18 Months

Maddox is 18 months today! At some point, I'll stop counting his age in months… Our buddy is growing and learning so much. I feel like I say that at every stage, but it is still true. Here's a taste of what he's up to these days.

He talks and talks and talks. He has added several words to his vocabulary: milk, oops, yuck, that, this, go, woof, caw (for birds), moo, truck, book, nurse (so random), please, thank you, watch, apple, etc. There really are too many to remember and jot down right now, and he will pretty much try to say whatever you ask him to - even though at times he just gets one of the sounds in the word correct. And when he isn't talking, he is pointing (passionately) to communicate. He even points to his diaper when it needs to be changed. When he is whining, we ask him to use his words and he will start "talking."

Maddox is really good at saying prayers with us before meals and bedtime. He will fold his arms even before we are ready. It is really sweet. He eats really well with utensils now. Scott has also taught him how to bang cups and "cheers" with him, so that is a common occurrence at mealtime.

He still sleeps really well; goes to bed at 8 pm and wakes up around 8 am. He is taking just one nap during the day, normally from 1 to 4.

Maddox still LOVES dogs. He just squeals with excitement whenever he sees them. So we get to meet a lot of new people….

Maddox's "petting" is resting his hand on the
dog. He likes a calm pup that'll just hold still!

Maddox wants to be just like his dad! He wants to walk in his shoes, wash the car, work in the garage, create new uses for toys… This little boy is all about the man stuff!

In dad's space at work.

He likes to march. He mostly just lifts his left leg up high as he walks - it is really cute though. Maddox will walk backward when we say "back it up, back it up." He jumps like no other white boy; he bends his knees and gets real low then gets some mad air and hang time:) And he LOVES a good game of chase!

We simply just love to play! He is good at entertaining himself, especially when mom is distracted with dinner. He will now stack blocks and build towers instead of only destroying the ones I make. Maddox is an excellent sharer, and he likes to offer toys to other kids, especially those that are shy. He still holds his ground though if someone is trying to take something he wants. He handles other kids (the timid as well as the rambunctious) like a champ!

Maddox likes to watch videos of himself. In this one, he says "oops" when he drops the rings (on purpose) and shakes his head when he starts to stack the rings in the wrong order… silly boy!

He is a little OCD like his mom, and he believes everything has it's proper place and should be put there. Haha. He is very observant, and he mimics things pretty accurately.

He's our little monkey!

Maddox really likes being outside, at the park, store, new places. Home Depot is the best play area ever for this kid. And we really enjoy going to the Children's Museum. There's never a dull moment...

Scott is the biggest amusement at the museum though…

Maddox still loves reading books. For a couple weeks, he was only interested in reading his two favorite. We read each one like 27 times a day… and mom was learning a little more about patience. Maddox can identify a lot of objects in books, and he loves to go point out the physical object if we have it in our home. He recognizes the letter "m" and knows m is for Maddox. The library is a favorite of ours, and Maddox has so much fun during story time. He absolutely LOVES the wheels on the bus rendition during story time! Now, whenever we see a bus outside, he moves his arm in a circular motion and wants to sing "the wheels on the bus."

He's been going to nursery since January, so that isn't so new. But he is getting better at puzzles as a result and really has a lot of fun in class. No separation anxiety there! He is doing better during Sacrament meeting, sitting on a bench instead of in the back has been helpful. And it is the cutest to see him raise his arm with everyone else for sustaining votes and hear him laugh when we do at something that's been said.

He was introduced to snow last month!

Classic Maddox face… oh!

And he is a toddler and has had a couple of fits of frustration. Luckily it has been while we're at home and he is quick to be consoled. And to be honest, they are kind of funny at this point...

One new quirk for Maddox is he has started to pick his nose. He's been good about it this last week, but we don't know where this came from or why he was interested in doing it - probably because we asked him not to.

He gives us kisses on the cheek more than he blows them now. Instead of waving with his whole arm, he now waves by moving his fingers out and in. Such a big boy. When we FaceTime with Scott's parents, he will call Scott's Grandma Layton out when she doesn't wave back… every time. It is pretty funny.


We love this kid to pieces, and are so blessed to have him in our family!