Crib Jumper

He finally did it. He climbed out of his crib. Jason and I were listening to the baby monitor waiting for Huxley to fall asleep. We heard the crib rattling and then a thud. Of course we rushed into his room, and he was quite upset. He settled down easily. He even said, "all done," after he was done being upset. Jason was able to lower the crib bed another notch so hopefully we can keep monster contained for a few more months and then transition him to a big boy bed.

Happy 18 Month Birthday Huxley!

Huxley celebrated his 18 month birthday yesterday with a trip to the park. It was such a gorgeous day we went twice. Here are some of the little man's latest and greatest acheivements.

Spoon/fork- He can eat with both, although most of the time they are just weapons or amusing little things. When the spoon and fork aren't getting the job done he reverts to using his hands to shovel the food.

Vocab - his vocabulary really expanded last month. I don't think I can capture everything we've heard him say, but here's a little of it: dirty, ow, boo boo, whoa, sticky, knock knock, car, spoon, all gone. He tries to repeat a lot of what we say like plane, crazy, etc.

Adventures - We aren't going to Gymboree during the summer months. Instead, I take Hulxey on frequent park outings and zoo trips so he can enjoy the outdoors. We've also been attending kids concerts at some of the carmel parks, going on play dates, and going to neighborhood parties. Our neighborhood does what they call, "Friday Night Flamingos." Neighbors take turns hosting a party in their driveway/garage during the summer months. Since most of our neighbors have youngsters it's a great opportunity for Huxley to get out and play with others his age.

Climbing - The dogs aren't safe anywhere.

Behaviors we're working on: Sitting/riding/bouncing on the dogs, hitting the dogs, and in general just being nice to the dogs. We're also working on not throwing food, banging our toys into the wall, and hitting.

Behaviors we've conquered: None.

Favorite Foods: He doesn't like spinach by itself, but loves it when I make spinach quiche or mix spinach and rice. He will literally eat half a pie of spinach quiche. He'll also gobble squash, sweet potatoes, pineapple, chips, english muffin pizzas, fries, raisins, yogurt, smoothies, & m&ms. When he sees or even smells m&ms in the house he starts to hyperventilate.

Not so favorite foods: He's a little funny with fruits. When he was eating baby jar food he'd eat all fruits, but now he's a little more picky. He also refuses to eat broccoli, but really, who could blame him. He's not a big breakfast eater. I try feeding him something different each morning for breakfast, but he never seems interested. He doesn't seem to get an appetite until 11 am.

Clothing Size: He's out growing a lot of his 24 month clothing. It's mostly his growing gut that's causing the problem. It busts out of his shirt and makes his shorts hard to button. Time to buy 2T.

The next Piano Man

Sometimes your child does something that touches your heart in an
unexpected new connection. Play on little guy!

Huxley Dancing to Rock Band

Huxley loves to dance, especially when Daddy gets out Rock Band. He'll spin around, bounce, and stomp his feet. He even has his own guitar and drums to play, but he prefers just to dance.

Shoes

Sometimes he likes to wear our shoes.

Huxley at 17 Months

Huxley's really getting into the toddler stage. He knows what he wants and will throw a fit if he can't have it. I have to say the tantrums lately have been quite cute. When he's upset he stomps a foot on the ground, lets out a squeak, and claps his hands together really hard. He looks at his hands in amazement that he was able to clap so loudly and keeps banging his hands together as hard as he can. He completely forgets he's upset. Here's what else he's been up to lately:

Teething: We almost have a complete set aside from additional molars. He's cutting his lower canines, and then we'll be done with teething until his second year molars come in. I'm ready for a break from teething. Every new tooth seems to be worse than the last. He had many sleepless nights cutting his canines. This week he's been catching up on all the sleep he's missed. Monday he took a four and a half hour nap and then slept for twelve hours that night.

Words: He's always talking and likes to repeat what he hears us say. Here's a short list of what he's saying: Daddy, Mama, all done, doggy, nigh-nigh, bird, back, ball, get down, bye-bye, now what, stop, boom, peek-a-boo, thank you, and baby.

He uses "all done" whenever he wants us to stop doing something or whenever he's done doing something. One time he said "all done" after he pooped. He got a cut the other night and cried for a few minutes, then said "all done" and stopped crying. He also uses "all done" when he wants us to be all done with something. He's had quite a few scrapes from his outside time lately and will scream/cry "all done" while we are cleaning his wounds.

Climbing: He's able to climb onto the couch but hasn't made it out of his crib yet. I've placed pillows around his crib just in case he does decide to make the jump, but he seems happy rolling around in his crib when he wakes up.

Signing: We've been trying to teach him baby sign language for a while, and he's finally mastered his first sign, the sign for more. Of course, he doesn't just use the sign when he wants more of something. He'll use the sign when he sees something he wants but doesn't have, like a cookie.

Pointing to body parts: He will consistently show his belly upon request and may point to other body parts if he feels like it.

Baby He-man: He loves to show how strong he is by picking up large toys and heaving them across the room. This is only a small part of his destructive side.

Huxley's wheels

We bought Huxley his first tricycle last week. We outfitted it with a seat belt to keep the monster in place, a bell to keep him happy, and a bar to push him around. We also taped his feet to the pedals to help him learn how to use the tricycle.

















He really loved his first couple rides out in the trike, but now he'd prefer to push us around in it. It's an adjustable tricycle so it should last him until he's ready to move onto a big boy bike. He can push the pedals a little but needs much more practice.