Toddler Update

Due to our loss, I missed A Healthy Slice of Life's monthly Munchkin Meals link-up.

Liam is now 18 months old. We stopped nursing the day after he turned 18 months. It had become too painful for me. I thought Liam would be upset, but he never once got upset, or asked for it.

At his most recent appointment, he weight 25 lbs 15.9 oz and measured 33.5 inches tall. He took his vaccination like a champ (didn't even wince, let alone cry), and we are done with shots until kindergarten!

He continues to thrive in daycare. He now says More, Please, Up, Door, Bus, and he has even started to string words together into two-word phrases. The most common is "Uh oh, Daddy" when he drops (or throws) something.

In physical development, he prefers to walk up and down stairs, rather than climb, while holding onto an adult's hand. He climbs onto and off of the sofa constantly. He loves to roll a ball back and forth with me or Dave. He draws lines with crayons.

Liam eats dairy products like it's his job: yogurt, milk, and cheese. Oh, the cheese. He eats about 4 sticks of cheese a day. He likes to eat some foods with utensils (yogurt, applesauce, pasta, etc.), and other things with his hands. If he eats it with his hands, I am not allowed to cut it into bite-size pieces, specifically, bananas, graham crackers, waffles, the aforementioned cheese sticks, etc.

He still prefers to eat a lot throughout the day, and eats very little at dinner time. I'm okay with it. I get reports from daycare that he ate all of his snack (they serve lots of fresh fruits, yogurt, cheese and crackers) and he usually eats all of his lunch (pasta salad with mushrooms and tomatoes; scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and melon; sun butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread, etc.).

Liam continues to sleep well. He takes one mid-afternoon nap, between 2 to 3 hours long. He goes to bed between 7 and 7:30 p.m., and wakes between 6 and 7 a.m.

He is an awesome little boy, for the most part. I mean, after all, he is a toddler, and toddlers can be frustrating. Not only because they can't express themselves well yet, but also because they do things like crush their graham crackers all over the floor you just mopped, grab your "new patient" paperwork from the dentist that you left at the edge of the counter and crumple it.

But he also does things like walk over and give you unsolicited hugs and kisses. He beams with pride when he learns how to do things he couldn't before. He dances around the living room to Elton John (the kid has good taste in music). He tries to make phone calls on the calculator. He makes us laugh at the exact times we need to, when we remember his little sibling and are feeling sad.