One and a Half!

My little pride and joy is exactly a year and a half old today! And my what big changes he had this past month!

The most exciting being that a couple weeks ago we finally finished his nursery (OK, it's only 95% finished, but it's close enough that he can use it!) which meant that for the first time in five months he had a room to sleep in all by himself. I was pretty nervous about how it would go...and he slept just like normal! Which meant, he still woke up a few times during the night and I had to rock him back to sleep. Since he is the age that he is, I was growing a little tired of this. I decided that since we are now in a place where we plan on staying awhile, that I would try the CIO (cry it out) method.

I'm sure I did it wrong the first night because as soon as he started crying I went into his room. He began signing and saying, "milk" so I left the room to pretend that I was getting him some (I say pretend because I never give him liquids in the middle of the night. No sense in starting that habit) and went back a minute later hoping he would lay down for me without me having to rock him. That wasn't happening so I decided to leave the room. The crying lasted for 15 minutes and then he began saying, "mama, mama" so....I caved. I went in and said, "Lay down", which he did, but a minute later when he realized I wasn't in the room with him he began crying again. Within 10 minutes he was asleep again. The whole process lasted 28 minutes. This was last Monday. Here's what happened the following nights:
Tuesday-He slept the whole night!
Wednesday-He woke up (I didn't go into the room at all), crying lasted 7 minutes.
Thursday-Crying lasted 1 minute

Ever since last Thursday, he has SLEPT THE ENTIRE NIGHT THROUGH!!! And what's even better, is he is sleeping in longer. He used to wake up around 6 and I would bring him into bed with me. He would then either fall back asleep or we would just lay there for a bit. Now he's not waking up until 7:30. This really pleases me because he only naps for an hour and a half. YAY!!! Now, if only I can get him to fall asleep on his own for naps and bedtime without me leaning over the crib patting his back. I have a feeling I'll be trying the CIO method again real soon!

Now I have to brag about how smart he is! Greg has been working with him on learning different body parts, and he now knows where his hair and his feet are. He also knows where his teeth are, and if I tell him it's time to brush his teeth he sticks his finger in his mouth and mimics brushing his teeth. Speaking of teeth, one of his bottom molars broke through the gums on Monday.

He learned to sign and say the word "please". He doesn't sign it correctly, but I know what he means which is fine with me. He'll catch on with the right way eventually. He has also began to say the words: more, golf cart (which is his absolute favorite thing), truck, juice, cracker, and cookie. There's probably more but these are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Despite the fact that he is my little angel, he does have some "not so great" qualities about him right now. He has been disciplined several times for constantly putting things in his mouth that he shouldn't and he thinks when you tell him "no" that it's funny. It may not sound like much but there's only so many times he'll stick acorns (or a screw, or a rock, or a washer, etc.) in his mouth, and we tell him no, or chase him around so we can try to get whatever is in his mouth out of his mouth without being bitten, that one can handle. Lets just say he is very rambunctious and keeps us on our toes.


He has never met a stranger and wants everyone to pick him up...be it the internet service technician or the waitress at a restaurant, he LOVES people! Especially kids! I hope to find a play group to join soon so he can have more interaction with other toddlers.

We have a fake fish aquarium type thing in our living room that Parker loves. It's a tall cylinder of water that sits on the floor, and when it's plugged in the water bubbles and there are fake fish that float around. If that things is not plugged in when Parker first goes into the living room, he will let you know about it. He'll point and yell and say "uh, uh, uh" which is what he says whenever he wants something. He's even gone so far as to try to plug it in himself!

He also began making the craziest sound this past month. I don't know how to describe it, other than to say it sounds like he's saying "HA!" but with a hiss sound to it. It makes my own throat hurt when he does it. I think he does it when he does something "bad". For instance, he'll throw something on the ground and then make that sound. He'll do it repeatedly. It drives me crazy, but it's just part of what makes him Parker.

We took our first family pictures this past month. I have only seen a few of the images, but this one is an adorable picture of Parker. No..that's not a back drop. This was taken at the beach that's a short walk from our house!


He had his third hair cut this past month. He did really well considering the lady had him sit in a booster chair. The previous two times I held him in my lap while his hair was cut.


He has finally began to show an interest in more of his toys. Especially this toy dog. He frequently carries it out into the kitchen and I'll find him laying down looking at it or hugging it. He'll really love it if I ever put batteries in it!


We bought him a wagon this weekend. I can't say that he loves it, but I pulled him around on it for 30 minutes the other night. Every kid needs a wagon, right?


I am 18 months old today!!! I am 31" tall and weigh 25 pounds.