Celebrating Niall's 18 months (and Pepper's nine years).

Our fur-/first child, Pepper, turned nine this week.  She was thrilled to have us back from our trip down south and has been relishing the snuggles.

Her dog food company, Chewy, sent her a card, and Iver proudly made her some birthday cards.

 

Niall also turned 18 months.

He:

- Probably weighs close to 19 lbs (he will be weighed at a well child check in a couple of weeks), and I'd imagine still in the single digit percentiles.  He still fits into 9 and  9-12 month clothing (!), and size 3-4 shoes.

- has big eyes, long eyelashes, a big head, dimples and a great smile, scant but growing hair, and fourteen teeth (the top two canines just came in as noted by the dentist this week).

- drinks somewhere between 4-8 oz of a blend (still about 70/30) of expressed breast milk/cow's milk from a cup at daycare. I nurse in the morning and before bed/naps and pump once during the workday around lunchtime (or if stuck at the hospital at a usual nursing time),  but this volume is minimal 2-3 oz so it's likely going away soon.  He eats at a high chair in the kitchen, and I his appetite is definitely increasing.  He loves fruits of all kinds, cucumbers, peas, yogurt, noodles and soups, rice dishes, peanut butter, and cheese.  He's getting better about incorporating some small meat pieces, but is still on an iron supplement. He loves to use his own spoon and/or fork to feed himself. He also loves water and ice cubes (really, anything frozen). 

 - is in cloth diapers during the day (pocket diapers at daycare and fitteds at home), and size 3 overnight Huggies at night. He is pretty regular and will usually poop on the potty in the morning (sometimes in the afternoon/evening after dinner) and will often pee on the potty when diapers are removed for changes (and occasionally dry after naps or overnight).  We're working on him communicating when he has to go.

 - is one of the older kids in the infant room at daycare, where he attends five days (two as three-quarter days). He loves his teachers, but loves to see us when we pick him up. He will likely move up to the toddler room in October.

 - is playful and very mischievous, testing boundaries while smiling and deliberately disobeying commands, even though he seems to understand about 100% of what we ask of him.
- is a chatty and communicative little guy and has a rapidly increasing vocabulary with upwards of 30 words (he still signs some, but verbalizes more and more including two-word phrases). He mimicks almost everything we say and knows his body parts, many animals (and animal sounds), foods "mango," "wah-wah" (watermelon), "apple," "nana," and can point out all of the animals in the Eric Carle, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book. He's really attentive (when we went back to the dentist's office this week [Kelvin had met us there for the boys' appointment] to return some sunglasses that had come home with us inadvertently, he asked me "where Papa?" [because he'd been there with us before!]).  He'll say "Uh-Oh!" or "Oooohhhh!" if he does something naughty.
- loves running around the house, climbing, and being chased and tickled. He loves to play with markers ("mah-kah!"), water, ice, cups, keys, buckle toys, Pepper, and Iver. He loves going "out-tide" to the deck. He will read book ("more book!") after book if you'd let him. He does well during stroller walks/runs, and rear-facing in his backseat carseat, next to his brother.  He often accompanies Kelvin to the grocery store or to church.

- is tolerating toothbrushing better and better (if you sing/talk to him) and did extremely well at the dentist's for a peek this week with a clean dental bill of health

- continues to be a dream sleeper at night, still in his crib, without signs of escape (and slept incredibly well on our recent trip down south). After a bath, nursing session (which has become shorter), and reading a few books (which he'll choose over nursing), he is put in his crib awake in jammies and a sleep sack, and he'll fuss for a few minutes before passing out around 7:15-7:30. He wakes happy between 5:30- 6 a.m., eager to find me to nurse. He has transitioned to one, longer ~2 our nap around 12 or 1 pm until 2:30 or 3 p.m.

Here's what Iver was doing at 18 months (STILL not sleeping through the night, I noted 😬!).

(Thanks to Katherine for this side-by-side-- Iver up top, Niall below)

We love this little one-and-a-half-year-old (and his nine-year-old big furry sister)!