18 Months

This month started off with a visit from my parents which was wonderful!  We had such a nice, relaxing time while they were here and Grant got to spend tons of time with them.  Of course, it went way too fast! 

Growth:  Grant is still holding steady in the low to mid 23 lb range.  While in Chicago prepping for his surgery (that never happened), he weighed in at 23.4 lbs and was 33”.  Although, I will venture to say that seems a little too tall to me.  He has his 18 month checkup next week with his pediatrician so we will see what the official weight and height are then.  We have still had some ongoing concerns about weight because he really seems to be stuck.  We have been pushing high protein and good fat type foods but he can’t seem to put on any weight.  He is also in all 18 month clothes and some 18-24 month clothes, size 5 shoes, and size 4 diapers.   

Grant and Daddy on Father's Day

Teeth:  It has been a BIG month for teeth!  This month his upper and lower left cuspids as well as upper left and right first molars came in.  He is now up to a grand total of 15, just one shy of being done until he is closer to 2! 

Language/Comprehension:  It seems to be getting harder to keep track because Grant’s speech and vocabulary have been expanding by leaps and bounds almost daily.  Some of the notable new words this month: home, baby, grandma-kind of (just in time for Grandma and Grandpa Able’s visit), Monty and Bucky, bird, shoe, yummy, happy, hey ya, daddy, mommy, ball, berries, eat, Bible, oh man, poop, potty, hammer, pool, apple, and please.

When Grant sees a baseball game on TV or in person, he gets so excited and says ball!  He also calls a baseball glove a ball.  When he sees a motorcycle, he refers to it as a tractor.  Needless to say we have a couple of things to work on.  When coming home before we can even see our house Grant says home over and over. 

We love seeing the daily changes in his recognition of objects.  For example, when he sees any boat whether it is driving down the road, ours sitting in our driveway, or a cartoon boat in a book he recognizes it as a boat.  He also says beep beep anytime he hears a car horn.

Grant helping daddy "fix" the car

Personality:  Grant has still been a rather happy go lucky, go with the flow type of little man for the most part.  Although, we have had some true toddler moments lately.  Eating out isn’t nearly as easy as it used to be though.  Either he wants to be down running around or he wants everything in sight that he shouldn’t have and nothing that he is allowed to have.  We refuse to give in, so it can turn into a battle.  He is usually a very good listener and loves helping.  I will say he is also very polite.  He will almost always say please and thank you without being prompted. 

A very notable feat for the month:  Grant went an entire month at daycare without one single biting incident!  That is a first since it began back in October and we are so happy to hopefully put this phase behind us.     

Mobility:  Grant’s mobility is much the same but he is getting much more coordinated.  He really likes to get on and off his ride-on toys and is pushing them more with his feet.  His feet also now touch the pedals on his tricycle so we will see how long before he can learn to pedal on his own. 

Things he likes:  Grant still LOVES all things tractors and trucks, pools and the water in general (we have a real water bug on our hands!).  He is getting very good at puzzles.  His favorite phrase is uh oh and he has this game he plays where he “falls” down and says uh oh over and over

At Brian and Ashley's wedding

Funniest moment(s) this month:  Grant says cheese for the camera and pictures. 

There was one day where I had Grant stripped down naked swimming in his little pool and we came into the garage to get dried off.  Well Grant was still walking around naked and he looked up and said poop?  He then proceeded to poop on the garage floor!  If you haven’t read our other funny poop story for this month click here and scroll to the bottom and read the last paragraph.

On another occasion, Grant was playing at Grandma and Grandpa Fisher’s house on their deck by the pool naked… again.  He was playing in a cooler and said potty and then proceeded to pee in said cooler.

I know, there is an ongoing theme here… It seems our child is always naked!  But on the bright side… he knows the difference between potty and poop and that is huge step in the right direction towards potty training. 

Biggest change(s) this month:  His appetite!  He has been a bottomless pit and I am pretty positive he has undergone a growth spurt (possibly height and not weight?). 

Our monkey man LOVES bananas

Firsts:  Grant can now drink from a straw, got dunked under water for the first time, and attended breakfast on the farm (he LOVED all the animals and tons of TRACTORS!) 

Illnesses:  It has been a blessedly quiet month for anything on the illness front.  You can read about the latest C Diff adventure dealing with Grant’s stool transplant that didn’t happen this month in the latest C Diff update.  Most importantly, we are tentatively rescheduled for Grant's stool transplant on August 3rd.  He will have several recultures in the coming weeks to ensure the plesiomonas is indeed gone but as long at that clears we are in the clear to move forward... for real this time!  Please say some prayers! 

Grant had a routine checkup with his ENT to make sure his tubes were still in place.  We also talked to the doctor about whether he felt we should do another hearing screening because Grant showed partial hearing loss about two months ago.  The ENT feels that since Grant’s speech has come such a long way and he appears to hear normally on a daily basis there was no need to re screen at this point.  What a relief!