Mazz Madness!: Miles- 17 & 18 Months

Pre-post warning: this is done several months after it actually occurred because I LOVE spending every waking second with the babies and then when they finally sleep I sleep :) So here is to semi decent record keeping :)

Milestones:

- Winks like a rock star!

- Switch to 'big kid' car seats

- Wearing size 3 diapers

- Started wearing size 3 shoes

- Wears 12-18 month clothes- but mainly 12 months :)

- Has 12 teeth (6 upper and 6 bottom)

- Got rid of paci except for night time and naps- he could probably kick it all together if we tried with him

- Puts his hands up next to his face when I ask him where something is

- Started going to library time

- Points to nose, ears, mouth, eyes, tongue, teeth

- Obsessed with holding his ears or anyone elses while falling asleep

- Says clearly 'No' 'Dog' 'Milk' 'Out' 'All Gone' 'Mommy' 'Daddy' 'Mila' 'Cat' 'Rock' 'Nigh-nigh' 'Bubble Bath' and that is all without prompting- he is also a rock star at repeating anything and everything after you

- Points to moon and say 'Moon'

- Says the animal noises of a cow (and the longest MOO I have ever heard) , dog, bird, duck (really gets into the quacking)

- Had to do himleic maneuver

- Gives kisses to us and pets and Iphone during facetimes (and makes smacking noise and very LONG kisses)

- Dances to Mickey Mouse Club opening song which includes bouncing his legs

- Obeys commands- go get shoes, put in trash can etc

- Copies EVERYTHING sister does

- Still likes to bite sister when she takes his toys

- LOVES to read

- Had first bonfire with marshmellows

- Goes down slide by himself

- Sleeps in pack n play in guest room

- LOVES trucks and cars

Eating:

Miles is a high risk choker- not sure where he gets it from but it makes feeding him very nerve wracking. His eyes are bigger than his throat so he has a tendency to stuff his mouth and then it all can't make it down his throat. He also can't handle objects of weird shapes such as pieces of chips etc. Luckily he has a very sensitive gag reflex too so usually as soon as he starts choking and his eyes start watering he is able to make himself throw up dislodging the food. However the other day in the closet we were putting up clothes and he chocked on a Frito. I swipped my finger in his mouth but it was too far down his throat so I turned him around and did the himleic manuever on the little guy which ended successful and some projectile vomitting. Of course while I was tending to Miles Mallory had a splendid time playing in Miles throw up :( Our little 'over-exaggerator' boy also has learned a new trick of how to make himself gag by putting his finger too far into his mouth when we feed him something he doesn't like. It isn't enough for him to just spit it out he has to purge his whole system just in case some made it down to his stomach. Seriously kid?!?! This kid is going to be my picky picky eater! Breakfast usually consists of cherrios and well.. cherrios. Lunch is usually goldfish crackers or peanut butter crackers and dinner is usually peanut butter crackers with yogurt puffs. I am not sure how he grows when that is what his diet is but the pedi says not to worry. His favorite food hands down is chips or crackers. The sneaky little guy can go into the pantry when I have left it open and can take a chip clip off a bag with his teeth. Of course his favorite food would be something he is likely to choke on.... On the plus side he loves his water! He hasn't figured out how to drink out of a open rimmed cup yet but he sure does like to try ;) He is also very animated in saying "Yum" everytime he takes a sip of water! Confession- we still give him a bottle of milk every night- I will let you know in 8 years when we stop :)

Sleeping:

We realized we truly needed to let them start 'crying' it out during the night when they woke up out of a sleep cycle- but we couldn't do that with the two of them in the same room. So after lots of consideration we moved Miles into the pack n play in the back guest room. We moved him because Mallory is obsessed with the bumper in her crib and does not sleep in a pack n play at all. Miles has loved the adjustment and the peace and quiet of his own room. Daddy didn't sleep a wink the first night we had him back there because he was so concerned he was so far away from us. Luckily Mommy and Daddy are the lightest sleepers ever so we don't even need a monitor because we can hear him stirring in the backroom. Going to bed is Miles/Mommy time and I look forward to it every night :) We get his bottle and go lay down in our bed. He drinks at his leisurely pace starting and stoping quite often and never ever finishes it before he dozes off to la la land in my armpit. I then lay there with him for 30 minutes or so just praying for Miles and his future. Please don't ever grow up Miles! Nap time is going much better with Miles since he is sleeping in the new room. I still rock them to sleep every afternoon and then I place each of them in their beds. He is still my early morning riser but again I adore the one on one time we get every morning :)

Playtime

Miles and I share a special bond that makes me very excited- he LOVES animals! His enthusiasm EVERY time he sees the cat makes me giggle! I never want to forget 'Caaaaaaat' which is what he yells at the top of his lungs everytime he sees him. MJ is a saint and lets Miles do whatever he wants to him whether it is pulling his hair, laying on his stomach or pushing toys on to his head. Every night when we go make sure MJ is in side we go outside to call for him and Miles crouches down and makes a ticking noise with his tongue like we do when we call for MJ- precious!!!! Miles is also in love with Mila and will go lay with her on her bed as long as Mila will sit there. Miles is such a sweet boy and loves watching his sister and copying everything she does. If she takes a sip of water, turns around in a circle, sneezes etc he copies it all :) With Miles being the more submissive one his toys get stolen quite a bit and he has figured out the only way he can get them back is by biting. We haven't figured out the best way to punish him yet because saying a stern 'No' doesn't even make him flinch. Luckily it only happens maybe once a week :( Miles falls into all appropriate stereotypes in that he loves trucks, trains, cars and airplanes. We live close to a railroad track and EVERYTIME we hear the train he moves his hand like he is pulling the horn and says 'choo-choo.' Absolutely adorable! We also live near and airport and EVERYTIME we hear an airplane he points straight up in sky and says airplane. He also pushes his play trucks and cars around our house all day long saying 'Beep-Beep'- it is precious! I have a lot to learn about all the different types of transportation if I am going to keep up with this boy :) However I completely share his LOVE for reading! This little boy would sit in your lap all day long listening to you read him books if we could. We finish one and he goes and grabs another and then backs himself up into my lap. Anyone who comes over-whether he knows them or not-if they will read him a book they are his new best friend and he will set up camp on their laps. He is very good at remembering what is on all the pages and points out all the items on the page he knows.