Iver is a year and a half old!!! He
- is probably between 20-21 lbs, and still probably in single-digit percentiles but feels heavier and has a bit of a tummy despite still-skinny legs. He is in size 12-18 month clothing and about size 4 shoes. We don't have his well child check scheduled until July.
- still nurses regularly and drinks some milk and water from a cup (and likes pediasure/milk cocktails and liquid yogurts through a straw). He sits for short periods at his Ikea "baby table" and occasionally in a high chair (without straps) and is pretty good with his utensils. He still loves all fruit, and is a big fan of greens like peas, green beans, and broccoli, yogurt squeezes that we freeze, as well as ground meats, fish, and little pasta. He prefers to eat off our plates instead of (the same food we place on) his.
- has 6 upper and 4.5 lower teeth (lower molars coming in right now and upper canines starting to bulge) which he brushes more willingly with an electric toothbrush, although we have to negotiate the toothbrushing ("if you want to stay in the bath, you have to brush your teeth").
- has a great time at daycare, where he happily runs in, and where he is very affectionate towards the teachers and other kids.
- is really verbal and communicative now! It's amazing how much he's picked up in the "talking" department in the last month, and, for history's and curiosity's sake, I'm going to try to document his current words.
- bear (first actual verbal word)
- "gogo" (dog, also signs; his first sign language word)
- cat (+ sign)
- "bir" (bird)
- turtle
- "kalakalaka" (bunny)
- deer (we saw two near our house this weekend!)
- tutti (= breastmilk, + sign)
- "wah-wah" (water + sign)
- more (+ sign)
- "dah" (that)
- yeah (with a head nod)
- "nah" (no, with a head shake)
- ball
- bubble
- bath
- poop (and sign)- he makes and says this when Pepper poops, too, or if he sees other dogs' poop lying on the grass!
- diaper
- help (and sign)
- uh (up)
- "pah" (park)
- car
- key
- Family members: mama, papa, Pepper, "bababababa" (ba noi), "Teesa" (Theresa), Kat (Kat), "Kista"(Kingston)
- "gur" (girl)
- "gla" (gloves)
- "fla" (flower)
- "bla" (blueberries), also similar sound for balloon
- shhh (shoes)
- please (sign only)
- thank you (sign only)
- eat/hungry (sign only)
He knows certain animals by the sounds they make and says,
"quack quack" (duck)
"baa" (sheep)
"neigh" (horse)
"ooh-ooh" (monkey)
"moo" (cow)
"uh-uh" (snort= pig)
"raar" (lion)
"sss" (snake)
"zzz" (bee)
"woof"
(apparently, cats say "cat," and not "meow" in these parts)
He can identify, but not say, many body parts (head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, hands, fingers, feet, toes, bellybutton, knees, shoulders) and will follow almost all commands like "brush your hair," "get and put on your shoes/jacket," "bring that bag to me" (pretty soon we'll have him taking out the trash!).
He throws some pretty good (random) tantrums, which are quite puzzling, as he really can communicate his basic needs quite well. He threw a 30-minute tantrum in the John Wayne Airport coming back from OC after Kat's wedding (inconsolable including holding, nursing, food, etc.) where he was overtired (and, thankfully, fell asleep as soon as we boarded). There was another one in Safeway when I was by myself with him and the groceries, and it was challenging to get out of there (and pay) without getting flustered. Sometimes around 5 p.m., he'll get fussy and shriek, kick, scream until distracted on a walk with dada and Pepper, but this is quite rare.
- is really starting to pick up with potty training. He still wears cloth diapers when we're home (and size 3 Huggies overnights), but is often dry after naps (until we put him on the potty), and will happily (with a book or toy) sit there to pee/do his business (which he tells us about, signing "poop"!).
- sleeps (some) on his own full-size futon in our "office." I am beginning to think that our child needs far less sleep than the average toddler his age (or adult?. I'm wondering if this is a product of our forced sleep-deprivation-as-part-of-medical-training or a genetic thing?). He goes to sleep usually between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., and wakes 1-3 times per night between then and about 5:30 or 6 a.m., which continues to be extremely exhausting and frustrating.
At one point, I had night-weaned him, but we found that, if I nursed him at the 4 a.m. waking, he'd sometimes sleep a bit later, i.e. until 6:30 (... trade off...), so we backed off there. This week, however we've been again trying to totally cut him off the breast (i.e. that one feeding) at night, but he pretty much demands it (signing for milk) around 3-4 a.m., and will cry for up to 2 hours until we give up, or it's morning time and it's time to get up. When Kelvin tells him I'm "not home" (and lets him check our bed himself, with me hiding in the guest room), he will find other excuses to "stay up," like going potty, reading books, etc.
We have been transitioning to one nap, as the afternoon nap was getting to be a tremendous fight and too late in the afternoon to be helpful, and he seems to be able to stay awake from about 6:30 to noon (if he wakes sooner, though, or has a rough night, he needs a morning cat-nap). I am so challenged by his sleep issues. I wish we had nipped his sleep issues in the bud when it would have been "easier" developmentally (i.e. at 6 months)-- now we have a strong-willed toddler who seems to fully comprehend us and manipulate us quite well when it's dark... sigh. Please pray for better sleep and sanity.
Iver loves baths, playing in water (including Pepper's water dish), washing his hands and face, reading books (I had to read 'Humpty Dumpty' 20 times before his nap the other day; he likes to mimic the actions in the "Clap your Hands, Rattle and Shake" book), and the outdoors, especially parks and climbing (he mastered a rock wall in 15 seconds on Saturday) and now can walk down our staircase, holding the railing, all by himself. He loves to "walk" Pepper sitting in the umbrella stroller and go cat-sighting in the neighborhood. He loves to bang on the computer, and play with locking parts and kitchen utensils.
He hates: straps, being confined, his crib (which we use for time-out/"jail"), the BOB stroller, having a diaper or clothes put on, and especially the carseat, although we had a pretty miraculous 5-hour drive back from Oakland last weekend with 0 minutes of crying (the record thus far was 120 minutes when we went down for Josh's wedding). He sometimes fights toothbrushing, but seems to like the electric toothbrush a bit better.
While he is extremely strong-willed, and tests our patience/sanity every day, he is an incredibly fun, passionate, bright little guy who is halfway to two!
Potty time!
Dressing up in mama's hat and shoes
Climbing and playing with friend Lincoln
"Rattling and Shaking" like the book says
Enjoying Oysterfest
At the airport early
Park Playtime
Here's a video of his rock-climbing prowess on the first try!
