18 Months

Wowsers! 

Another month has flown by

and our little man is a year and a half old!

It seriously does not seem possible.

But then again, this little ball of energy

reminds us quite often that he is NOT our baby anymore

and that he's developing a mind of his own. ;)

At his well-check on Thursday, little man weighed in at 29 lbs 1/2 oz (95th percentile)

and measured 34 inches long (94th percentile).

We learned at this appointment that Max is not so well - he has a double ear infection.

Our pediatrician also visited with us about the results from his bloodwork,

which still indicate an elevated thyroid level.

So...we're being referred to an endocrinologist. :/

To any observer, little man seems perfectly healthy;

it is a little unsettling that he has several "unseen" health issues,

but thank goodness we're getting them addressed!

It's funny that Max's growth is off the charts

because I feel like his eating has taken a real hit lately.

He for sure doesn't eat as much as he used to,

and definitely opposes anything green that finds its way onto his plate.

He's also recently developed the unpleasant habit

of throwing unwanted food over his shoulder (while saying "whee!" of course).

So yeah...we're working on that.

We've also had some sleep issues in the past month,

and I don't know exactly what to attribute it to.

Max started waking in the night again 

about the time we took him to the ER,

but he's also been cutting his second year molars (already!)

and the temperatures have been going back and forth a lot

(his room is the hottest/ coldest in the house).

He has also decided that he'd rather babble and play in his crib than sleep,

so we've had to go into his room after putting him down

and remind him what he's supposed to be doing. :)

I think we're getting back to uninterrupted nighttime sleep.
Let's hope, at least!

We decided to go ahead and put up our (three-foot) Christmas tree this year.
So far Max hasn't pulled it over, but he sure knows how to stealthily remove the ornaments! 

Max has learned about so many new things this holiday season -
about the "owf" (elf) who likes to hide around the house,
about "Tee-ta" (Santa) who wears a fuzzy red hat,
and the "ise-ee" (wise men) and their "me-muls" (camels) who came to see Baby Jesus.
Any time he sees something that looks remotely like one of those things,
he goes CRAZY and repeats the word nonstop until Mama or Daddy
acknowledges him. He is so funny!


He has also learned names of his friends and most of his extended family members.
He's is finally not confusing Uncle "Mahk" for Daddy anymore!
Max loves to look at the Christmas cards hung on the wall and name the people he sees. :)

Puzzles and shape sorters are some of Max's favorite toys right now.
He has gotten really good and fitting the pieces into the right place all by himself!

Of course, he still loves to play outside, especially collecting rocks. :)

This little man keeps us on our toes, for sure!
But he has his fair share of sweet, snuggly moments too. :)

We are excited/ scared to see what he'll be up to next!