18 months old

On November 20th Brighton turned 18 months old. I wanted to wait until his appointment to post, so that's why I'm just writing about it now. :)

About a week and a half before he turned 18 months, my friend and I were discussing the verbal skills of our boys. Her little boy is just 10 days older than Brighton. She had asked me how many words he said, and I said not many, anywhere from 8 to 10. Brighton has been slower at speaking than Lila was, but I wasn't concerned. She had been concerned because her little boy has had health issues since he was born and so he has been receiving therapy. One of the people that comes to her home to perform the therapy (not an actual therapist) mentioned that her son was really behind verbally for his age and that he should know 50 words by now. First of all, not that it is impossible because I know that there are some, but I don't know any 18 month olds that already know 50 words (and legitimately know 50 not just that their parents translate for them. ;) )  I told her that I'm not at all concerned about Brighton (and he knew less than her son) and to trust her doctor. She decided to do that and when she went in for her appointment the doctor said that he was just fine and that he's not behind at all. Every child at this age develops at different speeds. They don't start to really look at what words they know until they are two years old. Anyway, the reason I tell this story is because during that next week and a half Brighton started saying 7-8 new words. He suddenly took off. Had I bought into what that person who performed the therapy had said then I would've been really concerned, but look, just over the next few days Brighton suddenly almost doubled his vocabulary. I just think it's awesome how quickly kids learn and develop. :) (By the way, I know the girl was trying to be helpful, but really, she just stressed out an already stressed out mother who has a sick child.)

Since we're talking about Brighton's verbal skills, these are the ones that he can say:

mom

dad

help (this is adorable)

no (honestly, his favorite word)

ow

what's that

where's she

shoe

shirt

book

boo

hi

bye

let go (he picked that up from Lila)

un uh (how do you spell that? I couldn't figure it out, it's when you're saying "no")

ball

get out (when he wants out of his high chair or car seat)

get down (again, when wants out of his high chair)

go
shh (while putting his finger to his mouth)

Other things that Brighton loves include:

LILA- number one (still his best buddy, they are really cute together)

hitting things (we try to keep this under control, but he just thinks it's fun to bang things together or hit things against the ground and hit Lila, but he thinks he's playing)

blocks

BOOKS!!!

food

drinks (especially out of cups)

popcorn (just like his mom)

getting into everything

climbing on everything

bath time!

water

his green ball

pulling down his diaper

chocolate

mom

MAGGIE! (she is incredibly patient with him)

throwing things

getting chased

giving kisses and hugs

looking out the windows

playing with the curtains 

grinding his teeth (this one drives me crazy!)

string cheese
giving high fives

Brighton is a great eater and sleeper. The only thing that I can think of that I can't get him to consistently eat is broccoli. I think it's because of the texture. I could be wrong though, there might be more things that he won't eat, but that's all I can think of.

The stats from his appointment are:

height: 32.25 inches (39 %tile) so much bigger than last time! (from 6 %tile)

weight: 23 lbs. (36 %tile)

head size: 19.25 inches (86 %tile)
*funny thing about his head… we thought he would be off the charts because last time his head measured at the 99 %tile, but it turns out they measured it wrong. This time his head was a 1/4 inch smaller than last time and our doctor said that heads don't shrink, so it must have been measured wrong last time. So, Brighton does have a big head just not as big as we thought. :) 

Brighton is such a wonderful little boy. When someone is crying or sad he tries to comfort them. He loves other people just like Lila does. He seems to already love nursery. He is really social, but I do think he's a little more momma's baby than Lila was. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family. 

We love you Brighton!

In his new 12 month old coat. :)

I have to explain this picture… That day, Brighton kept bringing me a bunch of Lila's shirts for me to put on him. The funny thing was that he wouldn't let me take of one before putting on another. By the time we were done he had his onesie on and five of her shirts. One of them was so big for him that it looks like a pretty little dress. :) He loved it. It took a while before he would let me take them off. He loves to get dressed up, just like his sister. He's obsessed with shoes and everything.  

Brighton loves to show us where his belly button is. :)