Hot Dog! He's One and a Half!

On July 23rd Grant turned 18 months and since I'm using this blog as a great record of Grant's life, I thought I'd make note of all the fun things he is up to. Each day we are learning that Grant is quite the character. He loves to make people smile and we see him hamming it up pretty frequently. His number one audience would probably be his grandparents! He loves to make them smile!
Each week Grant seems to have a few new words to add to his list. Currently we hear a lot of Mama, Dada, no, Elmo, adog (apparently we say "a dog" more than just "dog", so we think Grant figures it's just one word), tractor, truck, choo choo, Amen, please, thank you, teeth, bye bye, and night night.

He also continues to sign "more" and "all done". These have been a great help with our communication considering he uses these two signs in many contexts..."more" play, "more" tickle, "more" outside. And his most recent sign it "toothbrush". He continues to love to brush his teeth (the brushing part is still negotiable, there is still a lot of sucking going on :). He has even become quite good at getting a drink from the faucet, just like Dad does. We recently got him a little step stool, so this has added another level of independence and fun to this activity.

Some other favorite things to do for Grant include playing with his cars, trucks, trains, and tractors. For whatever reason he loves to line them up all over the house. Yesterday they were lined up on the table, then on the tv stand, then on our bed, then his rocking chair...I think there were about five other places as well. He will also line them up all over his train tracks-under one bridge, then another-and this usually keeps him busy for quite some time.

Another love...music and dancing! He will come into our room, turn the radio up full blast and dance away. His dancing usually includes moving in a circle but he more recently has started moving his arms and head as well. It's quite entertaining. Recently we've found the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song "Hot Dog" at the end of the show, which has become quite catchy and usually gets Grant up on his feet and moving. :) Other songs he likes to hear/sing are Old McDonald, where he chimes in with "E"; Five Green and Speckled Frogs, adding the "yum, yum"; Five Little Monkeys, he likes to shake his finger; The Wheels on the Bus, and the ABC's.

Grant still loves the outdoors, swimming, and riding in the van. He is constantly asking to go "bye bye". He loves to wrestle, be tickled, and help out around the house. His little giggle and mannerisms just brighten our day. He continues to be a very tall, at his 18 month check-up he was 33 1/2 in (95th percentile) and 26 lbs (50 percentile). It's been a fun year and 1/2, excited to see what the next holds! :)