Check-up on Charlie

Charlie had his 18 month check-up today. He weighs 30 lbs. 6 oz., and is 32 ½” tall. That’s the 90-95th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height. I didn’t catch his head size this time. He got a couple of shots and a blood test to make sure he’s getting enough iron. He seems to be right on track. Here are some new developments since his last check-up:

• says about 20 words (New words include: cheese, juice, shoes, fish, trash, please, banana, cat, car, and byeee)
• uses fork and spoon fairly well
• kicks and throws a ball
• identifies some items/animals in books
• knows some animal noises (meow and moo)
• can identify several body parts (He’s especially proud of his belly and likes to pull his shirt up to get the big laughs.)
• climbs on everything
• is becoming a little pickier about food
• has shown a little separation anxiety around new people
• mimics blinking, coughing, and sneezing, which he finds hilarious
• likes to dance and sing
• follows directions like “find your sippy cup” “throw it in the trash” “take this to daddy”
• scribbles with crayons, pens, and pencils (Sometimes on the kitchen tile.)
• likes to help sweep and vacuum
• brings me empty dog food bowls to refill, which he then puts back on the floor (without spilling!) where they belong
• loves to show out and capture other people’s attention when we are out in public
• loves to laugh and make others laugh
• likes to kiss and hug (His little pucker is so cute.)
• says “poo poo” when he’s, well, you know…


A Series of Unfortunate Poo Events:
Speaking of poo, I’ve had a few surprises when I go to get him up from a nap. I’ll spare you the details, but we now have a rule that Charlie isn’t allowed to sleep without wearing pants or shorts. I’ve found him without a diaper before, naked and jumping up and down in his crib, but the poo incidents involved digging for gold, if you know what I mean…

Inside Time
We’ve had lots of inside play time these last few weeks with the cool and rainy weather. We have a bean bag tossing game that I dig out for something different to play with. He doesn’t really understand that the objective is to toss the bean bags. He just likes to pick them all up and place them directly in the hole. If anything, he’s efficient! We also get out our tent and tunnels from Granny and Granddaddy and set them up in the living room. I also stack pillows so he can climb. He also enjoys climbing all over his rocking chair from Gam Gam and Mr. Gam Gam (Dave’s dad).

Teething
Charlie has done so well with teething. With the first 12, he chewed a lot on his hands, but never had fever or other ill effects. Until last week. He has four canines coming in and was very easily frustrated, whiny, and cranky. I would’ve thought that these would be the easiest teeth since they are pointy, but they gave him lots of trouble. I checked them today, and two have broken through, and the other two are almost there. So maybe we are almost out of the woods.