Jacob's 18 Month Update

Jacob is 18 months old.  He weighs 25.4 pounds (43%ile).  He is 32" tall (41%ile).  His head is 50.5 cm (97%ile).  The kid still has a melon head.

He knows a lot of words - I can't name them all, but he probably uses 50-100 words well.  He has started to put two words together.  For example, the other day he said, "Mama bite" and then he attempted to bite me.  He's bit me a couple times.  He also likes to smack me.  I spend a lot of time saying, "Be nice to Mama.  Give Mama hugs and kisses."  He then gives me big hugs and kisses.  He likes to hug a lot, especially in the middle of grocery shopping.  He also plays a game where he knocks on the window or wall and waits for me to say, "Come in!"  He then turns and says in an exaggerated voice, "Hi! Hug?  Hug?" 

He loves books.  He follows me around the house all day saying, "book book."  His most recent favorite is "Otis and the Tornado." He'll pick one book and read it over and over and over until I make him stop.  Sometimes it's only a short book, and I'll read the same 18 words about twenty times before I tell him that he needs to switch to a new book. 

He loves to be outside.  He likes bugs, but he hasn't figured out how to pick them up without squishing them. He comments on all sorts of things outside - birds, bugs, trucks, wind, trash.  He likes to play in the sand box and only occasionally eats sand now.  He also loves to play in the water.  When it rains and there is a big puddle in the driveway, he runs around in it until he's soaking wet. 

He likes to eat and has a good appetite, but he's a finicky eater at times.  Sometimes he'll eat four servings of something, and then the next night when I serve it as leftovers, he won't eat it at all.  For breakfast he likes Rice Krispies or toast.  At lunch he likes pb&j, ham and cheese, and peas.  He can put down peas like nobody else.  Dinner is unpredictable.  He also loves popcorn and cheese - not together.  He drinks milk and water well.  I tried to give him juice once when he was sick, and he wouldn't drink it. 

His best tricks are still raising his eyebrows at people and making funny faces.  He keeps a pretty serious face around strangers, but he's silly around us.  He likes to be held - all the time - all 25 pounds of him.  He cries and throws his head on the ground when he doesn't get his way - like when I can't hold him and make dinner at the same time.  He's highly attached to his blanket which he calls "B."  He won't sleep without it, and it's the cure to most bumps on the head. 

I'm still not quite sure what he's going to be like as he grows older, but he's a sweet boy that I'm thankful to call mine.  He brings me much joy - except at 5:00 AM.