18 Months!

I think at my age it's still appropriate to celebrate half-birthdays; so, I should get a year-and-a-half present! Can you believe I’m half-way through my first year of toddlerhood! I love being a big boy. I am starting to understand that I have a personality and my own desires. Just ask Mommy how I demonstrate this new discovery when she says, “No cars while you eat.” Or Daddy says, “Let’s go change your diaper!” I definitely let them know that I disagree with their stifling statements. My favorite ploys are arching my back, going limp or a short, high-pitched scream of frustration—depending on the situation. I’m sure this phase goes hand-in-hand with my “testing.” I love to make Mommy or Daddy say, “No.” I just want to make sure they really mean it—that it’s not some sort of verbal hiccup. I’m here to help. All my shenanigans aside, I still love being around people. I love charming them with my dimples when I smile. I’ve started waving and yelling, “Hi” at other shoppers in the aisles or strangers in line at the post office. Usually, they smile and wave back. After all, I have a pretty loud greeting, “Haaayyyyyeee! Haaaayyyyeeee!” I love to give Mommy and Daddy hugs and a kisses before bed. I smile after each kiss; then turn, give them a big hug and pat their backs! (I smile even bigger when Mommy and Daddy ask for a kiss and I don’t give one!) Without a doubt, I am obsessed with cars—or anything with wheels. Mommy says I should find a new hobby. She insists that the fine audience who reads this journal must be growing tired of hearing about my fascination with cars. So, I’ll talk about how much I love books. When I finally sit still at home or during playdates, it’s because I’ve found a stack of books somewhere. I’ll sit on the floor, on the couch or in a toddler chair and flip through books. Of course, the book I want is always on the bottom of the stack. I love exploring the pages—especially animal books, books that make noise, car books, truck books, train books, airplane books, etc. Do you notice a trend? I’m very curious with buttons, too. I love to push buttons or switches (especially on electronics). I can quietly explore a remote control for 30 minutes. Likewise, I could talk about how I like music. I love to dance to music. I bend my knees to bob up & down, put my hands in the air or spin in circles. I really love it when Mommy and Daddy sing, too. When I’m acting up in the cart, stroller, carseat, highchair, on the changing table, etc., Mommy or Daddy can usually calm me down by singing “Hush Little Baby,” “I’m a Little Teapot,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or my favorite (you figure out why), “The Wheels on the Bus.” When I want someone to sing “The Wheels on the Bus,” I start shaking my wrist back and- forth (like the wheels going “round and round!”) I shake my wrists whenever I see a school bus or city bus, too. It’s my sign for bus. (WARNING: This paragraph is for grandparents or speech therapists with occupational interest only!) Some of you have asked how many and which words I’m saying these days, so I took a few minutes to write them down (and Mommy made notes): car (this was really his first word), Daddy (says very regularly), Mommy (says when prompted, usually he just calls me “Car!”), truck (also does the sound of a big diesel truck), train, “beep! beep!,” tire, ball, dog (his special toy is a doggy blanket), duck (his nursery theme), hi (and wave), bye (and wave), cheese, shoe, sock, shirt, fish (he went on a big “sh” sound spree there), Elmo (“mo”—he doesn’t even watch Sesame Street!?) and Anna (“na”), Skyler (“sssigh”), Ashley (“aie”) & Sydney “(“sa”)—all his little cousins. I also sign the following words: milk, eat, all done, car, bus, book, bath (splashes his hands), and please (now how do we teach him that just because he says please, doesn’t mean he gets what he wants!) I’m also good with noises (word replacement). The pediatrician says these count as “words,” too, I guess. I make noises for the following words: dog (“huh, huh, huh”—like a dog panting), cat (“meow”), bird (“caw”), horse (“clop-clop”—clicks his tongue), cow (“moo”), pig (“gruntgrunt”— like an actual pig snort, not an oink), frog (“grunt grunt”—same as a pig!), snake (“sssssss”), bee (“zzzzz”), monkey (“aahh-aahh”), gorilla (“ooo-ooo”—and then beats his chest), firetruck, police car & ambulance (“rooooo-rooooo”—for anything with a flashing light), a big dump truck, cement truck, or any big rig (“rrrrr, rrrr, rrrrr”—like a big diesel truck). I’ve also started using two-word sentences. “Milk please,” after I wake up from my afternoon nap is a favorite. So, that’s a typical snapshot of my interests other than cars, you’ll see there’s still a general trend. Most of my interests revolve around things with wheels. I still get excited when the big rig next door starts his engine for work in the morning or an airplane flies overhead. I’ll point out the window or up in the sky and yell, “car!” During playdates or at the nurseries for church and MOPS, I run to the cars right away. Ride-on cars, small matchbox cars, big dumptrucks I can push on the ground; I like them all! I’ll find all the cars in my toy baskets and line them up bumper to bumper on the window sill. Mommy and Daddy did some landscaping this fall; while we were at the big garden center looking at plants, I found a small, Rubbermaid-like garden trolley and entertained myself by pushing that around for nearly 45 minutes! Needless to say, Mommy encourages this passion a little more than Daddy would like. “Oh, gee, another toy truck…just what we need!” Mommy and Daddy did get together though to surprise me with my first movie, “Cars,” of course. They waited until it was at the dollar theater in case they had to leave the theater half-way through the show (especially since I don’t even sit still to watch TV yet). Grandma Breyen sewed a camp shirt and matching hat out of “Cars” material for the event. Mommy took photos of me & Daddy in front of the marquee. I was in awe for the first 30 minutes—just in a trance. When the racecar hero in the movie, Lightning McQueen, first appeared on the screen, I pointed at the screen, turned towards Daddy, then whipped my head towards Mommy and gave them a look that said, “Are you guys seeing this? There are giant, talking cars up there! This can’t be happening! I never want this moment to end!” I lasted about an hour in the dark theater. Then Mommy and Daddy took turns tag-teaming to take me out into the halls to run around (which was fun in its own rite). After the movie, we all went to Chik-Fil-A (kids eat free on Tuesdays!) We had so much fun! In other news since the last update, we went to the lake for Labor Day weekend. The whole Goodwin clan was there. I got my first ride on a jetski with Mommy & Daddy. Two weekends later, we went to Houston for Jason’s cousin Lee’s wedding, my first one; I stayed up until 10:00—way past my bedtime (and Mommy and Daddy were still one of the first guests to leave the celebration!) That weekend I had my first Ikea experience, too. I ran around the store for four straight hours. It’s like a giant playground (except for the lighting and vases area). Daddy had two more rounds of tests. Mommy is keeping up with a full fall schedule (which is fine with me, because I get to see other kids whenever she goes to one of her “meetings”). She’s happy to note that the house is “almost” set up (unhappy to note that it’s taking so long). Let’s just say she wouldn’t kick you out of the house if you wandered upstairs by mistake. Other than that, I’ve been busy cutting my molars, exploring my world and running everywhere I go! I leave Thursday, October 19th for a 10-day trip to Iowa and Minnesota to see my cousins and Grandma & Grandpa. Yippee! Another airplane trip--I can't wait! Until next time, Nathaniel