18 month check up

Here are the stats I promised you from Hayden's 18 month visit to the doctor:

Stats:

• 32.5 inches tall--That's 3 inches in 3 months!  (50th %ile)
• 24.25 lbs--a gain of 2.35 lbs in 3 months. (25th %ile)
• 47.5 cm head circ.--gain of 1.5cm in 3 months.  (40th %ile, up from the 10th!)

Hayden with his infamous Quack-Quack.  He needed to have it at the park today...just in case.

I was sooooo relieved to see Hayden is finally making some progress physically!  I've noticed his 18 month shorts are FINALLY starting to sit on his hips correctly (they used to just barely hang on!), and they are short enough now because his legs have finally grown.  I've also noticed he's a lot heavier than he used to be.  I'm sure that that 2.35lbs he gained was pure muscle.  

Language:

Hayden has a few words (not a lot, but he is still able to communicate verbally/with sign, so it's all good).  He knows Wasss sat?, Alllll Duuuuuh, YAY!,  Uh ohhhhhhh, this, Issssahguh?  (which I think means, Is it good?  It's a question I'm constantly asking him, and I'm thinking he's copying me.  He'll say it all the time, but never really when it makes sense to use it).  Hi, HaaaaaaayDEN! Dad, disssses (kisses),and mmmmbob.  I think he's trying to say "mom".  Someday....

I couldn't get Hayden to stay near me at the park.  He kept running away!  Later on he took his shoes off and tried running away and took a tumble to the ground.  Poor guy scratched up his knees and elbows  :(  He was not a happy camper.

 He's also made up his own little language.  I swear it sounds like Chinese!  He swishes words on the end...if you speak Chinese, I guess you'd know what I mean, ha ha.  But he's made up little phrases in his own language that he repeats all the time.  So, you know that he knows what he's saying, you just can't understand it.  

Oh, and Hayden now whispers.  Last night we were getting Hayden ready for bed and he just started whispering to Paul!  He wasn't using real words, but it was pretty cute.  I don't know if he picked that up in nursery at church, or just decided to try it out on his own, but I like it.

Hayden and Kayden got to play together at the park today!  I walk with Kayden's mom 3 times a week, so after our walk we stop in at the park.  Hayden was trying to help Kayden have fun on this rocking horse.  So cute!

Physical Development:

He can climb just about anything he wants to.  His rocking chair, our bed, and the couches are no longer safe!  I used to be able to put my purse in the middle of my bed and he couldn't get to it.  Now I'll find him on my bed and he's pulled all the credit cards/I.D.'s out of my wallet.  Thanks kid. 

Counters are no longer safe as well.  This morning I asked him, for example, if he was ready for breakfast.  Usually he'll run to his high chair and wait for me to strap him in.  Today, he decided he could get breakfast himself.  He saw an open package of saltines on the counter, reached for it, and dumped them ALLLLL out.  he then picked up 2 crackers and proceeded to munch on them.  This was all before I could get over there.  You know that horrible feeling when you can see something happening, but it's over before you can even think about getting there?  Yeah, that was today.  

Hayden though that Quack-Quack should take a ride on the swings.  Kind of funny because Hayden himself HATES the swings.  He lasts literally about 8 seconds and then cries.  :-/

Hayden's fine motor skills are really starting to progress, thank goodness!  I bought Hayden some Mega Blocks at Walgreens (of all places) right after he turned one.  They were on a HUGE sale and I couldn't pass them up ($5 for a huge box of them marked down from $20) !  They are rated for 1 year olds, but Hayden didn't really understand them at the time.  Banging them together or dumping them out of the box and then cleaning them up again were his favorite activities to do with them.  Last night (seriously, just last night) he figured out how to STACK them!  He does it perfectly and it's like all of a sudden, it just made sense to him.  We were so proud!  I thought Paul was going to cry, he was so excited!  Ok, maybe not, but he was super proud.

Problem Solving/Following Direction:

Hayden is really started to get better at listening to my directions and solving problems.  Last night we were cleaning up toys before bed, and he decided to pick up one of his big Mega Blocks and put it back in it's box.  Then he walked away.  Daddy told him there were more that he could pick up and asked if he could get them and put them in the box too.  Soooo, one by one, he picked up each block and put it back in the box.  AWESOME!  He's self cleaning.  Now if only my oven was....

Did I mention Hayden has a slight fetish with shoes?  Tonight was the first time he tried our shoes on.  Here he's trying to get into his daddy's work shoes.  Oh, and his other new thing is pointing.  He thinks it's so funny!

Oh, Hayden's also obsessed with our garbage can.  He'll literally put anything in it--even his beloved binkies!  I know the garbage can for him is so exciting, so if I have something I need to throw away, I tell Hayden and he knows exactly what to do with it.  I'm hoping this will help curb his appetite to throw things away when he's not asked to do it.  We shall see.

Colors:  

We haven't done much with color, but we talk about the color red ALL THE TIME.  I've decided it's Hayden's favorite.  Playing with blocks however, I can tell Hayden has a quiet intelligence on the matter.  This morning he was building a tower.  I looked over at it only to find that he had picked out all the black blocks to use in his tower.  NEVER have I encouraged him to pick out certain colors...but he just told me that he's ready.  

Emotional:

We have finally, successfully, weaned Hayden to  his binkie for just naps and bed time.  He used to suck on his thumb if he didn't have his binkie, but that is no more!  I have noticed, however, that he is becoming attached to other things.  He loves carrying blankets around.  It doesn't have to be a certain one--any blanket will do.  He also has a duck that Aunty Mandy gave him that he is in love with!  We call him "Quack Quack" because "Duckie" sounds to much like "binkie".  It's always in the room with him.  He carries it around the house and gives it loves and kisses!  Paul thinks it's gross, but hey, it's washable and good for emotional development.  SO THERE!

Hayden also knows about "kissing" now.  If I ask for kisses, he'll usually lean in (mouth open, of course) and plant one on me.  Then he'll run over to daddy to give kisses. 

Social: 

You should see the progress Hayden has made socially!  It still takes him 5-10 minutes to warm up to a crowd of people, but once he does, he plays like a champ!  When we have the boys over for date night babysitting, (1 Friday/month), he's rough-housing and holding his own!  All the boys are older than him--they're all 2 but some are getting close to 3.  Hayden pillow fights with the boys, doggie piles, and jumps up and down on the couch.  That's actually not my favorite thing, but I let them do it supervised for a few minutes.  Even if Hayden gets clocked in the head with a pillow, he just laughs it off.  I'm so glad he has some slightly older boys to play with and learn from!

Isn't Hayden's wagon a-DOR-able?  I love it.  Best purchase EVER.  And he's finally figured out how to use if the correct way.  He piled his mega blocks into the back like he was on a mission, and then wheeled it around like a pro!

Lately, I've also noticed that Hayden likes to love on girls!  One of the girls we watch for date night (she's 4 close to 5) loves to play with Hayden.  He'll run up to her and give her a hug and she hugs him right back.  He also loves to love on Mary, a 17 month old friend.  We actually caught him giving kisses!  Later on Mary decided to return the favor and tried to give Hayden some hugs.  By then he was not interested and pushed her away!  This thoroughly confused Mary.  Someday she'll learn...boys don't know how to show their emotions, lol!!