One and a Half!

Dax is 18 months old. How can his second year already be half over? It seemed like another ideal time to reflect on his growth over the past months. So, here's a snapshot of our sweet little boy. Ok, it's more than a snapshot, but it's hard to describe our complex, curious, amazing little guy in just a few words.

First, the stats. We elected to have an 18 month appointment for Dax even though it is unnecessary. We partly wanted to double check that all was well with his gross motor development as you may remember the 15 month appointment was a little overwhelming.  We also like to have official measurements of his growth, especially since he has become a pretty picky eater. He has remained consistent - 10th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height and 95th percentile for head circumference!

Measuring our big boy at home

His head doesn't look that big!

The most noticeable change in Dax is his communication. His vocabulary is constantly growing, but even more than that, his verbal interactions are becoming more interesting. He will repeat literally anything that we say, but has gone beyond that to initiate conversation - he often requests a particular CD (usually Raffi or "Okee Brothers") or book - and responds appropriately to simple questions that we ask. It is so fun to be able to talk with him!

Dax is also growing in his knowledge and expression. He has become interested in shapes and colors and can correctly identify most, plus he will regularly count toys that he is playing with or pictures in books. He can typically count up to ten, but sometimes gets mixed up past 5.

He is also very observant of everything going on around him. Dax will consistently notice and identify sounds that we don't pay attention to until he points them out including motorcycles, airplanes, "bargage" (garbage) trucks, and trumpet, banjo, and guitar sounds in music. Part of this has to do with them being some of his favorite things - he LOVES music and has recently become interested in vehicles as well.

He is also visually observant. Every car ride ends with him saying, "Home!" when we turn onto our block. Jake and Dax have also developed a game this summer; Jake hides Dax's Joker figurine somewhere in plain sight before he goes to work and Dax is thrilled when he finds it. That has helped him to pay even more attention to his world.

Additionally, Dax enjoys playing with his zoo and, of course, looking at real animals. Plus, his interest in balls has continued and grown. He will shoot balls into a hoop throughout his entire bath every evening, he daily takes out all of his balls (which has become quite the extensive collection) and kicks and throws them around the room, he pulls his soccer ball and goal out of the garage every time we play in the yard, and he is happiest if he has a ball to hold while riding in the car.

One thing that he has not always liked is water. In the past couple of months, though, Dax has grown to enjoy his baths and plays and plays when there is water around.

I could go on and on about him, but I will end with Dax's personality. He is both shy and incredibly friendly. He will shout, "Hi!" to strangers down the aisles at stores, but takes awhile to warm up when we are around friends and family. He is a wild-man at home and loves to explore. One day he ran to the other room and it sounded like he fell so I asked if he was okay and he came running back to say, "I'm OK. Stay here." Silly boy. He has also started to climb up onto all of the furniture, runs everywhere, and constantly makes us cringe. He falls pretty often, but typically pops up immediately saying, "I'm OK!" He did, however, have his first skinned nose recently, and I know I am just beginning to feel the constant nerves that come with being the mom of a little boy.

First face scrape - better than it could be, worse than not face planting

Awhile back I saw a quote that seems appropriate as Dax continues to keep us on our toes. It was a simple definition: "Boy: noise with dirt on it."