Top Ten - 18 months

This weekend, we'll be celebrating 1.5 years with the Nugget!  Sadly, I broke my camera, so photos will be coming in 2-4 weeks, according to the Best Buy Geek Squad.  May I add that I had to stand in 2 different lines and make a call to BB HQ to get them to ship the camera off for repairs, but thank goodness for the extended warranty!  Thanks, Grammy and Grandpa!  And thanks to Hubby and that guy playing Guitar Hero, who entertained the Nugget during the hour long debacle at Best Buy.

The Nugget's Top 10 Favorite Activities:

10.  Playing in the snow

9.  Throwing the squeaky toy for Doggie. 

8.  Climbing on and off furniture.

7.  Chasing his Bedtime Giraffe up the stairs (we toss it).

6.  Marching to The Uninvited Loud Precision Band.

5.  Reading books:  Where is Baby's Mommy? and Happy Baby Words are this week's top-runners.

4.  Dancing, dancing, dancing.

3.  Playing chase with Daddy.

2.  Turning light switches on and off.

1. Pushing his doll stroller around and around the house.

Top 10 Challenges - 18 months:

10.  Wow, it's hard to just keep up with you.  I feel like I'm in some sort of bootcamp, as you put me through my cardio (chasing you as you dash for something dangerous), strength training (lifting you onto your changing table), and resistance training (pulling on your coat and boots) each hour of the day.  By the time Daddy comes home, I am sweaty and exhausted!

9.  You love Doggie a little too well, a little too much.  You display your affection for her in many ways, including attempting to mount her for a piggyback ride and giving her big hugs while clutching and twisting fistfuls of fur.  She is such a patient Doggie with you, but we are constantly releasing her from your grip.  We console ourselves and Doggie with the knowledge that you love her, so that when you finally do understand that grabbing fur hurts her, you probably never will again.  Her question - is this day coming soon?!

8.  Toddler eating habits.  You are so unpredictable - you are hungry often and eat well, but a food you love one day, you shun the next.  Sneaking veggies into you is a constant battle.  You have an inborn rejection reflex to anything green.  You also intensely desire whatever snack item I did NOT bring with me when we're out of the house.

7.  I want it NOW!  Part of your passionate personality includes impatience.  As in, "I want my crackers 5 minutes ago, woman!"

6.  Your strength is surprising and "He-Man" like.  Whoever minted the phrase, "As easy as taking candy from a baby" had obviously not tried to pry a choking hazard out of your tight little fist.

5.  Communication issues are par for the course with any toddler, presumably.  Your previous needs - food, milk, attention, sleep...were so obvious and simple.  Now when you desperately want something complex, like your bunny facing a certain direction in the stroller, but don't have the words or signs to describe it to us nor the ability to handle it yourself, meltdowns are inevitable.  And loud.

4.   Speaking of loud, your ability to hit 115 decibels without warning may give me permanent hearing loss.  The OSHA daily permissible noise level exposure for 115 decibels is 15 minutes or less, kid.  I'm thinking of filing a complaint to HR.

3.  I refuse to post how much you sleep, because it will come back to bite me.  However, I will say that you are somehow sleeping less than you did, both during the night and during naptime.  I don't see how this is possible since you seem to be in perpetual motion when awake.  I guess you just don't need as much sleep as you used to.  But I do, so can you please just chill in your crib for awhile?

2.  Balancing the challenge of letting you do things independently vs. getting anything done at all is tricky at times.  While I love that you stop to appreciate a tiny crack in the floor and want to zip your own coat, letting you do everything on your own time schedule means we would never eat or leave the house.

1.  Your incessant need to fling things, just to see what happens when a.) they hit the ground and b.) Mommy's head implodes when she has corrected you for throwing stuff for the millionth time.  We're getting close.

Top 10 Memories - 18 months 

10.  Your smile when you discover a bonus cracker hiding in the pocket of your bib or on your lap.

9.  Your peals of laughter when you play with Doggie.

8.  When Daddy lets me sleep in on Saturdays, and I can hear the stomp-stomp of your little feet running across the floor.

7.  When you spontaneously sprint across the room just to give me a big slobbery kiss.

6.  Seeing you proudly pull a book off the shelf for me to read, sit or stand through the whole story, and return the book to the shelf before choosing another one.

5.  Your delight at wiping your own highchair tray or putting your dishes in the sink, just like a "big person".

4.  Catching you in moments of quiet concentration (see picture above).

3.  Listening to you try out new sounds and syllables in your high-pitched little boy voice.  I imagine you having a deep Barry White-sounding bass as an adult, so I'm trying to treasure every little squeal.

2.  Learning how much you actually understand - lately we've been asking you to find us something, like a butterfly on the wallpaper or your blue ball, and I'm always amazed when you can point or bring it to us without coaching.

1.  On short car trips, you talk happily and non-stop.  Your monologue includes, "Ohhhhhhhh, dededededede, ohhhhhh", followed by giggles which turn into maniacal laughter.  I can't help but join you.