Magical Milestones

18 Months Old!!

10 Things I Love
Fruit and more specifically-grapes, Dinner, Baby Signing Time, Pooh Jeep or 4-wheeler, playing outside, throwing balls, pacy & cuddles, juice, shoes, being tickled

I can't believe that Peanut is a year and half old. Time just keeps cruising by. Here are his stats and percentiles for his 18 month appointment:

Height: 31.5" (38%)
Weight: 23.7 lbs (23%)
Head Circumference: 19 (69%)

The appointment went well, we didn't get any immunizations because we are taking our time on those; however, there is a concern with Kayden that I'll quickly mention. When Kayden was born we noticed a small, tiny indention on his left ear towards the top, best described as a pin prick (see picture). Over the last 6 months or so he has been having problems with it, including swelling, sensitivity, and leaking fluid, which, appears that it got infected. I pointed it out to his pediatrician and she had never seen anything like it before so she went to get another doctor's opinion. Verdict is, but they aren't for certain, is that it is some sort of canal that leads into his ear or brain and it was in deed infected. She pushed on it to try and get some of the infection out to get a culture on it and I'll hear back about that probably next week. In the meantime, Kayden was put on antibiotics to help with the infection and prevent a Staph infection. I was instructed to call a pediatric surgeon, that this issue will most likely have to be resolved with surgery. Poor Monkey!

Not happy after Dr. Mona pushed on his ear.

Over the past year our doctors office has grown and underwent major remodeling. The kids don't mind going there because of all the cool toys, 2 different movies going on, the train tracks that go around the office (includes tunnels!), and various other activities. The doctors are all very nice I just don't like a few of thier practices and the way they do things. I'm still debating if I want to switch pediatricians or not.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, and look at his ear, you'll see the tiny pin prick hole and that it is very swollen.

So what else is Kayden up to?

Words/Language: Bye-bye, Bah (ball), Mama, Dah (Daddy), behy buh (belly button), fli-fla (flip-flop), gan (again), baba (for his pacy), boo (book), mhmm (nodding yes), no, sip-pah (zipper), se-bra (zebra), dow (down), dia-per, and duh-bah which we have no idea what he's trying to say but says it often.

Physical: He has all his teeth as of about 2 months ago, and a head full of hair that needs cut about once every 6 weeks. As you can tell from his stats that he is short and thin but that doesn't keep slow him down. He is VERY active, is learning to run faster and is all over the place. He is a pro at stairs and has been for quite a while. When we go to friends' homes, they get nervous when he is on the stairs not knowing he's been going up and down them since he was around 12 months old. He can throw a ball like he's pitching for the Atlanta Braves in the world series (perhaps that isn't saying much for Kayden), but the kid can still chuck a ball quite the distance. As we all know he loves to climb, that's why we call him Monkey. He enjoys closing doors and will sometimes close himself in a room--he's starting to grasp the concept of opening them as well, now that he's able to reach them. He stomps his feet on the floor for marching and is learning how to jump

Eating/Sleeping Habits: He eats all day every day unless he is sick so that's a great indicator to me that something is going on. And what goes in must come out, so Mama changes LOTS of dirty diapers. He loves fruits and snacks in his penguin snack trap cup so he can be on the go but keep that tummy full. He isn't too keen on veggies (surprise, surprise), but does like green beans and occasionally carrots. I have to sneak the others in there but cutting them up small and hiding them in his other food. He doesn't mind the color green in his food, yet, so until then, it's sneaky sneaky. He's a GREAT sleeper and will sleep between 10-13 hours at night and is finally got himself down to one nap a day. I'm hoping that by 2 he doesn't feel the need to pass on his nap. He still loves his pacy and I'm okay with that. He enjoys his cuddles with a good cuddle time in Mama's lap. When he gets tired or wants to relax he takes mostly his left hand and grabs his neck and will squeeze it a little--so cute!

Cognitive: He's mastered putting things in and out, he is learning shapes and understands that certain objects can fit in only one spot. For example, placing appropriate shapes in their designated spot in his shape sorter, putting keys in the door, screw drivers ON the screw and not just a random hole. He knows the animal sounds to monkey (go figure), elephant, cat, cow, dog and for a rabbit he'll take his finger and go up and down for boing, boing, boing since rabbits don't really makes sounds--they jump. He tries with sheep, frog, and rooster but haven't quite mastered it. He's very sharp and understands commands or anything you ask him to do. Typically, it's Keilana's responsibility to let Bo in and out to go potty to assist in caring for him. However, Lana was at Nanny's house so I asked Kayden if he would let Bo outside just to see what he would do. Without skipping a beat or taking a second thought, he headed for the stairs, climbed down and went straight to the door, trying to open it for Bo to go out. I thought it was so cute and sweet! He helps get himself dressed and undressed, and wants to help change his diaper by undoing the velcrow and pulling the diaper out from underneath him.

Personality: Still calm and tame as his Hawaiian name suggests, you hardly know that Kayden is around. He does scream quite a bit when he is tired or doesn't want to be bothered by his sister, but for the most part is quiet. He plays VERY well by himself and doesn't need someone or something, like the TV, to entertain him. In fact, he doesn't care too much for TV but will watch Baby Signing Time. Another favorite activity is pulling things and watching them trail behind him, whether it be a toy, a cord or right now he's pulling my glue gun around the house. He shows signs of concern and will help out where he can. For example, if my neice, Allison, is crying or sad, he'll find her pacy or blanket on the ground and give it to her. When he has something in his hand and doesn't want anyone to take it from him, he'll swing his arm and say, "uh-uh". On the occasion he'll also hit doing that to get my attention. Kayden is a little shy when it comes to meeting new people but if there are kids and toys around he does pretty well. He isn't timid of noises and like I have mentioned before is usually up for a good adventure and trying out new things.