18 Months! Where Does The Time Go?

Josiah is a year and a half old today!  I think that officially means he is no longer a baby and entering the exciting world of true toddlerhood.  Thank goodness another one is brewing, though.  It is ok that our little baby has grown because he is more fun than I ever imagined.  It’s also ok that he is highly mobile and able to get into everything because that also means he’s a little independent and I don’t have to carry him everywhere.  Also, he listens pretty well, so I don’t have to constantly worry about where he is and what he is doing.

This little man LOVES a good stick!

Overall, we are quite blessed with Josiah’s temperament.  He throws very few short-lived fits (though I’m sure these will increase in frequency and duration with time), is relatively easy going, a great eater, and quite happy.  He keeps us laughing and has us acting like fools regularly in order to play his games. 

Did you know Superman sucks his thumb and has a blankie?  Actually, while Josiah does love his thumb, he doesn’t carry a blankie or any other comfort item.  I do think his thumb sucking is one reason for his good temperament as he just sticks it in when he’s tired.

Unfortunately we STILL struggle with the church nursery.  He’s doing much better actually being in the nursery these days, but after we pick him up he just wants to high-tail it out of there!  Heaven forbid we need to stick around for a bit for some reason.  He’s all business about getting far far away from that place. People probably think I’m a terrible mom because he carries on so, but I figure if that is the only time I have to deal with it, then he must have some reason(?) and I’m golden.   Heck, I think he enjoys the doctor’s office more!  I just don’t get it, but I sure wish I did so I could maybe fix it.

I’ve been trying to think of new words Josiah says since his 15 month update, but most of his words are just sounds I recognize and they are difficult to pin down.  He also says lots of stuff one time just to mimic us.  In addition to the words mentioned last time, he does clearly say “G-ma” for Grandma, “Papa”, “boof” for boat (bath toy) and “this” when he points.  He also seems to say “juice” ever since he got sick and I gave him juice, though now he never really gets it and we give water instead, so now he’ll be confused!  As far as animal sounds go, he can do the cat, dog, bird, cow, rooster, elephant, monkey, gorilla, and the horse.

My little man loves his magnetic animal puzzle, can you tell?

Since the last update, I have begun working part time, so Josiah and I haven’t been together 24/7 and lately much of our free time together has been spent in search of child care or in some other preparation for this next stage such as attempting to shop for work clothes/maternity clothes.  While I know all of this will pay off in the long term, as I write this and realize we haven’t had as much fun and I have fewer pictures to share, I kind of want all that time back.  On the positive side, he has had the opportunity to spend more time with his Daddy, Grandma, Granny, and Papa, as well as a couple other friends here and there.  Thanks to each of them for their help!  Also, since starting his new childcare (today is day two), things have gone fabulously!  I’m hoping this even helps with the church nursery issue.  Today when I dropped him off, he didn’t even whine.  It helped that there was a 3 year old there that he loves.

I don’t know why I’m including this picture, but I think it is funny that he routinely stores his leftover food in this little nook of his sippy cup.  Can you see the sweet potato slices?

It seems that everyday Josiah develops more, begins playing in new ways and mimicking more of what we say or do.  He loves storytime and is beginning to anticipate what is next in books.  He enjoys pushing tractors and trucks around and has to do sound effects when he does.  We also laugh at him when he does his silly “rain dance”.  It is quite odd looking and reminds me of an Indian dance.  We’ve had so much rain lately that we’re sure that is what he’s doing.  He also recently learned to show his muscles.  He clenches his fists and just shakes and makes a fighting face, then bursts into a huge smile.  Too cute!  Each day is a new discovery for both him and us.

  Here are several pictures of one of our pool/sprinkler playtimes:

     

He loves the hose.  I taught him to drink from it.

Yay!

Muscles!

As I said, he loves a stick.  He tried to eat this one and I told him “no”, so he kept pretending to eat it as you see below.

Here, he had just picked up the sprinkler and the water had yet to come down on him…

…then the water mysteriously fell down on him from above and surprised him.  His response was to point it at me as he tried to get away from it….

       …then he breaks free and is safe only to realize that all is well.

Our little boy is SUCH a little sweetie and we can’t get over how crazy we are about him.  He is funny and (usually) pure enjoyment to be around.  I can’t believe he has been a part of our lives for so long, yet such a short time as he seems to have been such an important part of our lives for so long now, but it has passed so quickly.  I so look forward to our future with him and seeing just who he becomes.