Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Calvin Russell @ 18 months

Oh man, Cal is a freakin riot right now. He is getting so much personality and we are loving it. Here is a super long post about what is happening with him right now that I don't want to forget...

-Calvin is the world's best sleeper and loves his crib, as long as he has his trusty stuffed tiger. He never, ever cries when I put him in there, then always waves "bye" to me and blows me a kiss. After we get ready for bed and read stories, sometimes I will try to rock him in his rocker like I used to... after 5 seconds he will sign 'all done', point to his crib, then wave for me to leave. He sleeps 12 hours at night and takes a 3 hour nap during the day.

-He can say (in language that only Dal and I understand) the following words in context: cheese, cookie, drink, milk, dog, food, night-night, bye, hello, pooh (meaning Winnie the Pooh), duck, bee, tickle, go, car, bubble, thank you, baby, Mom, Dad, Nana, Papa, Yaya, ball, toes.

-He knows what the following animals say: duck, monkey, cow, sheep, lizard, bear, snake

-Cal loves to eat and very, very rarely refuses food. His favorite food is any kind of fruit... we go through like 3 things of raspberries every week! He is a little bit messy, but he has learned to feed himself with a spoon and it getting better and better.

-He likes the stroller and car as long as they are moving.

-Cal's favorite thing is to take Hobbes for a walk and carry the leash by himself. It might be the cutest thing in the whole world.

-We try not to watch TV super often, but he loves Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh

-Cal has always been really well behaved in restaurants, which is good because Dal and I love going out to eat. As of like a week ago, he refuses to sit in a high chair for even 1 second after he is done eating. This makes going out to eat kind of complicated since I can't just let him scream in his high chair and if I get him out he just wants to wander around the whole restaurant. The other time that he has become pretty naughty during the past few weeks is parking lots. I don't have clue why, but he loves them! Other times he will hold my hand, but when we are in a parking lot he wants to be walking and he screams if I hold his hand. So I am usually carrying him while he is screaming and trying to get away. The little mini-tantrum thing is very new for him (and me), so I am still trying to figure it out. Finding a balance between him knowing how much I love him/not making a scene in public, and teaching him that it is not OK to act like that has been a trickier balance than I anticipated. I figure that if I am not giving him what he is screaming about then I am probably OK. But it's mostly only in parking lots and restaurants, and sometimes when we make him come in from going on a walk with Hobbes.

-My very favorite thing that Calvin does right now is this little game we play where we will say, "shhh" and he goes and hides (meaning he stands against a wall and kind of covers his face). After a second, he will run towards us and say, "ahhhhh!", then laughs and claps. It is soooo funny.

-Calvin is a momma's boy and is kind of shy. He laughs and plays more when Dal is around, but he prefers me when it comes to cuddling or if he is tired or hurt.

-Cal loves to be outside. We have a perfect little yard for him and I am loving this nice weather because I just leave the door open almost all day that we are home and he just wanders out there.

-He is generally super naughty during church. Since I have to play the piano for primary, Dal basically just wanders the hall with him during the 2nd and 3rd hour. He just barely went to nursery for the first time and did great!

-Cal knows the word 'baby' and what it means, and he also knows 'belly' and can touch his or mine if I ask him where it is. He seems super confused when we tell him that there is a baby in my tummy. He definitely doesn't get it.

-He knows where these body parts are and can point to them when asked: belly, toes, tongue, teeth, eyes, ears, nose, eyes, toes

-Cal loves the park, especially the slides... not so much the swings

-He is obsessed with our phones. He will sit on my lap for a whole hour if I am showing him pictures of himself... he is his father's son. I feel OK about it though because he loves books more. Like- he really, really loves reading books.

-Cal's basketball hoop coaxed him to walk and he still loves it

-Recently we have felt like Cal is old enough to be more involved when we say prayers at our house. Dinner is trickier because he sees the food and just wants to eat it, but he is really cute and good when we say a little family prayer at night with him before he goes to bed. He kneels and folds his arms. We are still working on the 'amen' thing.

-He gives us kisses whenever we ask and it is our favorite 


We are seriously loving this state that Cal is in. It seems like he is learning a new word every day! He is such a sweet, funny little boy and we are so blessed to have him as a part of our family.

1 comment:

  1. ugh. i can't believe he is so big! he's such a handsome little guy! love you guys! glad you're doing well! good luck with tantrums...ha

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