Archive for June, 2008
A Difficult Age
Thank goodness for these articles on askmoxie.org about the 18-month-old stage of crappy sleeping, non-eating, and throwing tantrums. Otherwise we have assumed that our child has been possessed by evil spirits. For the first time ever since starting this blog, I’m too tired to go into much detail. Suffice to say that one minute, everything will be fine, Natalie will be her sweet self and then all of a sudden she’s hysterical and inconsolable. Remember a month ago, when Natalie wanted to get down all the time? Now she often screams when we try to put her down. Cranky and clingy during the day wouldn’t be so hard if it didn’t take 30 minutes or more of bouncing and shushing (standing! sitting results in loud screaming protests!) all 22 pounds of her to get her to sleep at night. My new mantra is, “it’s just a phase, it’s just a phase….”
Natalie’s Blossoming Sense of Humor
It amazes us how an 18-month-old with a limited (compared to an adult) vocabulary has such a sense of humor and can even make jokes.
Natalie finally learned the word “truck,” after many, many conversations in the car like this one. This morning, she pointed to a truck and said (very proudly) “Tuck!” After I reinforced that she had indeed seen and correctly identified the truck, Natalie (looking quite impish) said, “Bus??”
Understanding Natalie’s latest joke requires some lead-in…Natalie and Grandpa Smoky (“Pop Pop”) often have the following conversation whenever Natalie starts shrieking or yelling or loudly babbling.
Pop Pop (with mock inquisition) asks, “Who’s making all that noise?”
Natalie (trying to look all innocent): smiles and shrugs
Pop Pop (exaggeratedly): “Is Meemah making all the noise?”
Natalie: smiles and shakes her head “no”
Pop Pop: “Is Pop Pop making all the noise?”
Natalie (giggling and shaking her head) confesses: “Nah!”
Pop Pop: “Oh, Natalie made all the noise?!?!”
So yesterday, Natalie and I were alone playing when she started shrieking. I asked her, “Who’s making all that noise?!?” Her reply? With a big devilish grin, she exclaimed, “Pop Pop!”
18 Months Old!
Natalie continues to learn and grow every day. At her 18-month check-up I had to fill out a developmental questionnaire, which the doctor said Natalie “passed with flying colors.” She is now 33 inches (90%) and 22 lbs., 12 oz. The doctor was a little concerned about Natalie’s weight because this is the third visit in a row that it’s dropped in terms of percentiles (she’s now below the 25%). It’s also the third check-up in a row that immediately followed an illness that significantly decreased Natalie’s appetite. I’m not super concerned, but we’ll follow the doctor’s recommendations to try and increase her good fat intake. We don’t have another check-up scheduled until Natalie turns 2, which feels odd after having such frequent check-ups thus far.
Natalie’s latest cute thing is to raise her hand and say “I do!” in response to any question that begins “Who loves…?” She is learning her colors and can correctly identify orange, purple, yellow, and blue—if she does it on her own accord. If you ask her what color something is, she says “Bwoo!” every time. She also loves to jump like a frog, which involves her doing deep knee bends and shouting “‘bit! ‘bit! ‘bit!” since she can’t actually get her feet off the ground.
Happy half-birthday, Natalie!! May you always keep your sweet sense of wonder about the world…
