18 month update

Christmas 2013

Another month flown by - and let's call this one the month of sass!  Josiah's picked up so many new words, tricks, and gestures.  I love that he is expressing himself, but don't love that his most common reaction to things these days is to shake his head, wag his finger at me (oh no you didn't!), and say "no" or "oww" in his high-pitched voice.  He even started rolling his eyes and spitting out his food more often.  Ugh.  Where does he get this all from?  Surely, it's not us, right???

Although he seems to be resisting everything these days, he's picked up a few good manners too.  He says "amen", "ank you", "yummy nummy", "all done", "TV", "books", "binky" and "ay chaempee" when he's naked.  I love his little accent - kind of sounds like my dad!  He also randomly counts "1,2,3" and knows a bunch of letters, with a particular affinity for B, U, and Q.  He loves reading books, especially the one about Trucks, and is starting to repeat certain parts of it along with us.  Another favorite hobby of his is cleaning!  He likes to sweep the floors with the broom and pick up crumbs off the floor.  Kinda strange, but not gonna fight it!

This has been a mixed month where he's been as equally difficult as he's been delightful.  At the end of the day, we can't get too mad at him since he charms us with his silly self and his ability to make us laugh.  His favorite trick is putting his "stinky" feet or socks in our faces and scrunching up his nose in disgust with a dramatic "ewww".  Right before I put him down to sleep, I usually sing him "God is so good" with the lights off and my most serious face on.  Apparently, this is hilarious to him and he cracks up laughing, puts his face close to mine and tries to get me to break a smile (which I always do). 

He's still really into music and bobs around to his favorite songs.  Unfortunately, we've really created a bad habit with YouTube and are still really dependent on using videos to get him to sit still and eat.  He's getting pickier with which ones to watch and has learned to whisk the screen when he wants to move on.  But when he finds one he likes, he perks up and starts humming and singing parts of the songs.  Really random, but he likes "Cruise" sung by the a cappella group "Home Free".  He'll even gesture along and mimic some of the beat box.  Mama is so proud and can't wait to get him into music lessons one day.

He loves watching videos of himself too, but that means he never lets me take pictures/videos of him without him quickly running around to see for himself.  He gets self-conscious though and will insist on skipping certain ones where he is up close.  Weird, huh?

The highlight of this month was having both families over for Christmas.  Josiah had a blast with everyone there to shower him with gifts and attention.  Although he wasn't really sure of everything going on, he had fun ripping off wrapping paper and taking ornaments off the tree.  Unfortunately, he partied too hard because he got really sick in the days following which meant regression to baby Josiah all over again.  While the sleepless nights were painful, it's always sweet to cuddle my little guy especially when he's usually on the move and starting to resist it otherwise.  He got better and then got sick again a few days later...ugh...and now is resisting all food, particularly milk.  Let's hope this strike is temporary.  Our once chubby infant has melted away to a bony toddler! 

Just 4 more months before we add another member to the family - and this time a girl!  I'm excited but also unsure of what to expect with baby girls.  And not too happy about having to buy new baby stuff all over again!  But despite these silly worries, we are definitely thankful and hopeful about what's ahead in 2014!