19 months old!

You turned 19 months old today, Carter.  If Daddy and I thought your first year flew by, this second one feels like it’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.  You are growing so fast and soaking up knowledge like a little sponge.

This past month has definitely been different than I imagined, but in some ways it was better than I had hoped.  Despite being vaccinated, I managed to catch a terrible case of the flu just days before Christmas, so all our plans had to be cancelled.  I still haven’t shaken my cough, but at least I finally feel better.  Thankfully my prayers were answered and by God’s grace, Daddy and you both avoided catching it from me.

We spent Christmas at home alone (just Daddy, you and me), and it wound up being one of the best days ever.  Daddy picked up Chinese takeout and we just relaxed (me on the couch most of the day) and watched you open and play with every single present.  Daddy and I both remarked that it was one of the best Christmases either of us can remember.  We enjoyed the slower pace and spending the day together as a family.  And you became an expert gift-opener.  It was wonderful!

Some of your favorite gifts have been your Dyson vacuum that looks just like Mommy’s and your trains and cars and trucks.  We got you a rug with roads on it and you love to sit on it and run your little vehicles around.  We also got you a train set, but you seem to like taking the wooden tracks apart more than building them or running the trains on them.  Our wonderful neighbors bought you a Thomas toy with ramps and you have been using it to send all your cars and trains shooting down the ramp, across the dining room floor and into the kitchen.  It’s great exercise for you to retrieve them over and over again!

Since opening your wooden vehicle set from Grandma, you have taken even more interest watching the cars and trucks go by outside our front windows.  You are thrilled when we see a school bus and our trash/recycling pickup day is the highlight of your week!  Even the mail truck is exciting for you.  Daddy takes you out to get the mail with him most days and you love it.

 

You have liked to pretend for a while, but this month you really love it.  You make animal noises as you crawl (or hop or slither, depending on the animal) around the house until we guess what you are and you think it’s hysterical if we pat you on the head and call you that animal like we really believe that’s what you are!  And you like to instruct me on what animal I should be so we can crawl around the house together.

 

You also think it’s super funny to come walking in wearing Daddy’s slippers and baseball hat and for me to pretend like I think you’re him.  You smile so big like you really think you’re fooling me!

You know almost all of your colors now and you love to find things that match.  Even when you’re playing by yourself, I sometimes walk in and find you sorting your toys by color.

 

Hands-down, though, your number one obsession this month has been LETTERS.  Daddy bought you a set of wooden alphabet blocks for Christmas and you fell in love with them immediately.  You would spend all day learning letters if we’d let you.  It’s hard to avoid because, as you’ve made us very aware of this month, letters are EVERYWHERE!  You can’t walk past a sign, read a book or look in the fridge or pantry without pointing out every letter you recognize and telling us what sound it makes or what words/names start with that letter.  When we color with crayons, all you want to do is tell me what letters to write and where on the page.  You push the buttons on the TV or the remote control until you turn on the guide, just so you can see all the letters (You like the guide better than the shows!).  You even “see” letters in abstract things, like the “D” you found in the pattern on Grandma’s rug and the “W”s you insist are in the texture on our ceilings.  So far the letters you know well are A, B, C, D, E, G, J, K, M, O, R, S, T, W and X.  I think that’s a lot for your age.  We usually only have to tell you once and you know it!

 

Your vocabulary is probably up to about 60-80 words now and you’ve been making an effort to at least try to say more words when we ask you to, though your attempts are often not even close to the actual word you’re trying to say.  Actually most of what you say is only recognizable to Daddy and me, but I think that’s normal at your age.  Even your words that are nothing like the real words sound the same every time you say them.  It’s like you have no idea you’re saying them wrong.  Probably because it’s so cute we don’t have the heart to correct you!  You still use your sign language all the time, too.

Your most used word lately is “again,” but when you say it, it sounds more like “an-yeh?”.  Any time we do something you like or think is funny, you do the sign for “more” and begin saying “An-yeh?  An-yeh?” until we do it again.  This usually goes on at least ten times or until we get tired (especially if we’re doing something physical like helping you do flips).  You are completely devastated when the fun finally comes to an end.  Thankfully you’re still easily distracted most of the time!

 

Everyone we’ve seen recently has commented on how tall you’ve gotten.  Your pants are all getting short on you, though they all still fall off your waist!  At your 18-month checkup, you were in the 40^th percentile for weight and the 90^th for height.  Your head is still huge, but you have dropped from the 95^th to the 93^rd percentile, so we maybe it will stop growing so fast.  Still, we can barely fit your head into any hat smaller than a 4T this winter!  Every checkup, your doctor smiles and says you must just have more brains than the rest of us…

 

I recently decided to offer you some transitional objects to help with bedtime in case we ever need to leave you with a babysitter.  I put several in your crib to see which one you would gravitate towards.  I should have known better because you chose not one, but FOUR objects that you now need to have with you every night.  They are: a duck lovey, an elephant lovey, a little plush lamb rattle and one particular super-soft blanket.  We watch you on the video monitor and every time you wake during the night, you reach your hands around until you find one, lift it up to see it, place it next to you and then reach for the next one until you’re sure all four are with you.  When you wake up in the morning, you stand in your crib and call for us until we come in and then you drop back down and gather all 4 of your guys in your arms to bring them into our bed or downstairs to the living room.  They are quite an armful for us and two armfuls for you, which is interesting for Daddy and me, trying to carry you and all of that stuff down the stairs!

 

We’ve been doing play dates with your friend Logan down the street for a couple of months now.  He is a real “rough and tumble” kind of guy, whereas you enjoy playing with your sister’s pink kitchen and doll houses, so I keep joking that maybe some of Logan's "boy-ness" will rub off on you!  He's about a month younger than you and you guys are wonderful playmates.  In all the hours you've spent together, nobody has ever tried to hit, push or hurt the other in any way.  Even when you occasionally want the same toy at once, there have been no tears or meltdowns.  It gives me great hope that your sister and you will be able to get along and play well together.  I enjoy having an adult to talk to during the day, so these play dates have been fun for me.  Plus Logan has awesome toys and I think you have a bit of a crush on his mommy, so you LOVE going to his house to play!

I love every day with you and I can’t wait to see what you do next, Carter Maxwell.  Happy 19-month birthday, Buddy!

Love,

Mommy