18 Months already

Hayden is 18 months old today! We just got back from visiting his pediatrician for his well-baby check up. He weighs 24.7 pounds and he's 32 inches tall. (34 percentile) At 15 months, he was 26.9 lbs, so he's come down a bit. He recently cut his top eye teeth and did not have much of an appetite for about a month. He has a bit of a chest cold (been coughing up stuff) and fluid in his ears, so she gave him some antibiotic and zyrtec. She also said I could give him some uncaffeinated herbal tea with dark honey as a natural decongestant.

If you come to my house and notice fewer decorations each time, it's because I have to keep removing them each time he gets taller. Today I had to move the Hawai'i license plate on a plate holder that I had on a night stand in the guest room. He has begun to carry it off. His height often surprises us when we know there was something he couldn't reach before and he walks into the room and hands it to us.

It is by the grace of God that we haven't had any emergency room visits yet. The other day I had a full cup of coffee. After mixing my cream in it, I set it on the kitchen table for a moment. I didn't think I put it in his reach. I left it to use the restroom. I heard Hayden crying from the restroom, but it didn't sound like a serious cry. It just sounded like when he is complaining about not getting his way. I proceeded to wash my hands casually and check on him when I was ready to. He had coffee all over him and the floor. I was so releived that it was not hot enough to burn. I must have put lots of cream in it! He was just complaining about being soaked and didn't know what to do next. The next day, I had unplugged my lap top at the computer plug-in but left the cord plugged into the wall. I took the computer to another room for a while. Later, I found Hayden in the media room dipping the computer end of the cord into Paco's water bowl.

Hayden's vocabulary hasn't developed much since the last post. He says mommy more often than anything, because he says it every time he's frustrated about anything. He also says ball "baw", ducky "duddy", birdy, go-go, car "caw". He does a lot of pointing and grunting to tell you what he wants.

This week and next we are doing "swimming lessons" at the Y. I get in the pool with him. I have a hard time getting him into the pool without much whining and clinging, but he seems to be getting better each day. He doesn't care for the splash pad outside either. I don't know what his deal is, because he LOVES taking baths and showers at home.

Hayden's current obsessions:
Paco's leash - I use one of our bottom cabinets for Paco's stuff (food, treats, leash, clippers, etc.). Hayden falls apart if I put the leash where it goes instead of letting him play with it. He also gets upset if I mention going for a walk with Paco and he can't get to the leash (because of the lock on the cabinet). He will stand and pull on the knob and holler "mommy, mommy, ahhh!"
Behind the couch - Hayden keeps trying to go play behind the couch. He's fascinated with the stereo wires back there. I have had to put up a fence link from his play yard to keep him out. That's where the attack dust bunnies live. The fence also is keeping him from my computer when I'm not using it(and the cord he tried to put in Paco's water.
Climbing everything - At church, Hayden heads toward the stairs to the balcony if we are in the foyer and not holding onto him. At a restaurant last night, we were at a first floor table near a stair case. Hayden pointed and whined half of the time we were there. He also climbs up on the edge of our bathtub and makes me nervous.
Playing in the garage - Daddy's motorcycle, Hayden's bike, and the lawn mower are all major points of interest in the garage. I have a hard time walking through it to go to the car. He has to stop and push the mower or point at Daddy's bike and whine or climb onto his bike like he's ready to go.