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Bobby from 13 to 18 months old
Following are quick observations we jotted down over the months
13 months
• First scraped knee: Scampering on the sidewalk, Bobby tripped; he was only slightly bruised with blue and yellow hues, and it healed within a few days.
• Addicted to raisin bread: He'll stop whatever he's doing and look longingly when we ask, "Want some raisin bread?"
14 months
• Hedging his bets: He's gotten the odd habit of picking up stones and placing them atop the hedges and into the bushes along the front sidewalk. He's begun doing it with the balls now, too: Half the time he'll throw a tennis ball to Tassie, the other half he'll stick it into the hedges.
• Love that blankie: He absolutely loves his blankie. Other blankets just won't do!
15 months
• Multitasking: He's combined two of his favorite activities: playing with the ball and playing with the toilet. He opened the toilet seat and did a slam dunk with the big Blue's Clues ball. Two points! He loves to score.
• First phrase: I was holding him in the family room and he spotted Mary in the kitchen and exclaimed, "Hey Mommy!" The next morning he heard me rustling awake in the bedroom and came toddling down the hallway and said, "Want Daddy!"
• First diabolical laugh: I filled the blue rubber squeeze toy in his little bathtub and squirted him. He laughed, and I filled it again and gave it to him, and he took aim and squirted me and let out evil cackle.
• Spooning: He has starting using his blue spoon to feed himself yogurt, with a modest degree of success.
16 months
• Door man: We learned all about light switches, and about door handles, and he can now open doors (we make sure he can't lock us out). In the mornings Mommy and Bobby enter after Daddy awakes, and then Bobby goes back and lets in the dog.
• Good grapes: Boo loves picking and eating the first batch of small green grapes on the grape trellis on the back deck.
• Mama mia: Everyone and everything is Mama. He just goes around saying it all day long.
• More favorite words: His other new favorite word is Uh, oh! A week later he started saying another favorite word: Bobby. He's squawking more now when he's hungry or wants to play, making his wishes more emphatically known.
• Bye-bye: He waves purposefully bye-bye when JD leaves for work in the morning.
There's also some clinginess and separation anxiety when Daddy goes off.
• Imitative behavior: He imitates everything we do. This morning Daddy was doing crunches on the floor, so of course he got on his back and put his feet in the air and started kicking.
• Nap time: He's just started going from two naps a day to one long nap — sometimes as long as 3 hours — in the late morning.
• A future Elway?: Bobby and Daddy had their first game of catch last night with a mini-football. He was sort of flinging it with both hands instead of throwing it, but he got off some 18-inch passes. We had a marvelous time, laughing up a storm.
• High five!: Bobby gives us high fives and low fives. "Gimme some skin!" Mary says, and he holds up his hand and whacks it against her palm. Then she asks for change and tickles his palm.
• No shoes, no service: If Bobby sees one of us with bare feet or socks, he'll go hunt down our shoes, bring them over and put them on our feet. I think he's angling for a tip.
• Eco-boy: He spotted a piece of scrap paper on the floor, picked it up and plunked it in the trash can.
17 months
• Higher & higher: He likes to stack blocks. He's up to five, well above average for his age. (At 23 months old, most kids can make a tower of four blocks.)
• Toy tussle: Bobby and Tassie like to fight over toys. We can only imagine the havoc if we have a second child.
• Dog sighting: He says "doggie" whenever spots a dog on the street.
• Doctor visit: We switched pediatricians, to one in this area. Her name is Johnette Liachem. Went to the Livermore office for the first appointment (she also has an office here in town). In the waiting room, Bobby puts all the magazines lying atop the cubicle inside the cubicle — everything in its place. Bobby weighs 25 pounds, 6 oz. (62nd percentile for weight) He is 34 1/4 inches tall (92nd percentile for height). They measured his head at 51cm. (100th percentile for head size). While Mary talks to the nurse, Bobby plays with big Lego blocks.
• Hi there!: Bobby waves back when the people outside the studio start waving on the "Today" show.
• Flea bites: Bobby got a half-dozen sand flea bites on the beach at Half Moon Bay.
• Healthy appetite: He eats like a truck driver. Last Sunday he ate 6 slices of raisin bread before 10 a.m. This morning he had a slice of raisin bread, 2/3rds of a banana, 20 blueberries, 6 strawberries, 8 mini-waffles, Cheerios and a biscuit by 10:30. Must be a growth spurt.
• Taking the plunge: We had brunch yesterday at the coffeehouse downtown. He was waving to and flirting with a little girl his age. We strolled down the street, bought a plunger and a toilet brush. He carried the plunger the rest of the way, proudly showing it to all those passing by. We have yet to use it, so he is plunging all over the house.
18 months
• Mr. No: His all-time favorite word is "No!" When we ask if he wants to take a nap, or go to his highchair, he says, "No No No!"
• Back slapper: Mary spent five days in Sacramento at her grandparents' house to attend a seminar for Pac Bell. When they got home on Friday night, Mary and Bobby were tired but Bobby had enough strength to pat me on the back as I held him.
• Off to the races: He's starting to do little baby sprints across the room and down the hallway, usually squealing as he goes. It's so cute. It's sort of running, but not quite.
• Ouch!: He still doesn't know not to bump his head, so when he's under the outside metal table and reaches down for the ball, he'll stand up and hit his head. So we retrieve the ball a lot.
• Look out!: When upset, he throws his binkie and other objects from his high-chair.
• Big footsies!: He just graduated to size 7 baby shoes.
• Brushing up: He loves to brush his teeth, especially when we do. Calls it "beesh" instead of brushing.
• Hair, hair: He likes to comb mommy's hair, and lets us comb his.
• Watch your language: We've got to clean up our act, because he's imitating everything we say. During the Mets-Giants playoffs I had the occasion to use the s-word, and Bobby exclaimed gleefully, "Shee!"
• Don't strap me in: He doesn't want to use his high-chair anymore. He wants to sit at the table or eat on the couch, like the big people do.
• Trick or treat: We dressed Bobby in his cow jammies for his second Halloween. Mary wasn't feeling well, so JD took our little Moo Boy to about a half dozen neighbor's houses. Here's a photo of Bobby in his cow outfit.
GO TO: | Bobby's vocabulary at 17 months
GO TO: | Bobby at 2 years old
BACK TO: | Main page of Bobby: A New Life
Share your thoughts with JD at jd@well.com.
