Half birthday man!

Happy half birthday to our favorite little buddy!

Time seems to be racing on by with our clan, & Joe is just growing like a weed! He's getting heavier & taller right before our eyes (which is slightly problematic considering his winter clothes are getting tight/short but spring just doesn't seem to be on the way quite yet.) We have his 18 month check-up on Friday so we'll get the official stats then, but I think he's just shy of 30 lbs right now.

Here's the lowdown on our new one-&-a-half-year-old:

- He loves to sing! Some of his favorites are "Ginkle Ginkle", "Row Row", "Bumblebee", & the ABCs. Oh, and anything by Taylor Swift. (Kidding! Well, kind of... He can sing along to Never Ever Getting Back Together. "Evuh evuh evuh back gether".) He recently became a fan of Gangnam Style as well, singing "whoop whoop whoop Gang-um Sty!" anytime he hears it. He's like a little musical sponge these days, soaking in any tunes he hears!
- He blew me away one day about a month ago by saying "six, seven, eight, nine" completely out of nowhere (Brooke did the exact same thing with the exact same numbers at this age.) We've been working hard on #'s 1-3 to go along with it.
- He is addicted to his pacifier. All day long I hear "I pappy? I pappy?", to which my response is usually no. I'm trying desperately to restrict the pacifier to naptime/bedtime only, but I seem to be failing. There's been so much whining lately that I often give in just to give my ears a break from all the noise! Why so much whining? Because...

- We've dropped the morning nap. And I'm in deep mourning about it, let me tell ya. And, quite frankly, so is Joe. He is soooooo tired allllll the time. The pediatrician recommended it several weeks ago when we were getting his ears checked. She made it sound like we were well past the time when he should have dropped it. So we're currently 2.5 weeks in and his little body has still not adjusted. He's exhausted by lunchtime, often laying his head down on his high chair tray while he eats or falling asleep on the couch just after. You'd think his afternoon naps would be so much better b/c of all this, but no dice. He only sleeps about 1.5-2 hours (unless I'm holding him, in which case he could probably sleep through dinner.) The time between his too-short afternoon nap & dinner is my least favorite time of the day!! He is a super crab, often found crying at my feet while I cook b/c I won't give him another snack. You might also think that because he's so tired all day he'd sleep longer at night, right? No sir. He still gets up every morning between 5:00-6:30 & refuses to go back to sleep unless we bring him to our bed. (This is changing SOON, my friends. Mean Mom over here is on Day 2 of making him cry it out in the mornings. He cried from 6:15-6:50 this morning, then slept another hour.) To sum up, we're all VERY VERY TIRED.
- On a much lighter, less woe-is-me note, Joe is still 184% obsessed with "bat-ket-ball!" He loves loves loves it. It's the first thing he does after breakfast in the morning & often the last thing he does before story time at night. He's really good, you guys. He can sink it from 3-4 ft away and has a "perfect chest pass", according to his godfather. He will happily play by himself forever, especially now that Daddy taught him to play catch with himself by throwing the ball up against the wall so it bounces back to him. Mom is thrilled about this little trick. (That was sarcasm.) He loves when we play with him & always wants us to shoot so he can chase after the ball. He also loves to watch basketball, which is absolutely fantastic b/c now he can be his Daddy's basketball wingman so I don't have to. This very boyish thing is, hands-down, his most favorite thing in the world at this moment, which is a great thing because....

- ...he's kinda girly otherwise. I think the husband is getting a little nervous. Evidence: he thinks everything is "pink" (we're working hard on green & blue, but not happening), he loves to get "dancy" in Brooke's dress-ups, he can identify several of the Disney princesses (in his defense, he can also ID many of them male characters - Mickey, Donald, etc.), the movie Tangled holds his attention much longer than any other movie we've tried (outside of Elmo). It all adds up to one pretty girly guy.
- Joe wants to eat all day long. Like, every 12 minutes. As soon as he finishes one snack, I hear "empty" or "all gone" and then "more pease?" We have so many fights about this each day; he's big enough - I refuse to let him snack all day! He's a great eater at mealtime. He loves all fruits - they are the first thing to disappear from his plate & often with unsettling quickness. "Mananas" are his faves, with apples a close second. Other food favorites: hot dogs, raisins, peas, "pretbulls" (pretzels), cereal, "mellows" (marshmallows), and frosting. The only things I can think of that he won't eat are asparagus & cake.
- He blows kisses, which is such a warm & fuzzy thing to see. He kisses his hand, complete with the smooch sound, and then sends it your way!
- When he doesn't have a basketball in his hand, he can often be found holding a crayon & notebook. He loves to scribble! Unfortunately, the kitchen floor, playroom wall, table, and even his plastic basketball hoop have all become his canvases. Don't get me wrong, this is a great motor skill to have & we're so glad he has an interest in the arts (how sophisticated!) But I spend a quarter of my day searching the playroom for rogue crayons so I don't have to wipe Joe's masterpieces off of any more surfaces.
- His vocabulary is growing rapidly. He pulls out a new word we haven't heard every day. And he's starting to string words and phrases together. For example, when I brush his teeth, this very independent little boy constantly grabs for his Elmo toothbrush saying "No, I try." When he can't find me, he will walk around the house yelling "Mommy, are you? Arrrrre you?" (Brooke did this, too. One of my most favorite things ever.) After my Grandma treated us to lunch today, I said to him "Joe, what do you say to Grandma Faye?" In his sweet little voice, he said "Thank you...for dinna." Who cares that he got the meal wrong, I can't even handle how awesome that is.
- I know I've said it before, but this child is a major Mama's Boy! It seems to be getting even worse when we're at home, preferring to be in my arms/on my lap/at my feet most of the day. He has finally gotten to the point where he realizes that I've left him; it's not always right away, but after a while he figures it out and gets upset. I bet I hear the word "Mommy" 1000 times a day from this little guy. When he cries out in his crib, it's "Mommy!" When I won't give him a snack, it's an angry "Mommy!" When he's tired, it's a much whinier "Mommy!" It's all. day. long. Though, I must say,  when I get home from running errands or being out of his sight for a minute, the very sweet and excited "Mommy!" I get makes my heart melt a little. Ok, a lot.

With the exception of the past few rough weeks, Joe really is such a happy guy! He greets everyone with a giant smile. He shows so much compassion & empathy for a boy his age. He's pretty good at sharing (he's had a lot of practice...) & playing with others. He seems to be more of a follower at the moment, preferring to mimic others over playing solo. He's finally old enough to go to the Mother Goose class at the Rec in a few weeks, & I know he's just going to adore it! I can't wait to see him thrive outside of his sister's shadow!

As has become our family tradition, we had a little 1/2 bday celebration for him to honor the big day!

He loved being sung to, even sang along at one point. (p.s. I'm so bummed this is blurry!)

 He was admiring his new Magna Doodle for a minute. He is obsessed with his sister's & we're sick of the fights, so this was an easy choice for his 1 little gift! (And now they're fighting over this one....sigh.)

 

6 months until 2! Time to start planning his party! (I kid, I kid.)