How is this littler booger a year and a half old?!?

Weight: He is 27 lbs.

Health:  This kid and teething. He now has 16 teeth. He had a rough time health wise the last month. He had an ear infection and a bout with RSV. We are doing much better now. He also endured quite possibly the worst diaper rash. It broke the skin in several places. It was so sad to have to change him because he was so uncomfortable. He still acts like he is teething right now with chewing on everything in sight (including his own hands), so I don’t know if those last four molars are coming in. I thought they come in much later!

Diet: He has the same appetite. He loves meats and carbs. We still struggle with getting him to eat vegetables. It is a little frustrating because he used to do so well, and he would eat more veggies than anything else. Thank goodness for squeeze packets. He loves veggies that way! He smacks his lips and starts salivating when we get them out. He will always eat oatmeal, rolls, chicken nuggets, and bananas. We have been really working on his utensil training. Some days he does a really good job; others a bath is a necessity. Many times, he will pick up his food with his hand and then try to stick it on his fork.

Clothes:  He is mostly in 18 month clothes. On tops we can also use 18-24, we just have to roll the sleeves up. 18-24 month pants are way too big. He is in still size 5 diaper and 5 shoe.

Sleeping:  We are officially down to one nap, and he takes it right at lunch time. He sleeps at night from 8-about 5:45am. (We have tried keeping him up later at night, but he still won’t sleep past 6.) He sleeps through the night pretty regularly still. Thank the Lord for that. Those nights while he was sick were absolutely brutal.

Likes: He loves the dog bed in the kitchen. Jumping on anything is a big hit. He LOVES blocks and stacking things. He loves pointing at things. Also proud parent moment, he started making fart noises with his hand/arm, so that is a fun past time for him. He likes to take my phone and turn it on and off and pretend he is talking on it. He loves to crawl in our laps. (I have loved how snuggly he has gotten over these past two months!) He absolutely loves to be outside. We have had a few nice days where we can go roam our yard and play on our slide. He loves to chase the dogs and throw them their balls. He thinks it is so fun to climb our hills and just be outside in general. I can’t wait for more consistently warm weather! He also loves this blue chair.

Dislikes: He does not like it when I am too slow with getting his milk cups ready. He did not like the Nebulizer and doing the breathing treatments. He does not like veggies. He also is not a fan of prayer time at dinner. He can see the food on the table and doesn’t understand why we have to hold hands and not be eating so we usually have to pray very loudly over his screams and clap for Jesus.

Milestones: He hugs us intentionally. It is the most delightful thing. He can follow most instructions like put “this” away, go to “this” room, hand me “this.” He is actually a really good listener. We have had some temper tantrums, but for the most part if you tell him a couple times and help redirect his attention he will listen to you. His new words are ball, Bill, bana (banana), key key (kitty), mmm (milk), yep, and cah (car). He does his own babbling a lot so we have started trying to make up what he is saying which has turned into some pretty hilarious sayings. He blows kisses and gives you open mouth kisses. We have had a solid week without a pacy anywhere! No car, no bedtime…NO PACY! He still cries for a few minutes in the car, but we sing the ABCs (which he will mouth it trying to mimick me) and talk about what is outside to distract him. I have been super amazed!

Quirks: He does this hunched over squat walk around the house. He just hunkers down and scuttles along. He does this scrunchy face smile where he crinkles his nose and shows you all his teeth. If you start laughing he will make himself laugh. He has had some issues with hitting. He has been hitting a lot of people. I tell him every morning that today is not the day to be a bully. Some days that message is received and other days it is not. But what is funny is when you try to correct him, he knows that he wasn’t supposed to do that so he will pull you in for a hug as you reprimand him for hitting and give you the best hug and a kiss. He is basically a sour patch kid commercial when it comes to hitting.

Nicknames:  Stink, Booger, Gdubs, Gman, Sweet cheeks, Little man, Georgie, Georgieman, and my most used right now is Boogs (short for another nickname booger).

We parents are:  tired. This has been rough couple of weeks. Tom’s quote, “We’re like college sophomores. We are still trying to figure things out, but we kind of know what we are doing. He is getting fed, and he has a roof over his head.” Our parenting in a nutshell some days. We have had a lot of family time this month too which has been nice. Also I am trying to comprehend how in the world he is 18 months old…That elephant used to be twice his size!

The dogs are: driving us a little bonkers. I think they can feel spring coming, and so they want to basically live outside right now, which means that they bark at us A LOT to let them out. Crosby will come in from outside and within five minutes bark at us to let him back out. They are still sweet dogs though. George just loves them. However, the hitting is not just happening with people.  We are really trying to curb that in general, but with him hitting the dogs specifically. He does give them hugs and kisses their backs every night before bed.

 Every day I love this kid more and more. I still can’t believe that he is ours most days. I still wonder how in the heck we became parents. But God graced us with this wonderful delight of a human being. He has such a bright personality that I am really enjoying watching come out more and more. He is going to be a ham for sure!

We love you so much George!