Frazier was 18 months old!
I need to do an official 18 month photo shoot, but he's kind of hard to get good photos of these days as he's F-A-S-T and forever on the go. Therefore, I am posting some of his Christmas pictures I took a month or so ago. He looks just the same. Adorable.
So here's a rundown of Frazier at 18 months:I enjoyed every minute of having a baby, but having a toddler is even better. He's just better company these days. A little person with plans and opinions of his own. He is very well self-entertained. In fact, most of the time he'd rather just do his own thing than have me in the way trying to play with him. He's always been an easy going little guy, and with the exception of a few amusing (yet embarrassing) public meltdowns and a week of whininess I attribute to a pretty gross cold...he remains so. I find him to be reasonable for the most part and surprisingly compliant. He holds my hand when asked, he stays close to me when we're out. Sometimes I even let him walk next to the buggy at Wal-Mart. And he actually does.
Frazier is generous with affection, and sometimes if I'm sitting on the floor at his level he'll come up and pat me on the shoulder and give me a kiss. Sweetest gesture ever.
He jabbers plenty and repeats words after me, but still isn't a big talker. I look forward to conversing with him. Like, a real conversation where 75% doesn't consist of me trying to guess what he's trying to say. He communicates reasonably well, regardless, I suppose. He comes up and tells me things sometimes that seem so well thought out and I can see in his eyes he knows exactly what he means, but try as I might I just don't understand. His favorite answer to any question is to put his hands out, palms up, as though in a shrug, which means "I don't know" or "I'm not going to tell you".
He engages in imaginative play now which is fun to see; anything can randomly become an airplane or a cell phone and he regularly pretends to eat fake food...and furthermore, he says "yum" as though it is tasty. He gets in his Cozy Coupe, closes the door, waves and says "Bye-bye" as though he's leaving. And every night before bed he parks it in his closet. And he came up with that all on his own!
He's remarkably helpful for someone so small. Every time I sweep, he goes to the laundry room and gets my stick vac (which I always use to suck up the piles of stuff I sweep up). Once, I swept up a little pile, then got distracted before I sucked it up and the next thing I knew Frazier had gotten the vacuum out, plugged it in, and was running the vacuum (albeit off) over the pile spreading it everywhere! I often give him tasks to perform (i.e. throwing something away, closing a door for me, taking his cup and bag to the car) and he is very good at following instructions. This also makes him a great sous chef. He pours things into bowls, stirs, and if I put his little stool out, he even puts things like measuring cups and spoons in the sink for me. Yesterday, I gave him a package of fruit snacks and when they were all gone, he got up from his little table, walked to the laundry room, and threw the package away! I occasionally come into the kitchen to find a sippy cup precariously perched on the edge of the counter in front of the sink. The other day I walked into the bedroom to find him dusting the bedside lamp with some Kleenex.
He is also remarkably destructive for someone so small. I liken him to a tiny tornado leaving piles of rubble in his wake. I spend an inordinate amount of time just picking stuff up. Fortunately, he can often be easily employed to help. I find things "put away" in places they aren't supposed to go as well. Funny little surprises that make my day interesting.Frazier loves music. Playing it, singing it, dancing to it. But he is well-rounded and loves art too. He's focused in both fields...well, really, in everything he does. He's inventive and rarely uses things for their intended purpose, but rather for something else. Which I take to mean he's creative.
He sleeps roughly 7:30 to 7:30 with a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. He loves bathtime and spends a minimum of half an hour in the tub every evening. He's still a pretty good eater, but not as good as he used to be. He used to literally eat anything...but lately, though I continue to offer him a wide variety of things, he's becoming a bit more picky. For instance, he used to eat steamed baby brussel sprouts and last week he ate one, then refused to eat anymore. (And by refused I mean threw them from the highchair one at a time). I suppose I have more of that to look forward to.
I'd have more pictures, by the way, but there was an incident with my laptop and that's where lots of my recent pictures are. So...there's that.
Even though we spend almost every waking moment together, and sometimes I breathe a huge sigh of relief when he goes to bed, it's still the saddest time of my day. And I always feel excited every morning when he wakes up. After all, it's the beginning of another day. And every day I spend with Frazier is a good one, because even at his worst...he's the best.
