Davis Family: Eighteen Months

We are about to hit a significant milestone...Waylon's eighteen-month birthday. At the last pediatrician appointment, the doctor said he should be saying five words by 18 months, and with 4 days to go he is up to 4 words..sort of. He says "dah" for dog and dad, but we count that as two words because it depends who he is looking at. He used to say "boom" when he hit something with a baseball bat, but has since stopped. Just this weekend he added "buh buh" for bye bye, while simultaneously waving (does he get extra points for that)? He has also really embraced the "more" symbol in sign language. Although we tried for months and months (and months) to teach him to sign he ignored everything until he got to daycare and picked up the "more" sign almost immediately. He uses it to get daddy to keep pushing him fast around the backyard in his race car, and also when he wants more fruit (which is always). Waylon is pretty darn cute these days with LOTS of energy and personality. The kid is ready to go from the time he wakes up until he is forced to go to sleep. Even when he sleeps he still is a mover and a shaker, making me think its going to be quite awhile before he can transition to a big boy bed.

I've been joking that Waylon's cuteness is climbing a mountain and soon we will be at the top and come crashing down the other side into the terrible twos. We have seen a few glimmers of tantrums lately, confirming my theory. However, he was getting lots of teeth (he now has 12 regular teeth plus 4 molars) so that may also explain some of his not-so-cute moments. He stopped sleeping through the night, probably due to teething, prompting Mommy & Daddy to get a mini-fridge for upstairs so we will always have fresh milk ready for the 2 a.m. wakeups. We can no longer let him cry himself back to sleep because he gets really upset and throws everything out of the crib, including his lovey, which makes him even madder. Thus, he wont settle down until we come in and give him fresh milk, change his diaper (which is usually the cause of the wake-up) and put all pacifiers and his lovey back in the crib.

As I've posted lots of times, Waylon makes up for his lack of speaking with some serious physical skills. The kid has moves and is very coordinated for a toddler. He can walk/run all over with few incidents unless he's tired. When he does trip he can "save" himself easily. His favorite thing is still playing baseball in the backyard with his T-ball set. I cant get over how long that toy has kept his attention. He sometimes hits the ball so far that it shocks Aaron and I, but he also misses the T entirely sometimes. He definitely has the Strasburg/Thomas athleticism, and even loves to watch all sports on TV. I think we have a little all-star (or at least Most Dedicated Player) in our midst.