Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker  Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

17 Months!

 
How Old? 17 Months
Height? 30.5 inches maybe? We will find out at his 18 month check up.
Weight? 20 lbs 5 oz
Teeth? His 1st molars are slowly coming in.

Clothes? He still fits well into a 12 months for clothes. He wears a 4.5 shoe. We went to Stride Rite again to get him a new pair of shoes.
Words? Hey, Yes, Please, Dada, Mama, Cheese, Fish, Daisy, Get, That, VeggieTales, All done, Nini for (Mimi) and I heard him say Me for Mia on Valentines day. I am sure there are more but I cannot think of them.
Food? He loves just about everything... spaghetti, fried eggs, Jambalaya, okra, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, broccoli, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, carrots, chicken, turkey, crackers, bananas, apples, pears, peaches, oatmeal and many more.
Activities? He loves to pull things around. i.e. pull toys with a string, his little blocks wagon, his blanket), He LOVES music and to play the drums. We have been working on singing his ABC's and although he cannot say the correct letters he still tries. He loves to be the center of attention. We have cut back on TV time because he was watching way too much! He loves to chase people and have them chase him back. He will deliberately pick something up he is not supposed to have just to get us to chase him so we can get it.
Developments? He can spin and tries to jump. He is learning how to feed himself with a spoon.He all of the sudden is a daddy's boy. I am sure Brian thinks it is wonderful and that he deserves it after all these month's of wanting mommy, and he does deserve it but I still miss my mama's boy :-(
What Happened? This month has gone by so fast. We have had lots of playdates with our friends and have gone to the park a few times with Brian and it was great. It is so much fun now that he is older and can play on the playground...somewhat.  Daniel had his first fever (103.3) a couple of weeks ago. He was congested and coughing a little but overall I think it was just a virus. Poor little guy was pitiful. When I look at him now I see a little boy not a baby anymore and it is so much fun but I miss my baby boy sometimes.
My Toddler This Month? If you've been lovingly recording your little one's first words, get ready to take some serious dictation. As he reaches the midpoint of his second year, it's time for a language explosion! Where he once tentatively added a word or two every few weeks, your 17-month-old will probably start learning them now at a rapid pace — so fast that by the time he turns two, he'll have a bank of more than 200 words at the ready. Will you understand them all? Probably not. He's likely to mispronounce and mix up much of what he says (often adorably so) until he's about three years old, substituting consonants she has trouble forming with those that are easier for him. Consonant blends (st, fl, br) are even trickier, which is why many young toddlers simply leave out half the blend (saying "tuck" for "truck" or "soo" for "shoe"). To help him learn, model appropriate pronunciation — there's no need to try to teach him the correct sounds directly. He learns by listening to you, so skip the baby talk and instead, expand on what he says to help him build that word bank. When he points to the fruit bowl and announces "Appa!" you can offer him the correct pronunciation as well as introduce new words by responding, "Yes, that's an apple! It's a shiny red apple. Would you like to have an apple for your snack?" If your child isn't there yet, don't worry; as with all other aspects of development, kids follow their own talking timetable. If your toddler can understand what he hears and make himself understood with gestures and a few words or sounds, he's doing just fine. To support his language learning, talk and talk and talk some more. Describe what you're seeing and doing. Take him places (the store, the park, the library) where he can see new things — and hear new words. Singing songs and sharing books are also hugely valuable as vocab-builders. One last note: Always respond warmly and enthusiastically to your child's attempts to communicate — he'll be thrilled when he gets his point across!