David: 18 months old

I cannot believe my sweet baby boy is 18 months old this month. He's really not such a baby anymore ... he is starting to look like a little boy!

He has changed a lot over the past 3 months.

-he has now outgrown his 12M clothing and is in full 18M clothing mode. Shoe size is 5.

-I will be back with height and weight stats later ... we don't go for our well-check until the end of the month.

-he loves to play outside, especially with our Fisher Price golf club set. He is quit good at hitting the ball with the golf club. He also really likes to throw balls ... well, pretty much anything ... food, the hedge apples outside, etc.

-he likes to eat chicken nuggets, french fries, veggie chips and bananas. He really likes pretty much any fruit. Now that strawberries and blueberries are out of season, I may have to take out a loan to pay for all this fruit my kids eat! David does not like hot dogs, which is really problematic since my kids normally eat hot dogs for lunch about 3 times/week. He doesn't really seem to like peanut butter either. He can throw down some cake and ice cream though. He had plenty of that in utero, which is probably why he likes it so much!

-he can feed himself with a fork ... if he can stab it, he can get it in his mouth. Feeding with a spoon? Not so good. He will get the spoon to his mouth and then turn it over before he gets it in and all the food falls off.

-he is VERY independent and will not let us help him get said spoon into his mouth the correct way. He does not really like to be carried anymore either and will wrestle his way down out of your arms. This is especially fun when we are in public places like pick-up at school, a gymnastics birthday party for a 4-year-old or Chuck-E-Cheese. He has spent many a soccer game whining in the stroller. Otherwise, he would out of the field too.

-he has started going to Mother's Day Out two days a week. His teachers are THE BEST and he seems to have fun. He sure is excited to see my when I come to pick him up and as soon as he gets in my arms, he starts yelling "bye-bye" loudly and waving real big. Warms a mother's heart.

-his personality has really started to develop. He is such a sweet boy, even though he can get into some trouble quick. He will get the biggest grin on his face when you catch his eye and then turn his head away and act shy. And he already loves to flirt with older girls. He is going to be a heart breaker one day.

-he is talking A LOT. Still not saying a ton of words, but he has picked up a few new ones like bubbles, ball, banana, bathtub, "moo" and no. He also shakes his head no when he is finished eating if you try to feed him more. He also says a couple of phrases like, "where's David" and "good job". One morning, he even said "let's go" as we were finishing getting ready for church.

-he loves to play in his sister's room ... including wearing her princess dress-up shoes and necklaces. We are going to have to invest in some boy dress-up clothes. Pronto. He really loves to put any shoes on and frequently gets my shoes out of my closet. He also loves to play chase, hide & seek and tackle with Claire and Daddy. He also really likes to play peek-a-boo with Mommy and will cover his eyes with his hand or his favorite bedtime blankets.

-he loves to read books and will go get a book out of his book basket in his room at bedtime if you tell him too. He will proceed to sit down on the floor and pretend to read the book.

-he likes to watch the DVD player in the car. If it is not on, he will point to where it is and whine (even if we are in Will's car that doesn't have a DVD player). He is a big fan of the movie "Cars" and the Praise Baby DVDs (which will and I affectionately call "Baby Crack" because it always calms the kids down and puts them in a quiet zone no matter what their previous mood). He does not like some of Claire's more girly movies like "The Little Mermaid" and he is not afraid to tell you about it!

-he gives the BEST kisses. When it is bedtime and we are telling him "night, night", he will start leaning towards you and make a clicking sound (like a kiss) with his mouth. It's pretty darn cute. And then, sometimes, he will lean towards you with his mouth open and tongue out for a big sloppy kiss. (Daddy usually only gets those kisses for some reason.)

-FINALLY, he has the sweetest little singing voice just like his big sister. He has learned several new songs since he started Mother's Day Out, like "Wheels on the Bus" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I love to hear him singing over the monitor in the morning when he first wakes up. He doesn't quite have all the words down, but he hums the tune so that you know exactly what he is singing.

**UPDATE: stats from the 18-month doctor's visit. Weight: 24 lbs., 13 oz. (30th percentile). Height: 33-3/8 inches (76th percentile). Head circumference: 20-1/4 inches (>97th percentile).