Parker 18 Months

Height: 31.3 inches (30%) Weight: 24 pounds 9 ounces (35%)

 He is our smallest kid yet!:)

Parker is now 18 months, which is so exciting for  a couple of reasons.  The biggest reason is because in our church that means he gets to go into nursery!  David and I have been counting down to this for about 17 months. ;)  We both have callings in church that make it more difficult to have an active toddler running around.  I figured Parker would be my first baby to transition well into nursery and had high hopes for him on that first day in nursery.  We were sadly mistaken.  He balled the whole time and one of us had to be in there with him the whole time. It had already been a bad and stressful day and we both had a million other things we needed to be doing for our callings during these 2 hours, but that all went down the drain and I stayed in there with the little man.  To be fair he has all of his back teeth coming in and he had not been himself for the days before this nursery day.  So his first Sunday in nursery was a bit of a failure, but luckily we had many more Sundays to let him try it out again.  The second Sunday David went and dropped him off and stayed in there for a few minutes and then was able to leave with no problems!! We were both sitting in class just waiting to here his scream out in the hall or have one of the leaders come in and tell us he was miserable again, but he stayed in the whole time and they said he did great and only had one short meltdown. What a relief! He came out of nursery so proud of himself holding his picture that he had colored and looking so big. It was so cute!
Parker has come so far in these 18 months. He is a funny and entertaining little kid.  He is very vocal and can say quite a few words. So far he says, hi, mama, dada, juice, go, one, two, three, there it is, Dave, and lots of different animal sounds.  He will point to an animal in a book and then do the sound that the make. He is pretty smart!:)  He is still a great eater.  He loves almost all fruits and vegetables and especially loves yogurt.  I am not a huge fan of the yogurt, because he insists on feeding himself and makes a pretty big mess with it. He will go and stand by the fridge waiting for someone to open it and then jump into it and try to find something he wants to eat and then quickly and forcefully close the door.  He is very independent.  He loves playing outside and about 3 weeks ago finally learned how to climb up the rock wall onto the "pirate ship."  He could not have been more proud of himself the first time he finally made it all the way up the first couple of times.  He still loves throwing anything and everything. Most people know that he is holding something they should cover their head, because he is most likely going to throw it at them at any moment.  He has finally gotten over his "trash" phase. We had the trash can on a chair for a while, so that he could not a.) throw things away that shouldn't be and b.) get things out of the trash that should not be touched.  He loves throwing his own diapers away and any trash that I may find around the house. He is actually a very neat child.  He likes his room to be clean and can follow simple commands that we tell him, like put your shoes away or put the book back.  He has recently switched rooms and now shares a room with David.  It has been about a week now and they both love having each other as roommates.  They both like a tidy room, which works well. 
My favorite time of day with Parker is when he first wakes up. This is the only time that he will actually let me hold him (while standing) and snuggle with him.  We just stand and rock back and forth for a minute or two until it is time to change that fun morning diaper.  He is also a pro at actually walking instead of sliding up and down the stairs. He is very careful and has not fallen down yet.  He loves bath time and if he hears you say the word he will run straight to the bathroom, while screaming, "bath, bath, bath!"  He loves to do everything that David and Maggie do and wants so badly to be included in all of their fun games.  He loves saying "hi" to people and will not stop saying it until he gets a "hi" in return. He also has to put his face right next to yours and look in your eyes, while doing this.  He is a great sleeper at night.  He doesn't take very long naps anymore. I am lucky if he stays asleep for an hour in the afternoon.  He absolutely HATES blankets.  He doesn't even like one sitting next to him on the couch.  He has also never taken a sippy cup to bed with him.  Sometimes if he has been extra rotten that day I will go and put blankets and a sippy cup in his crib.  As soon as he gets in there he immediatly starts throwing everything out in a panic.  Cruel and unusual punishment for an 18 month old, but it makes me laugh so hard at his disgust for things in his bed.
He is a very fun baby to have and we are entertained by him daily (good and bad). There is never a dull moment with that boy and we can't wait to see what a new baby will do to him and his ways.  It will be an interesting transition for all!