But I have to mark Duke at 18 months in real time! He's 18 months and heading quickly toward 19.
What a boy. :)
He didn't get his two front teeth for Christmas (Caleb did), but he's now cutting a molar. We are clearly not following normal teeth patterns. His smile is about the cutest ever with his missing teeth! And speaking of smiles, Duke has a big dimple...on just the left cheek.
Wherever he goes he is a little sweetheart and a cutie pie. People smile at him, talk to him, chuckle at him. Just lately he's become friendly and likes to make friends with adults when we are places like church or with friends.
Sleeping through the night? Uh, not so much. Of all the kids, teething seems to cause him the most pain. He was just wailing the other night, inconsolable. So sad. :( He still wakes up most mornings at 3 and/or 5am but will sleep until about 6:30. I'm just wondering WHEN this child will go to sleep and actually sleep until morning! I can't remember what that's like anymore. Haven't had regular sleep like that in nearly 3 years.
Duke is just about weaned.
He's 10-25% for height and weight, coming in at 31" tall and 23 lbs 4 oz. And his head remains big at 75% (49cm).
Duke is talking a lot. He says pretty much any word he wants to say and is saying two and three words together (Ah wan Daddy! was said one night when he didn't want to go to bed) and he is saying 2 syllable words (cra-cuh, suh-shine).
Duke is super ticklish, especially his feet. His little feet are the worst manicured and trimmed feet around, as I can hardly touch his feet or toes and he is giggling and squirming. Please don't judge my mothering by this boys' feet!
Duke LOVES books, and we read 4 or 5 before bed every night. (Duke has the longest nighttime routine of all the kids.) Duke likes short movies: Curious George and Caillou will keep him entertained for maybe 10 minutes, but he also really likes little youtube shorts. His absolute favorite is the VeggieTales "Where Have All the Staplers Gone?" He's riveted! Braden and I have grown awfully lax. If Kid #4 wakes up too early, he gets to watch movies on the phone or iPad in between us in bed while Mom and Dad doze a bit longer.
Toys...Duke loves cars and trucks for sure. He likes to push his pushcart or Maisie's stroller. He likes to carry a baby doll around (sorry, buddy, but you do--you mimic Maisie). He likes puzzles, crayons and markers (if he can manage to snag one). And Duke likes to roll balls back and forth and throw balls. He also runs quite fast.
For months Duke said, "Mama" for everything. It was his all-purpose, whatever he needed word. Still to Braden he sometimes says, "Ma-maaa, Da-daaa," like I just heard him say just now. But generally he says, "Dada" when talking to Braden. Which reminds me that he can be LOUD. Duke has learned that with 4 kids in the house, sometimes you have to yell to be noticed. Where he used to sit in his high chair, for instance, and just say, "Mama" a hundred times until we finally noticed, he now will say it once and then it's time to YELL it. Loud.
Duke's most common word is "Uh-ma." I have no idea what he thinks he is saying, but "uh-ma" is used when he wants to smell our coffee (every time he sees it), see a photo we just took on the iPhone or camera, look at the iPhone or iPad to see whatever it is that someone might be looking at, or eat some of my food (which is anytime I'm eating).
Duke loves to say, "cheese" when he sees an iPhone or camera. He pokes both his cheeks with his fingers and smiles and says, "cheese." I think this originated from confusion over learning where his cheeks were and learning to say "cheese" and smile for the camera. Somehow it all got put together...and it's really cute.
Duke knows all his animal sounds and body parts, and he likes to sing "Head Shoulders Knees & Toes" while trying to touch the right body parts. And speaking of singing, Duke LOVES to sing! He's the only one of my kids who sings WITH ME at night when I sing him his night-night songs. It's very sweet, and I've absolutely enjoyed it. For the past few months he would say, "Moo-Moo-Moon" the name of one of his favorite songs (Moon Moon Moon) and at first it meant for me to sing that song. But then when he developed more of a repertoire, he would say, "Moo-Moo-Moon" and I would start to sing it and he would yell, "No!" So then it was a guessing game as to which song he wanted. I'd start one, he'd yell no, I'd start another, and so on until I landed on the one he wanted. Just in the past couple of weeks he's changed it to a big smile and "Sching it!" And that means sing the song he's thinking of in his head...which is just a much bigger guessing game because he now knows so many songs!
Because Maisie has been potty training, Duke now tells me every time he goes pee or poo, and he often wants to sit on the potty. I might be done with diapers sooner than I think! But I'm not counting on it. :)
