18 Months!

Brennan is 18 months old! It's hard to believe that he's already a year and a half!

~The past month has been huge for language acquisition! Out of curiosity, we made a list of words Brennan uses independently. At last count, I tallied 116 words! Words only used when repeated after we say them weren't included. If so, the list would seem endless! It's very exciting! His pronunciation is pretty accurate, although he has some trouble with consonant-vowel-consonant words. For example, "cup" is "pup" and "cat" is "tat", yet he can say words like "cracker" and "bubble" perfectly!
~Two of our favorite words are please ("peez") and love you ("of-vu"). He'll say please independently, which makes his requests hard to resist. He'll repeat love you after we say it. We look forward to the day he says it first!
~He's using some two and three word phrases. Some examples include "More please", "More please cracker", "No, Mommy", and "Me made a mess"
~When talking and not understood, Brennan will typically repeat his phrases/babbles over and over again.
~We recently started introducing colors. He has mastered purple, blue, and red. Every once in awhile, he will identify yellow and green.
~He continues to enjoy listening to and looking at books. We've found that if you pause towards the end of sentences/phrases, Brennan may finish it. We've always enjoyed reading to him, but it's becoming even more enjoyable with him joining in! Currently, he's a big fan of Dr. Seuss books and will request many by name ("Ham" for Green Eggs and Ham, "Pop on Pop" for Hop on Pop", "Eyes" for "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut", and "Tat in Dat" for "Cat in the Hat").
~He seems to really enjoy having Mommy and Daddy home at the same time. For example, at dinner, he'll state "Mommy! Daddy!" repeatedly. He also ask about the other parent when they are not around. He has developed a case of Mommy-itis when we're not at home or when we have visitors. Mommy must be in sight at all times.
~Brennan has transitioned to taking one nap a day. We considered transitioning him for a while since he wasn't consistently taking morning naps at the babysitter's house during the week. After only taking one twenty-minute nap in a four day period, we decided to try removing it from his routine. He made the transition fairly well, with a few days of crankiness after waking up from his afternoon nap. He goes to bed between 6:30-7:00pm and wakes up between 6:00-6:45am. He typically sleeps for one measly hour at 1:00pm. I've attempted to extend the nap with no luck. His mood is fine for the rest of the day, but I imagine he needs more than one hour of sleep during the day! Grandma Mealy and Aunt Adrianna have successfully put him back to sleep by telling him that nap time is not over. This technique does not work for Mommy or Daddy.
~When told that his food may be hot, Brennan will sometimes hand his food to Mommy or Daddy to blow on it, or blow on it himself. His blowing is more like a raspberry, so be careful if he already has a mouth full of food!
~He enjoys listening to nursery rhymes and children's songs. He'll ask for Ring Around the Rosey ("Ashes") and does some of the hand movements for Itsy Bitsy Spider.
~I am loving my summer vacation with Brennan! We've enjoyed playing at home, playdates with friends, a trip to the zoo, a trip to the Memphis Kiddie Park, going on walks, and a visit with the Mealy family in Cincinnati. My break is flying by, so I'm trying to cram in as much play time as possible!
~Watching Brennan interact with others is neat! It's not uncommon for him to say "hi" to strangers in the grocery store or approach children/adults at parks and flash a smile and giggle.
~He enjoys climbing on furniture and toys, this includes standing on some toys not meant to be stood upon.
~Brennan enjoys going upstairs ("Us-sayers") but has no interest in learning how to go down stairs.
~He's much more willing to give kisses, which we love! They continue to be open mouth kisses, which can leave the recipient messy, but they are worth it!