18 Months!

Carson is the same age today as Miles was when we were putting together Carson's room. I see Miles' "bee bee" painting on the wall and it's crazy to me Carson is now that big. His monkey used to be the size of him.

Carson and Beau sure have had a fun time. While Beau will be retired from photos, no worries, he'll be partying it up with all the other stuffies in the playroom :) To see all of their adventures, go here.

Carson in a nutshell @ 18mo:
- He likes things closed. Sees a door open? Closes it. Cabinet? Closes it.
- Still has a texture phobia with food. He's a picky eater yet he eats all day long.

- Talks A LOT. And he does a pretty good job communicating by way of sign and by voice.

    - Words:  Juice, stuck, hush, bug, car, this, ball, shoes, tree, bar, pop (ice pop), truck, hat, ice, up and he says "Ew, poop!" when he sees Lucy poop or when being changed. So funny. He probably has more, but these are the ones we've noted. While some are just sounds and not super understandable, in context, they are there.

    - Signs:  All done, more, eat, rain, wind, book, popcorn, bird, airplane, milk, please, change & fish

    - Sounds:  Fish, Cow, Cat, Dog, Snake, Monkey, Dinosaur, Choo Choo!, Shhh (to be quiet) and puts his finger over his lips

- Waves Hi and Bye, points at things and does high fives (working on fist bump, but he's got the boops!)

- Shows 'where' with his hands when we ask him where something is.

- He's adopted an ear piercing scream which then leads to a screaming war between him and Miles. Lets just say.... I've had to use ear plugs. 

- His head seems to be a magnet for bumps and bruises. And he's no help. He's bangs it on the floor when he's mad.

- Uses spoons and forks (by request I might add) to eat and is using them like a pro!

- Can nod "no" and "yes" but still no "Mama" or "Dada"

- Watches and copies what Miles does.

- Trying SO hard to jump but doesn't make it off the ground.

- Thanks to Miles, he has a love for Jojo Siwa music and will dance every time he hears her songs.

- Loves the trash can. I wouldn't be surprised if things have been thrown away by mistake. Water bottles, forks, spoons, bowls, toys, etc.

- He's a great cleaner and likes things in their place.

- His bouncy run is just adorable.

- Can follow single step instructions.

- Gives lots and lots of kisses.

- Has a love for shoes.

- Not as gross motor oriented as Miles. We think he will be an early talker.

- Makes it clearly known when you do something he doesn't want.

- Likes to be held.

- When something happens that hurts him (shots in particular), it takes him a bit to calm down, but he does pretty good. And then all of a sudden, he works himself back up again like he's re-living the situation and falls apart all over again.

- Wants to keep up with the big kids, but also sits back an observes.

- He knows eyes, nose, ears & mouth and can point to them on himself and others. We're working on belly button!

- Loves playing chase or "Where's Carson?" peek-a-boo and giggles non-stop.

- Looks like all of his teeth have surfaced, but these last 4 are taking awhile to fully come through.

Carson is sweet, resilient, smiley, persistent, giggly, independent, confident and observant. I don't have his 18mo stats yet, but I'll add them once we make it to the doctor.

His eyes are piercing blue.  A different blue than Miles'

*love*