18 months

Hank turned eighteen months old on Friday. What a milestone! I am grateful for this funny, sweet, RASCAL. He is fun and sometimes really, really horrible. I guess that's just the way toddlers are. Toddler--writing that word kills me. How does time go by SO fast? Is Hank really a toddler? I guess he must be.                                                              

Hank's personality is SO strong. He has a sweet temperament, unless he is angry or hungry or tired. When he doesn't want something, he will shake his head and say "doh!" (no) very vehemently indeed. He is not shy about letting you know when he's angry--he'll ball up his fists and tense up and scream at the top of his lungs. One of Hank's favorite things to do is take Jed to school. I think he loves being around the big kids. He will try to help hand out the name tags to Jed's classmates and he wants desperately to be a big boy and sit on a letter when school starts. When we leave the school, Hank will turn around and wave and say "buhbye Derder (Jedder)." He loves to get Jed from the bus as well, and whenever we leave the house in the morning, Hank asks me "Derder buh?" (Jedder bus?) 

 Hank still loves his Whale blankie and has developed a strong attachment to a darling stuffed monkey someone gave him. He calls it "Dorge" and makes monkey noises whenever he sees it. Here is the list of words Hank will say (which had to be made for his 18 month Well-Baby visit):
-mama, dada, Derder, Nana, Papah, Roro
-star, heart, tickle
-cookie, cracker, baba (bottle), snack (every meal is a snack)
-bear, ball, Dorge, fish, dee (for chickadee, which is every bird)
-shoes, socks, jacket, puppy (he has these mittens with squeaky dogs on them that he LOVES--he will bring them to me and want them to be put on his hands several times a day), diaper
-He can also say so many animal noises and will point to the correct animal when asked. He will also make car noises when playing with cars.
-uh-oh, buh-bye and a very emphatic "doh!"
-my personal favorite: Jesus, who he recognizes in every picture in the church, Ensign, whatever. It is so darling.

 Although Hank loves Daddy, he is definitely a Mama's boy. Whenever I go somewhere, or he simply can't find me in the house, he dissolves into shrieks of grief. Sunday was his first day in Nursery. He has gone for part of the time for several weeks now, but the sweet sister who is in the Nursery has generally come to get him, and he has gone willingly. Sunday I took him and he refused to part from me. After a few minutes, he was absorbed in crackers and toys, so I slipped away. Then during the class change, he saw me while he was getting a drink, and when I took him back, he cried so hard that Jed could hear him down the hall. Jed got so worried that he had to go check on Hank and make sure he was okay. Maybe from now on Dave will take Hank to nursery.

 A typical lunch time at our house. 

Hank also loves to pick out his own clothes and can be very emphatic about what he wants to wear. These overalls, for instance, are WAY too small and will not button over his diaper. He loves them and no matter how often I put them into the too-small box, he finds them and pulls them out. He loves hats and will often go to the closet to put one on during the day. This owl hat is his favorite.

There is SO much more about this funny boy--how he loathes his crib, so we took it down and he sleeps contentedly in his PackNPlay--from 6:30 at night until 5:00 in the morning. Putting him down later only results in him waking up around 4, ready to start the day. How he can wail like a banshee at the drop of a hat. Seriously, I have never heard a cry like Hank's before. It grates on the nerves, and that's putting it mildly. How he LOVES to break glasses. I can't stand plastic cups, but Hank has sacrificed so many of my little glasses to the floor gods that I have had to bring out the plastic. How he knows the funniest things--the other day I was folding laundry and Hank saw a shirt that Dave wears often. He pointed to it and said "dada!" And, how he is such a great addition to our family. Despite the crazy sleeping and the horrible screeching, and the loving/annoying way he pulls on my pants while I am cooking, I love this boy SO, so much and can't imagine our family without him. Happy 18 months, Hank, and welcome to toddler-hood!