18 Month Update

Took him to the pedi this week. The doctor was pleased with his progress. He's in the 60th percentile for height and weight. The doctor said he'd be about 5'10" tall when he's grown. I thought you couldn't tell until they were 3. My nephews are going to by 6'7" for Garrett and 6'5" for Devon, so maybe a little bit of height runs in my family. In my nephews' case, I think it's pretty clear it comes from their mom.

Declan can say "bye-bye" pretty well, and he may be saying book and ball; it's kind of hard to tell. He can point to his nose, ear, chin and hair, and he knows at least 8 signs (milk, juice, water, cracker, dog, sleep, diaper, book). He's a climber, too. Loves to climb the couch, the stepladder (we're painting the bedroom), the coffee table, the chairs, anything he can.

He's also starting to throw temper tantrums and hit me when he's mad. So I asked the pedi for suggestions about discipline, because unfortunately, my first instinct was to smack his hand for hitting me. Not a very productive thing to do, I admit. So I didn't, but I was lost for options. She suggested a few things to try, like starting time-outs in a playpen.

He loves to play games. Like peek-a-boo, scary monster (where one of us hides behind a door and grrrs at him when he opens it), chasing and being chased. He charms all sorts of people when we go out and he says "bye-bye" and waves to them over and over. It's very cute.