Joshua at 18 months

Josh is our little cheeser.  Whenever I get the camera out he smiles and says "cheese."  It's pretty cute.  Josh has a great smile and a fun and happy personality.

Josh's language is really exploding.  Just before he turned 18 months I started making a list of his words since I did that with the other two kiddos.  I stopped keeping track, though, because everyday he would surprise us with so many new ones.  So here's an abbreviated list:

Mama Dada Yiza (Liza) Cayba (Caleb) Bampa (Grandpa) Gammy (Grammy) bath ball milk more meee (please) poop wee wee shoes socks no nose play hi hello bye bye

night night book hot cracker bubble puppet diaper side (outside) yight (light) button wawer (water) flower table buckle moo baa doodle woof quack meow

bock bock rawr neigh dog bird tweet up that ear teeth eye tickle car vroom banket (blanket) smoothie bread egg pancake ice

bike truck help shirt marker fork sippy spoon dinner eat kiss thank you cereal apple strawb (strawberry) box blocks beam (sunbeam) men (amen) broke

baby Anne rock lello (marshmallow) treat yum cheese He-she (our cat) fire (as in firetruck) tape sticker pop (pop a bubble) ope (open) stairs shower coo coo clock

I hate giving Josh milk because he always always always dumps it out and splashes in it on his tray when I look away.  I don't like putting anything put water in other spill-proof sippy cups.  Speaking of milk, I weaned him a couple weeks before he turned 18 months.  For the last couple weeks, I was just nursing him in the morning so I could lay in bed a little longer and not have to get up with him at obscene hours of the morning.

Josh knows how to buckle himself into his eating seat.  He will often just climb up in his seat and buckle himself in, but he can't unbuckle it, so he just calls "buckle! buckle!" until someone lets him out.

Josh likes to throw things, including (but not limited to) balls.

After an outside haircut, Josh "rides" the purple trike topless (well, and pantsless too).

Rock collecting starts at an early age around here.  The only trouble is that he often combines them with some of his other favorite pastimes: eating and throwing.

At his 18 month check-up, Josh weighed 33 pounds and was 35 inches tall.  He didn't even flinch when he got shots.  I guess you don't even feel a pinch or sting when you have that much thigh between you and the needle.

Josh loves his new baby cousin Melody.  He tickles her little piggies and says "wee wee wee... home"

"Nose!"

He gives the baby good hugs and kisses

Mmmm blackberry jam sandwich!  Josh prefers his PBJs open-faced, so he usually looks like this after lunch.

I looked away for a second and Josh dumped out the bucket of food scraps that we were about to take out to the chickens.  Gross!

On the plus side, Josh is in the beginning stages of potty training.  He tells me when he needs to poop (or when he has just pooped).  When he has success (or tries really hard), everyone gets a couple mini marshmallows, so the big kids love helping him.

Josh is a brave and talented climber.  He goes up stairs just fine and he goes down pretty well too.  We still have a baby gate up at home because all the stairs around here end in concrete, so I don't want to chance it. The baby gate still isn't a substitute for constant supervision, though, as he can climb up the baby gate and/or yank it until he pulls it down. [update: Since I started drafting this post a week or so ago, Josh has figured out how to simply reach his arm over the gate and unlatch it.]

And he goes down slides without a second thought, most often on his tummy.  He always says "wee" when going down slides.  Speaking of "wee"...

"wee" = sliding on a slide or spinning in computer chair
"wee wee" = peeing on the potty, in the bathtub, in a diaper, etc.
"wee wee wee" = Josh's contribution to "This little piggy..."

Josh loves to read books on his own or have them read to him.

Coloring is fun, but eating markers and crayons is way more exciting.  I'm getting more lax in my old age.  The other kids never had access to markers and crayons at this age without supervision.  Josh knows where we keep everything and feels free to help himself.

Josh is a fan of food.  Pretty much any food will suit him.  Sometimes he even licks the bowl clean!  I know where he learned that trick!  The other morning he ate 5 pancakes for breakfast.  He easily goes through 2 bowls of oatmeal.  Picking strawberries with this kid is a lost cause. It's no wonder this kid is so solid!