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| 18-month pictures by LePhotoDesign |
A few big things come to mind when I think of Maverick these days. 1. He's a toddler. Our baby is gone and we have a full-blown toddler kiddo on our hands. Which is more fun in some ways, more frustrating in many ways, and challenging in different ways. 2. His last four teeth are coming in right now. He goes from being an absolute delight to being a terror in under 60 seconds. It's ridiculous and fascinating and funny all at the same time. 3. He's so smart. Observing the way he plays with his tractors to the particular way he stacks his Legos...I just love watching him figure things out and learn.
The past few weeks have been all about being outside. From the minute Mav wakes up in the morning he starts bringing me his shoes 'asking' to go outside to play. He's frustrated that he can always see his outdoor toys and his pool but he can't PLAY with them when it's cold and rainy out. Combined with the fact that until a week ago our backyard was basically a baby death trap...we weren't outside as much as Mav preferred. NOW that the deck is washed and sealed and we've done some rearranging...he loves spending time out there and his hair is getting blonder by the day. We've kicked into summer mode over here for sure!
He knows what puppies and cows say and it's downright adorable. He gives fives to anyone who asks and will also 'pound it.' He blows kisses, gives kisses to his favorite people, and will also give hugs (if he's in the right toddler-mood when asked). He waves bye-bye when people leave our house, when we're out and about, or when he's 'telling' me he's ready to go...he will just start waving and 'saying' bye-bye to the person I'm in the middle of talking to. He's getting really fast and when we're in the driveway I have to keep a constant eye on him while we work through training and disciplining him on outside no-no's...which are all new to him this year. Last summer at this time he wasn't mobile! He walks on his tippy toes sometimes which is funny and also kind of weird. Still loves being scared, eating raspberries off of his fingers, and playing with his tractor collection from sunup to sundown.
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| Look at this beautiful naughty teeth...do you have any idea how much work those teeth are?! |
1. He's starting to get better at walking on his own while holding my hand for short and direct distances (the church parking lot is still a challenge).
2. He can eat a sandwich in the car, on the go, in the stroller, or at a picnic like a pro. FINALLY.
3. He plays in the bathtub for up to 30 minutes, and because we spent the past 20 months watching him like a hawk and training him to keep his bottom glued to the tub...he's so good at it! I've started to feel comfortable popping in and out of the bathroom checking on him but also picking up the house a little during those 30 minutes before bedtime. I didn't realize how exciting that would be.
Despite some early-wakings the past month, he's been solid in the sleep department. I've noticed he chatters in there a little later some nights and occasionally I hear him happy-talking to himself in the middle of the night...but nothing major. I should disclose that last night was kind of awful...those last four teeth are coming in, I just know it...so he was up twice but went back to sleep with some medicine and cuddles.
Our schedule right now is this:
7/8:00 - Wake up
9:00 - Breakfast
10:30 - Small snack
12:00 - Lunch
1:00 - Nap
3/4:00 - Wake up
4:00 - Snack
6:00 - Supper
7:30 - Bedtime routine
8:00 - Bedtime
It's beautiful. I'm convinced THIS is the best season and schedule for littles. I'm in the sweet spot and I know it...so I intend to never waste it!
Mav still gets a bottle before his big nap and before bedtime stories and cuddles and I don't want to hear about it. I hate it. I've decided once all four of these last teeth are in we're dropping it and with the next kiddo I'm not going to be as much of a pushover about it. One year...DONE. I've now turned it into a 'thing' but I've never heard of a kid dying from having a bottle for too long so whatever. Instead of having to drop a paci (which Mav dropped himself at 4-months) we will struggle to drop the bottle but that's Future-Mollie's problem.
Maverick is in 18 and 24 month clothing for both tops and bottoms which is nice. He's always been right on schedule with clothes that match his age and it makes things easy for me now that I have that figured out. He's in size four diapers, and I'm going to switch him to 5's at night after my next Target trip. He's still in his crib and I'm planning that he'll stay there until at least his 2nd birthday but probably longer based on some of my friends' recommendations. We're not planning to touch potty-training with a 10-foot pole until his second birthday and I probably won't even get his little gray potty out until then (despite the recommendation of our doctor at his 18-month visit).
There are just some things I'm not interested in forcing until he seems ready for them, and those big-ticket items seem to be the things many parents get frustrated about. I am just approaching them with zero expectations and refusing to let them be a battle. I will be the chillest of the chill when it's time. Which is why I've started preparing now. ;)
Mav loves his little blue pool just as much as he did last summer. He likes going back and forth between that and his water table. He has a weird love of couches. He gets the biggest kick out of climbing up, scooching back as far as his booty will go and then tucking his arms behind him. He likes counting, can put his farm puzzle together perfectly, and is obsessed with Elmo and Sesame Street...which is mom's go-to on rainy days or when invoicing didn't quite get done during naptime. He's starting to be interested in playing with other kids and I observed him snatch a toy from an adorable little Asian girl at the library last week which was horrifying...so we have a few things to work on in that department. He will dance if he hears music and Jamie and I DIE when we catch him doing it all on his own.
Our buddy loves wrestling, being scared, being tickled, splashing us in his bath, hiding and waiting for us to come find him, 'driving' daddy's truck, 'helping' daddy work outside at the end of the day, and going for a ride on whatever machine Josh is moving around. Basically he's obsessed with his dad, but I can't blame him because so am I. He cries almost every time he leaves. Yesterday morning he happily spent 20 minutes on Josh's lap with his spoon, just happy to be working with daddy...and LOST HIS EVER-LOVING MIND when I took him away for a diaper change (it was time...he had pooped through to Josh's pants, but I loved how content he was on his lap!).
I would say Maverick is an annoying eater and I'm not sure what I could/should have done differently...some days he downs an entire banana and the next day he refuses it. Some days he scarfs his sandwich happily, some days he holds it toward me and cries. Yesterday while I was at Connection Group Jamie said he didn't eat any of his hamburger (which he LOVES) and she texted me, 'maybe he's tired of grilling?'...to which our collective response was TOO BAD. My mom and Josh are the pushovers in this department...they're always wanting to offer him more of his favorite thing or raid the fridge for anything else he can eat and I have to lay down the law like a real meanie. I've become quite fond of the phrase, 'you get what you get and you don't throw a fit'...and if he does throw a fit and refuses his plate at supper, he can sit there for 30 minutes with the rest of the table. Apparently this is cruel and unusual torture for grandmas and daddies.
We're still trucking in the discipline department and some days it feels like we're floundering to find our way. A few weeks ago there was a day where I felt like all I did was give Mav spanks, but most days he doesn't even get one. He now knows exactly what, 'You need to obey or you get spanks,' means. Aside from teeth (did I mention he's getting his last four?!) he's really well-behaved and happy and chill...with small flashing moments of toddler-hood thrown in. He gets ticked when his wagon comes unhooked from his tractor, when his cow doesn't stay on top of the tractor while he pushes it, and when he can't fit his two favorite Legos together. Other than that he's usually a dream.
Words! Haha the talking department is slow going. I'm not sure why...he clearly understands everything I say, but his main words are dadada, mom, wow, ohhhh, OOOOOO!, and he's started shaking his head and saying nononono which is...delightful. I'm not really bothered by this because he's so good at knowing the commands we work on all day (wash hands, let's go, time for nightnight, time to eat, let's pick-up, want to watch Sesame Street? etc.) the words will come. He likes 'helping' unload the dishwasher, unload groceries, pick-up toys, and just generally put things away. He's always handing me specks of dirt from the floor and making me laugh at how much he's like me in that way.
And one last thing, which might be one of my favorite Maverick-isms...when we're out shopping and he's in the cart, he knows his 'job' is to take and hold the receipt. He's gotten so good at it he now holds his hand out to 'ask' the cashier for the receipt and they look at me like, 'Is it ok that I give this to him?' and I go, 'Yep he knows it's his job,' and they hand it to him and he waves good-bye while we leave and it is just the cutest darn thing I think I've ever seen...especially with the jabbering thrown in the whole time...GAH! He is just so much fun and I LOVE that I get to spend every single day of my life with him!
MmB
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