17 1/2 Months

Troy is almost 18 months. Two words to describe him are Busy Body. My mom told me that babies don't hear the word "no" or "don't" in a sentence, they just hear what comes after it. So when I say, "Troy, don't put the peanut butter in your hair." He proceeds to put the peanut butter in his hair with a smile on his face. Oh but the smile is too cute to get mad at. He will stop when he knows he shouldn't be touching something, like a cd. But only after he has touched it. He will pick it up and give it to me with an innocent face.

He eats peanut butter sandwiches by seperating the bread first, which gets very messy. He eats oreos the same way. He loves oreos just as much as daddy does. If he sees someone eating an oreo, there is no going back. He has to have some.

He loves oreos to the point that when we walk by a package in the grocery store he starts whining for one. He does the same whining when we pass yogurt. It makes grocery shopping less enjoyable but then a store clerk gives him a sucker and all is better.

He can drink out of a cup by himself but doesn't quite understand gravity yet. He has got wet quite a few times. He can feed himself with a spoon but gets more messy than I would like. He can use a fork to eat eggs if I help him.

He can go down the slide backwards all by himself and climb the stairs to get to it. I don't even think to let him try these things until we happen to be around a playground. He loves to swim, especially in his baby floaty where he can be his own man. He is fascinated with any musical instrument but does not want to be taught how to play them. He is very independent. Unless something is his idea, he probably won't do it.

He is a problem solver and organizer. He likes to use toys or kitchen utensils as an extension of his arms. He will pick up things or reach things with them. He likes to carry things in his hands. He always closes doors or cabinets after using them. Sometimes he tries to close them on me because he is done. He is very persistent.

Troy is observant. He understands a lot of what we are saying to him but does not say words. He will go get the ball upstairs or close the door or point to the animal if we want him to but laughs when I try to get him to repeat me. He plays with my mouth as I sing and laughs at the way it moves. He will sometimes say animal noises but not regularly. On occasion he will say mama or dada. I'm not really that worried because he has tested fine in every other area, but it would be nice if he could tell me what he wants sometimes! He makes up for it by giving us hugs or kisses when we ask for them. They last about 1 second, but at least he does it.

He is hilarious when he is tired because he flaps his arms and runs in circles. We play duck duck goose as he wanders around and he laughs hysterically when we grab him and say goose.

He loves to read. He hands me his books and then turns the pages before I can finish reading them. He loves when we sing. Well, when I sing. His favorite is the alphabet song (in a different tune than normal.) He dances to it. He's going to have all the primary songs memorized by the time he gets into primary (the ones I know at least.)

Troy will be going to nursery soon! He went for 45 minutes on Sunday. He is so shy around other children. He likes to observe them as they play. If they are about his age then he will play with them, but not if they are older. He doesn't cry if someone takes something of his, which is great. He does try to get it back or takes another toy they are playing with. He does cry when he realizes he doesn't know anyone.

His smile melts my heart every time. I LOVE getting him from his crib. He gets excited when he knows we are coming, especially if he sees Ben. Troy loves his daddy so much. He can't wait to play with him when he gets home. Sometimes it's hard because Ben can't focus on other things but it's really cute that Troy loves him so much. We love our Troyster.