Fox | 18 Month Update

Weight:

24.6 lbs

Height:

32 inches

Health:

Poor guy had his first ear infection this month. When he didn’t act like himself and had a really runny nose and light cough, we knew something was up. Luckily, we got him into the doctor quickly and he had to take his first round of antibiotics. He is such a trooper though, he was still happily playing for the most part and slept like a champ. 

He also had his second dentist visit this month and they said his teeth looked perfect!

Nicknames:

Big Honey, Bubba, Turkey, Schatzi, Bubbles, Mr. Fox, Foxy, Pumpkin, Poodle 

Eating:

Still the pickiest eater ever. It’s one of my biggest struggles and worries as a mom, because I always feel like he’s not getting the right nutrients. The doctor said he was growing fine and nothing to be worried about, but I still do. You could put a big piece of chocolate on his tray and he would dry heave, not knowing what it is, but refusing to even try it.

His favorites this month were fish sticks, chicken, blueberries, apple sauce, yoghurt, bananas, smoothies, strawberries, Carmela’s Chicken (it’s a Pasta Dish we get at Macaroni Grill and the kid is obsessed), ketchup (he’s obsessed and yells “ack” when he wants it), Belvita Breakfast bars, dried fruit

Teething: 

No new teeth this month, he has 16 now. 

Sleeping:

He’s been sleeping great. We get about 11 hours at night and 2-3 hours for nap. 3 hours is the norm, but you never know.  

He goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up around 7am. He’s been doing better at falling asleep more quickly than last month, which might be because we moved his bedtime a little back.

He loves to read books before bed and has his favorites (Laura’s Star, Mommy, Mama & me, Pout Pout Fish, Where the wild things are). After books, we rock and sing songs for a few minutes and he will usually tell us when he’s ready for bed and gets really excited when we ask him if he wants to go to bed. Some nights, he knows bedtime is coming though and he tries to distract us, pointing at random things in his room, yelling “Woooow!”. Smart cookie!

Diapers:

Size 4

Clothing:

18-24 months, Size 5 Shoe  

Social:

He’s still acting shy sometimes, although he’s been getting better in public. He smiles at everyone, gives people high fives and “knuckles” and waves his little heart out.

He recently started to hit us, but he knows that he has to apologize immediately and leans in for a hug and a kiss a second after he hits you. It’s so cute, but we’re trying to teach him that hitting is not acceptable.

He understands right from wrong, but sometimes does things to get a reaction.

We don’t have another kid to compare him to, but everyone is always commenting on what a good boy he is and we agree. He listens well and is happy 99.9% of the time. Which probably means our next kid will be a terror…lol.

He is very empathetic and gets very upset when someone he loves get hurt. He shows his boo boo lip and starts bawling immediately, it is so cute and sad at the same time.

Fox can throw tantrums like no ones business. If he doesn't get what he wants, he shows us his boo boo lip, acts like he's hitting us and then usually trolls off in a corner and shows us his cold shoulder. It's hard not to laugh when he does it!

His favorite word is "Nooooo".

He can also be very sweet and has been really attached to his Mamas. My favorite thing right now is, when he grabs my hand and pulls me somewhere, because he wants to go somewhere or show me something. 

Words:

Oh my word, his vocabulary exploded this month and I can’t even remember all the words he says now. It’s mostly one word phrases though, his pediatrician told us that his language will most likely be delayed compared to other kids his age, since he is learning three languages (English, German and Matthias speaks Danish with him). They said his comprehension is much better, but the speaking part will most likely be behind for a while. So far they said he is right where he should be, but we’ll see what happens in the future.

Some new words that come to mind this month were Water, Santa, Outside and Minnie. He repeats a lot of the things we say, or at least tries to. 

Likes:

Music and dancing (his favorite song is “The Disneyland Paint the Night Parade"), being outside, swimming, bigger kids, sleeping on his side and stomach, Cosie, showering, having his mommies attention, watching videos of himself, cell phones and remotes, playing peek-a-boo, playing hide and seek, his stuffed animals, looking at pictures of Katie, me and himself on our picture wall, our vacuum cleaner, phones, playing soccer, riding and sitting in his cozy coupe, being independent, the Children’s Museum , the Aquarium, Open Play at Gymboree, reading books, balls, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, riding those mechanical cars in the mall, climbing, watching the Disney parade on youtube, Kettle Corn (we can thank grandpa for that one!), pretend driving our car (he throws an epic meltdown whenever we tell him no), Trick or Treating, putting his fingers and hands in his nose and mouth (not sure what's up with that, he just started this recently and never quits)

Dislikes:

When we take something away from him, changing his diaper or getting dressed (basically anything where he is restrained), putting lotion on after his bath, kisses from our dog Cosie (I don’t blame him, he never quits!), when we don’t allow him to do something, when we go inside after playing outside, trying new foods

Fun things we did:

We had so much fun this month. We went to three Pumpkin Patches, had a Halloween Party at our house and went Trick or Treating. Fox loved it all!

Matthias family came to visit us and Fox went to the Arizona State Fair twice, once with us and once with Grandma and Grandpa! He also went to the Zoo, we are so happy that the weather is finally better to go outside!

Milestones:

He learned so many words this month and understands a lot as well. While he speaks more English than German words, I know he understands them, but I’m hoping to boost his German in the next few months (Our new au pair, who will start in January, is actually from Germany and will speak German to him as well – I’m thrilled!).

He started mimicking children songs this month, doing the motions to Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Teapot. So cute!

What we’re looking forward to:

We are going on a Cruise with Katie’s family to the Caribbean and can’t wait to spend a full week with Mr. Fox.

We are also looking forward to all the Christmas activities starting, to decorate our house and see Santa. Fox is obsessed with Santa, he points him out at every store, asks to see him on TV and I can’t wait to see what happens when he meets the real deal!