the brandenburg's: eighteen months.

Matthan Blue its unbelievable to me that you are already 18 months old. One year and a half! You are six months away from TWO years old. Wow. Your check up today went great- and you are doing wonderfully overall. You seemed to enjoy the doctor and even thanked the nurse after she gave you two shots. So sweet. (you only cried for a brief moment).

Here are your stats:

Weight-31 lbs (95th percentile)
Height- 34 inches (90th percentile)
Head- 50cm (95th percentile)

This past month we have seen great big changes in you. Because 18 months is a big milestone I wanted to list out some of your favorite things these days, as well as some other fun facts about you....

Your language development continues to be great- however there are a few things that you say that sometimes only Daddy and I understand, and others that most people could make out.

Here are some highlights of the unique things you say:

bone=phone
ogurt-yogurt (usually said with GREAT excitement!!)
issy=sorry
massen=matthan
pineabble=pineapple
gape=grape
cacker=cracker and most anything crunchy
weep=wipe
spurl-squirrel (you saw your first squirrel this month)
pup-cup
bafroom=bathroom
fishy=goldfish crackers
buberry=blueberry or strawberry
doots=boots (you can say boots also, but sometimes you call them "doots")
skacks=snacks
skinky, skinky, skinky=stinky, stinky, stinky
baby seepin'=baby sleeping

You look like you are stretching for the big race!

Other things we've noticed this month:

-You are enjoying Asher more and more, especially at bath time, you are giving him toys to play with. Also if you don't see him you will say "Baby seepin'?"
-Last month you started calling Mommy & Daddy "Ma-moo & Da-doo". This past month you have added "Bay-boo" for Baby.

-You've become very helpful, when you see me changing Asher's diaper, you will either bring me a new clean diaper, or you'll wait and take the dirty one to the trash. Also, if you find anything on the floor that doesn't belong, such as crumbs, cups, etc- you pick it up on your own and either take it to the trash or set it on your highchair. Pretty cute.
-You like pretending you are on the telephone, and at times we hear one of our cell phones ringing and see that you have accidentally called us!
-You love to get kitchen utensils out and occasionally act as though you are playing golf around the house. (not sure where you have seen golf before)
-You love wearing your boots around the house
-You love getting a "tissue". You pretend you are blowing your nose sometimes.
-You are telling us before you are going to have a stinky diaper, and often wanting a diaper change when you are just a little wet. The doctor suggested that we get a "potty" for you to try out, so that's on our to-do list!
-In the last month you have started to count to 10 on your own.
-You love singing along with some of the songs of your favorite morning shows, and word world videos.
-Recently, on your own, you have formed some attachments to a few items...a random "hot dog" plastic truck, a toy bug, and a soft blanket. The other day you couldn't find the bug and I heard you calling " Bug? Buug?Buuuug?" Very cute!

You heard a dog bark so you are trying to see it in the yard behind the playground.

-You have become much more affectionate in the past couple weeks.

-While you started saying "no" a while back, in the last few weeks you have started shaking your head no and saying "umm no". You do this about most any question you are asked...would you like yogurt? (still your favorite food)- you respond: "umm no" as you walk toward the kitchen.:O)
-You remain tough as can be! There are times you fall down or hurt yourself in some way and very rarely do you ever cry. Sometimes you will put your sweet hand over the area that's a little hurt and come over for mommy & daddy to hug or kiss you.
-Eating continues to be an area where we hope there will be some improvement. You still eat NO meat other than bacon, NO cheese, NO bread, NO pasta or rice, and generally NO sweets (which isn't a bad thing). But you do eat all kinds of fresh fruit, a few veggies, yogurt, and other "crunchy foods". You have become more open to at least trying new items-sometimes!

Peeking through the fence, you found the dog!!

Things you love to do:

tickle and wrestling with Daddy
taking a bath
reading books
playing with your trucks
playing ball
seeing animals (live, on tv & books)
you love dogs
running outside
playing w/tissues and wipes
watching & dancing to people singing/dancing (on tv or in person)

You still have a really hard time with going to bed, whether for naps or bedtime. You seem to become quite anxious when put in your bed. You cry and cry- even though we went through the whole sleep training process many, many months ago, and there was a period of a few months when you would go to bed without any problems. But this has been a struggle for you for the past 6 months or so. We've tried many different things...we have a routine, you favorite toys in bed, books (until you started chewing them), door open, door closed, checking on you to reassure you, etc. all to no avail. You eventually just fall over to sleep-but this can take a long time sometimes. It really just seems like you don't want to be away from us. Its quite painful to listen to, we hope things will get a bit easier soon.

I love this picture of you-you had just woken up and weren't in the mood to be sharing mommy with Asher-but I can tell by your cute grin that you were secretly enjoying our time together!

One of the sweetest things you have just started doing this past week is saying "love you" to us when you are going to bed. Its sounds more like "eve you" but its oh so sweet! Also frequently throughout the day, you say something that sounds like "miss you" but its followed by your wanting us to hold you and you snuggling tightly.

We love you Matthan, its such a joy to be your parents. We are excited to see what the coming months will bring, though we are very aware that you are growing up much too fast. We pray the Lord gives us the wisdom needed to raise you for His Glory.

Love you, Mommy & Daddy.