Eighteen Months
Eighteen months is the best age. There are great things about other phases, but for me, the combination of new skills every day, toddler exuberance, and baby squishiness is simply unbeatable. And this kid, with the curls and the belly and the profound confidence in his own awesomeness, borne of having three adoring older siblings? Goodness, I am whipped.
He loves reading stories, the toy animals, birds, airplanes, Gunnar, Grandpa, and trucks. He has no idea that he isn't four years old. For a tiny guy, he can really keep pace with each of the other kids and tries really hard to do everything they do. To their enormous credit, all three of the older kids try to include him in what they're doing.
He gets away with all kinds of misbehavior because he's the beloved baby of the family. Like his propensity to find an object, play with it for two minutes, and finish by chucking it at the head of the nearest person. Also his love of emptying out the arts & crafts cabinets over and over and over. Or his inclination to walk up and slap people/pets on the head and then smile like he knows he's too cute to reprimand. We may be creating a terrorist, but he's going to be a really cute, really funny, really resourceful terrorist.
Lots of new words every day, plus two- and three-word phrases! I so love talking toddler. My favorite words are:
And three-word phrases like, "want ice cream," "NO HEIDI MINE," and "I did it!"
Baby is totally ready to potty train so we're taking baby steps in that direction. We have a big road trip coming up and I don't want a semi-trained toddler in the car. But he's telling us when he's about to poop, sitting on the potty occasionally, getting cool with sitting on and flushing the big toilet. His temperament is much like Ingrid's, so I'm hoping that shared ruthless determination will make him equally easy to potty train.
We have lots of travel behind us and lots more coming up. This age is still tough to have on the road. And yet I can't imagine any family experience without him. He's everyone's favorite and that enriches every dynamic. I would keep him 18 months old forever and ever and ever and ever.
He loves reading stories, the toy animals, birds, airplanes, Gunnar, Grandpa, and trucks. He has no idea that he isn't four years old. For a tiny guy, he can really keep pace with each of the other kids and tries really hard to do everything they do. To their enormous credit, all three of the older kids try to include him in what they're doing.
Lots of new words every day, plus two- and three-word phrases! I so love talking toddler. My favorite words are:
- P'akern (popcorn)
- Nack (snack)
- Coodoo (carry you)
- Dyump (jump)
- Brudduh (brother)
- Butt-tseeks (buttcheeks, aka Henry's alter ego, Buttcheeks Bickleston)
- Table
- Zoot (suit, his beloved sleep suit)
- Yo-git (yogurt)
- Wish (fish)
- Wine-uh (lion)
- Woot (foot)
- Dampa (grandpa)
And three-word phrases like, "want ice cream," "NO HEIDI MINE," and "I did it!"
Baby is totally ready to potty train so we're taking baby steps in that direction. We have a big road trip coming up and I don't want a semi-trained toddler in the car. But he's telling us when he's about to poop, sitting on the potty occasionally, getting cool with sitting on and flushing the big toilet. His temperament is much like Ingrid's, so I'm hoping that shared ruthless determination will make him equally easy to potty train.
We have lots of travel behind us and lots more coming up. This age is still tough to have on the road. And yet I can't imagine any family experience without him. He's everyone's favorite and that enriches every dynamic. I would keep him 18 months old forever and ever and ever and ever.
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