lion, and frog.

EATING: I've had 16-teeth for most of the last 3 months. Mommy doesn't have to cut my food as small anymore, but sometimes she forgets. I'll eat almost anything, especially Chinese. My current everyday favorites are hot dogs, broccoli, cheese, and rice. Still like noodles of all kinds, especially spaghetti and mac-n-cheese. Apples right off the core have become my favorite fruit. I enjoy eating my Cheerios in milk without any assistance. Yogurt is also quite tasty for breakfast. I'm eating two breakfasts, lunch, and two dinners with snacks in between these days. I've pretty much given up milk before bedtime.

PLAYING: Not much has changed in this arena. I still like playing outdoors and will whine & fuss when it's time to come in. Balls and balloons are still my favorite. I'm getting really good at throwing overhand. I can even aim what direction to throw at. I've been practicing with our next door neighbor. I'm also getting good at playing with other kids not just around them, like taking turns on the slide or playing bumber cars at daycare. I can cruise quite quickly, forwards and backwards, on my riding toys and even steer, although often I just muscle it. My current favorite book is Baby Einstein's Jane's Animal Expedition. I like all the animals hiding behind the flaps.

SLEEPING: I can climb in and out of my crib with ease. These days, I prefer sleeping in the big bed next to my crib, but I need mommy or daddy to keep me company until I fall asleep. Once I fall asleep, I'm usually out till morning.

It's Official . . .

I can climb out of my crib all by myself.

I snuck out of my crib FIVE times last night after Mommy put me to bed. The 1st time, Mommy spotted me in the doorway to my room. The 2nd time, I found her in the office. The 3rd time, I found Daddy watching TV in the livingroom. The 4th time, I hung out in the kitchen for a little bit before weaving my way through the diningroom to the livingroom. The 5th time, Daddy was waiting for me in the hallway. I was too tuckered out to try again, so I just wailed out my displeasure from my crib. After I had quieted down, Mommy came in and rocked me for a little bit. This time when she lay me in the crib, I crashed out till morning.