18 Months!

Mason's Stats at 18 Months... Height: 33.5 inches (80th percentile) Weight: 23.5 pounds (20th percentile) Favorite toy: his little soccer ball, although any "bah-aww" will do in a pinch Favorite activities: reading books, anything outside, giving zerberts Favorite books: Night Shift Daddy, Brush Mona Lisa's Hair, and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think (Miss Jen says Mason usually gets a book when it's nap time at school and sits on his cot until he falls asleep, clutching the book.) Favorite food of the moment: craisins Favorite animal: dogs Recent accomplishments: M started whistling the other night. It was crazy. I can't tell if he's doing it on purpose or not. He can Velcro his tennis shoes and help clean up his mess. He eats with a fork and spoon like a pro and can drink from an open cup by himself (not that we let him do this very often!). He also likes to brush his teeth on his own and does everything a little boy his age should. He says a lot now, but most of it is still unrecognizable to most people. He says "guhma" for Gramma and "guhpa" for Grampa or Skipper (I think he uses the same word for both! Haha!). He says "tain-too" for thank you and "da" for that--sometimes "deh-da" for see that. He will tell you that a dog says "oof," and if you're super lucky, you may get to hear a "meow" or "moo" or "roar." One night he imitated a horse noise as we were reading a book--his neigh was accompanied by head-to-toe shivers, which was PRECIOUS! He says "chee" for cheese and "joo" for juice (which means anything in his cup), but by far the cutest is the way he says ball. Aaaaaaah! I love it! He draws it out like a true Southerner and leaves his lips all pursed together for a minute after he says it. TOO adorable. When he plays with his cars he makes an engine rumbling noise, and he says "ooo-ooo" when he plays with his trains. He says "Tuhda" for Tyra and has attempted "Gracie" and "Haylee." He tries to say all the names of his classmates at school. He's still not much of a mimic (he does NOT perform on command), but he's making big strides in speaking. He still doesn't say "yes" or "no," but he claps his hands for yes (only when it's an enthusiastic yes) and nods or shakes his head appropriately. A couple of weeks ago, Mom walked in the basement where we were playing, and Mason pointed up to Skipper at the window and said, "Guhma, look!" I was soooo excited. Unfortunately, Mom didn't have her hearing aids in. Uh-oh! Since then he has added "I did" to his repertoire of phrases, but that one took me a long time figure out. He says more, but I can't think of everything right now.