17 months:

Berkeley is definitely more of a toddler than a baby now. He looks so big and is outgrowing his clothes so quickly- tho all pants that fit in length are too big in the waist for our “scrawny beanpole” as we like to call him :) 

As usual, he overwhelmed us with the cute things he did this month. He’s been trying to say new sounds and is constantly blabbering gibberish in between the actual words he says. He can also blow real kisses now, with the smack sound and everything! He also likes to imitate a fire truck which consists of him making like a little high pitched squeal sound. If you didn’t know that that’s what he was trying to do, you’d have no clue.  

eating an apple like a big boy!

He has this book and there’s a page that says “bad dinosaurs” so I always wag my finger and say “no no, dino, no no” which he thinks is absolutely hysterical. And now he wags his finger to refer to it, with or without the book around. Speaking of finding things funny, Berkeley will throw his head back when he laughs which is too cute :)

We started going to a Gymboree class with him on the weekend for ages 16-22 months. He loves running around but he doesn’t really pay attention to the activity they’re focused on, or the other kids. Most of the kids are just doing their own thing tho. He especially loves the basketball hoop there (so we bought him one for home too) and going thru the tunnels. He LOVEs when they do the parachute and bubbles at the end. He loves grabbing the bubbles. And he also loves the creepy Gym-bo the Clown doll they have. 

He’s constantly imitating things we do and I caught him pulling out the kitchen trashcan and putting things (that were NOT garbage ) in it . We gotta watch that boy! Speaking of imitating, I finally got him to wear his little sunglasses. I don’t know if it’s because he knows Nate and I wear them also, or if it’s because he realized that it’s much more comfortable to be in the sun with them, but he no longer tries to pull them off after 30 seconds of wear. 

Oh and speaking of watching him… he also figured out that if you tell him he can’t do something, then he should just pull you by your finger into a different room and tell you to sit down (pat the couch) and then go back into the room he was in to finish doing the illicit act. 

Ever since receiving a flyer in the mail, he’s been obsessed with Shen Yun (it’s some acrobatic act). Below is him perusing the brochure for probably the 90th time or so. We like to imitate the poses they do together. I even showed him the trailer for it online – he was mesmerized.

We can definitely see his little brain thinking things through now- we got a new couch and he can’t quite reach up to get on it, so he went into the other room, emptied a toy bin, brought it into the living room, turned it upside down and used it as a stool. Every day this boy continues to impress and surprise (and scare!) me. 

He has preferences now and will point go over to the refrigerator and point to things that he wants. It’s kind of cute that he knows what he wants, though I can see how it will become a battle at times now. 

18 months:

Be prepared to photo overload this month, thanks to a trip we took, plus holidays.

Berkeley started saying some new words this month. A favorite is “bubba” which is bubble. It started from seeing the bubbles at Gymboree, which is his favorite part of class. Now he insists we bring bubbles with us when we go to the park too. I also think he said “day” but haven’t heard it much again. He also loves getting stamps on his hand at the end of class (also his music class) and will point to his hand after to tell us or to indicate he wants one.

our Lillebaby carrier- best way to travel thru the airport with a million bags and a car seat!

We had our first real bloody experience this month when he smacked his lip into the dresser. He was gushing blood but I’m still not sure where exactly it was coming from. I only started to worry a bit when the bleeding didn’t let up. Finally it did tho…I’m really not looking forward to something worse than that, which I know is bound to come.

He’s definitely observing and learning all the time. I’ve never showed him how to open a door but I guess he watches what I do with my keys. The other day he went into my purse, pulled out my keys, and took them to our laundry room door (that doesn’t actually lock but does have a spot where a key would go) and tried to put the key up to the lock. 

at the Georgia Aquarium- We think this should be their new ad campaign pic ;)

Berkeley is developing quite the little sense of humor. He likes to laugh at his own jokes too…i think he got that one from mama ;) While he was eating one time, he kept trying to put his straw in his nose because we stupidly laughed the first time he did it. Then after we told him not to do it he would pretend to put it in his mouth and then with a big grin, slip the straw up and into his nose, like he was faking us out, and then start laughing hysterically!

Another favorite thing he does now while he’s eating is he very forcefully points to his tray when he wants something he sees on it. I think it’s really cute but our nanny says he’s being bossy, haha.

A major thing to happen this month was taking a trip to Atlanta to visit my brother, and go to one of his restaurants, Grindhouse Killer Burgers!. The food is awesome, so definitely visit if you’re in the area. He has several locations with more opening up, and also has a place called Hi-Five Diner which is equally delicious.

Berkeley LOVED his burger and fries and milkshake, but really who wouldn’t. We also planned the trip so that Nate could run in the Atlanta Half marathon. 

Berkeley did fairly well on the plane. The ride there he whined a bunch and managed to take a short nap. The way home was much better and he fell asleep before takeoff. Unfortunately the lady in front of him coughed and woke him up after about an hour.

While in Atlanta, he got to go out to eat several times (we never take him out at home), went to the aquarium, loved my brother’s dog Biggie and continued to talk about him long after we were home. He also loves planes even more than he did before.

Month 18 also unfortunately brought his first fever and then his first ear infection. I know many babies go through that long before Berk, but it was so heartbreaking to see him screaming and in pain for days. He wouldn’t eat much and then when the ear pain started he kept banging his head on things. He also was trying to tell us what was wrong and just ran through his entire repertoire of sign language that he knows in an attempt to communicate. It was so sad :(

After two days of inconsolable crying he was diagnosed and put on meds. I knew something was wrong after the first day of non-stop crying and took him to the doc but she said nothing was wrong. Good thing I listened to my mommy instincts and took him back the next day, where he thankfully saw a different doctor. Sadly, his ear infection interfered with his first Easter egg hunt and trip to the zoo. He didn’t take much enjoyment in either. 

We still got out there and did stuff though. This was actually when he just had a fever and we didn’t know yet that it was an ear infection. Poor baby.

Oh and I got him this set of colorform type stickers that have a pad but our nanny stuck them on the window and now he’s OBSESSED. He plays with them for like 30 minutes at a time, just arranging and rearranging:

Can’t wait to see what the next month brings!

Stats: 25.4 lbs (at his 18 month appt), 33ish inches tall, Size 4 Pampers Swaddlers diapers (Size 5 Huggies Overnite with a booster pad for nighttime). Size 18 month pants (though they’re too big in waist, and 24M to 2T size tops)

Teeth: 8 on top and 8 on bottom! He has his first year molars now.

Likes:

blowing kisses, bubbles, trucks/buses, imitating everyone, laughing, making people laugh, making a fart sound with his mouth, truck stickers on the window, hand stamps in class, planes, dogs,  

Dislikes:

not much besides being told “no”

Schedule (18 months- same as 16 months):

between 5-6 am: wake up. Thankfully he’s been waking up closer to 6 now! I get him out of his crib around 6-6:15.

6:30 am: breakfast- baby oatmeal (made with milk and prune juice), fruit, waffle/pancake, variations of this recipe or this recipe, plus a smoothie (we make double and save for later)

9:30 am: snack (some cheese and fruit, etc)

11:30: lunch (usually some protein, some fat, some veggies/carbs/fruit)

12:30: 1 hr-2+ hr nap. He’s down to one nap and it’s usually a good one! (except on the weekends of course). We do a similar routine to bedtime. Change diaper, quietly play, turn down lights and read some books, then bed. Wake by 3 if he’s still sleeping.

2-3ish (when he wakes): He has the rest of his smoothie for a snack. We’ve found if we give him any more he won’t eat dinner.

5- dinner (sometimes our leftovers, or some veggies and mini homemade meatballs, etc). It’s a littler earlier if he had a bad nap and needs an earlier bedtime.

Bathtime (45 min before bed)

7ish (4-4.5 hrs after waking from second nap): bedtime! I finally get to see him after work now, for the most part. Occasionally he’ll take a really bad nap and have an earlier bedtime, but it’s mainly only on weekends.