18-Month Check-Up

Can you believe it's been 18 months?!!  I know, me neither.  I can't even believe it's been 6 months since his birthday.  Technically, though, he's not 18 months until next Sunday, but we went to the doctor already.  She wanted him to see him a week before we left for Thailand just in case he had any reactions to his immunizations.

This was the first time that Austin expressed any opinion about being at the doctors -- a negative opinion, of course.  He screamed as he was weighed and measured...literally screamed.  And then he went ballistic when the doctor tried to listen to his lungs and look into his ears.  He's been going through a pretty severe case of separation anxiety lately (perfect time to send him to nursery, right?), so maybe he thought the doctor was going to take him.  Whatever it was, he was not happy and he let us know.  And then the nurse gave him two shots.  So, yeah, it was a pretty traumatic experience -- for both of us. 

BUT, I love his pediatrician.  I feel like a super mom after talking to her.  As usual, Austin is right on track in every way.  He still isn't talking as much as would be convenient for me (though the doctor says he's where he should be), but I guess it's a bit unrealistic to expect him to say, "Mom, I'm hungry.  I would like a grilled cheese, some grapes, and water in my blue sippy cup."  So, for now I'll just keep interpreting the words and half words he does say.

Austin's 18 Month Stats:
Weight: 25.2 pounds (50 percentile)
Height: 32.75 inches (75 percentile)
Head: 48 centimeters (50 percentile)

Most popular vocab words: mama, dada, nana, papa, baa (Baxter), more, milk, no-no, caca (if something is gross), uh uh (uh oh), lala (Laura, as in Aunt Laura), go (in direct command to Baxter), hi, bye.

 We love little Austin more than ever these days.  He's so fun and silly all the time.  He has a charming little personality.  At 18 months, Austin...

...is showing a streak of independence.
...does things he knows are "no-no's" on purpose (and he looks at us while doing them to see how far he can get without us stopping him).
...could probably eat cheese for every meal (especially cheddar).
...has started getting embarrassed easily.
...loves Sesame Street.
...barks when he sees a dog.
...has been taking 3 or 4 hour naps regularly (which has been heavenly for me).
...is obsessed with airplanes.
...is starting to play on his own a little more
....loves to Skype with his Nana.
...makes the appropriate sounds when playing with his dinosaurs or cars.
...has been put on time out a handful of times.
...climbs on everything.
...love to dunk his fries (or anything really) in "dippies" (ketchup, ranch, etc.).
...signs some words (milk, more, food, all done, please)
...loves to give his Daddy zugas (or raspberries if that's what you call them).
...has almost a full set of teeth.
...loves to be naked.

Notice the monkey backpack in the bottom middle picture.  It attaches to a "leash" so he can't wander too far from us.  We bought it for our trip to Thailand and he LOVES wearing it.  Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?