Dexter is 18 (and a half) months old!

I hope you're all sitting down - I'm behind in my updates.  As I type this, it is April 19, and Dexter is 18.5 months old.  Here's my best stab at remembering how things were 2 weeks ago...


Dexter's half birthday started out with a tasty breakfast of bananas ("na-na"), pancakes, and milk.  Plus a little ham and cheese for the camera.

Are those not the cutest monkey pajamas you've ever seen?!

Later, he helped Dad mow the grass.

Then he had a proper half-birthday dinner of pizza and cake (and more milk).

That's a pretty sweet smile, even if it is a chocolate-covered one.

BIG news to cover this month, mostly in the area of WORDS!

Words:  In short, Dexter had 42 words as of April 4.  (FORTY-TWO!  The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything!)  More details to come.

Signs:  We have a few more signs now.  Still good with:
more
eat
banana
grape
bath
please

and we've added
sleep
milk
apple


Sleep:  Ugh.  Adjustment to the toddler bed is not going so well.  It typically takes a full hour to get him to sleep every night. (And that's AFTER bath, pajamas, teeth, and book, which brings the total closer to two full hours dedicated to Dexter's bedtime routine.)  It's been a month and a half; I thought we'd be further along by now.  In any case, once he's down, he's down for the night (about 70% of the time).  The rest of the time, he'll show up in our room partway through the night and is content to actually sleep in our bed. We're mostly cool with that, although it presents some issues when Desmond decides he's hungry.  Dexter screams bloody murder if I get up to feed Desmond (even if I don't leave the room), which mans Dennis gets more than his fair share of nighttime feedings. 

Still, he's snuggly and cute. And it won't be long before he doesn't want to have anything to do with us at all, so we've kindof decided to ride this train for a while.

Teeth: STILL only 12.  I think I see the tips of his eye teeth just below the surface, but I can't feel anything yet. 

Food: Bananas are still a favorite. Grapes, too.  Strawberries if they're around. I guess he's just a fruit fiend. Which is better than his being, say, an ice cream fiend. (He could take it or leave it.)  He does like m&ms, though.  Sometimes his meals are shockingly large (2 bananas, 6 oz of yogurt, 3 pancakes, grapes, 10 oz of milk), and sometimes not so much (a few bites of a few things before he starts playing and then is ready to get down).  Overall, I think he eats a relatively balanced diet of proteins, starches, fruits, and veggies, plus the occasional treat.  He still gets a multivitamin every night just to ensure he's getting everything he needs.

Tricks: Boy does Dexter have a ton of tricks!  Some of my favorites:

• Saying "cheers!" and wanting to clink glasses at mealtimes
• Doing the hand motions to itsy-bitsy-spider
• Jumping! He even gets off the ground now and everything!
• Making the noises/motions with his "Mr. Brown Can Moo" book

Games: I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever get tired of playing chase.  It's cool, though. Keeps me on my toes, and I LOVE that hearty giggle when I "surprise" him from around a corner.

As far as toys go, anything that makes the living room look like a tornado has struck seems to be a favorite. 

Books:  He doesn't exactly have a single favorite right now. More like a few top choices.  In addition to "Mr. Brown Can Moo," he also enjoys a Sesame Street "open the flap" type of book and his "touch the art" board books - a gift from the Nulks for his first Christmas.

Hair: Oh, Dexter's hair.  I can only describe the back as "cotton candy."  It's just sortof fluffy and sticks up in a big poof in the back. (You can kindof see it in his breakfast photos above.)  I don't know why. We comb it every night. I think he just pulls and rubs at it in his sleep and/or rubs his head on his mattress a lot to make a tangled mess.  We've tried a few different things, but nothing seems to work.  Good thing bed head looks so cute on a toddler. :)

Dexter's Artwork

Well, we knew this day would come.  As usual, I just didn't expect it to come quite this soon.

That's red dry-erase marker.  He also got the tile floor in the kitchen, wood floor in the hallway/breakfast, and the freezer door. (And, we found out later, Desmond's carseat.) It cleaned up relatively easily with a combination of Magic Eraser + rubbing alcohol on a toothbrush, but that's not how I was expecting to spend any time this evening.

Even weirder? I wasn't even remotely upset about any of it. Laughed, in fact.  I think he's wearing me down.

Dexter's Sleep

A month and a half later, we're all still adjusting to life without a crib.  It still typically takes a full hour to get Dexter in bed for the night, and about half the time, he gets up during the night and comes into our bed.  No biggie.

A couple of weeks ago, we finally splurged on the Summer Infant Video Monitor, which we really should have bought months ago.  But now we have it, and it is GREAT!

Anyway, Desmond woke up hungry at 3:30 this morning.  While I was up with him, I figured I'd just check in on Dexter via the video monitor.  He wasn't in his bed.

No big deal. On a few occasions, we've found him asleep on the floor partway through the night. I figured he was just in a corner of the room that we couldn't see on the video monitor.  So I decided to check on him.

I walk in. The bed is empty.  The floor is empty.  I check corners.  No Dexter.  I check his bathroom. No Dexter.  I decide it's just too dark, so I turn on the bathroom light. Still no Dexter.  Re-check the corners. Still no Dexter. 

I was about a nanosecond from screaming for Dennis when something compelled me to look under the bed:

Phew.  I don't know when he got under there, or how he managed to get so far in that the bedskirt appeared completely undisturbed.  Never mind managing not to hit his head or scratch his back or anything. 

But there he was, happily asleep and definitely still breathing. 

Spring has sprung!

Short sleeves! Shorts!  Fun colors!  Winter is over! (At least, it's warm right now and we're just going to go with it.)

Dexter's 18 month Stats

Another great visit to the pediatrician today.  Dexter got a (mostly) clean bill of health.  He does have an ear infection and is back on amoxicillin for it.  We'll get it licked one of these days.

Weight: 28 pounds, 12.8 ounces (83rd %ile)
Height: 34.5" (94th %ile)
Head Circumference: 19.25" (79th %ile)

Among the developmental questions we were asked:
Does he take off his clothes, including diaper or socks? (um, yeah. Just try to keep a sock on this kid.)
Can he stack blocks at least 3 high? (Those stacking blocks are his favorite toy, and he only stops when he can't reach that high anymore.)
Does he climb stairs with assistance? (To quote his father, "Well, he hasn't lately. Mostly he does it all by himself.")
And, the best one - Does he have at least six words?  (HA!  And here I was frantically counting them up before the appointment because I was sure they'd ask how many.  FORTY-TWO!  So yeah. More than six.)


He also got two shots today - chicken pox and pneumococcus vaccines.  We were on the fence about doing the chicken pox vaccine, but in the end, we're scientists, you know?  Hopefully they'll have a great booster in 10 years or so when he needs it.  I think the nurse hit a really bad spot with the shots. Dexter was VERY unhappy and actually had to be pinned down.  Then later tonight, he got up on my lap, rubbed his thigh, and said (in his sweetest little voice) "owwww."  Broke my heart.  So that damned chicken pox vaccine had better work and it had better work for a LONG time.

Easter 2010 in Pictures

 

Grandma got LOTS of hot dogs for the festivities.

 

Check out that supah-klassy pool-filling system. 

(I think the word you're looking for is "hoosier.")

 

And then the Easter Bunny came!

I think he likes it.

And the ears are done for! As it should be.

Yo there, big brother. Whatcha got?

Wait. I changed my mind. I don't think I like that.

 

Let me check again.

Happy Easter!