Jett is 18 months

I am just really having a hard time believing he is already 18 months. I skipped his 15 month post, because frankly there just wasn't a whole lot of new going on. Or maybe there was and I just didn't document every new word, action, hand sign, or eye blink in my phone like I did with Holt. Second child problems. He did start walking around 15 months, a few weeks before Christmas, and that was about it for excitement. So back to 18th months. This kid is something else. It's going to be really hard for me not to compare the two at this age in this post, but I will try. They are totally different. I thought Holt was a Mama's boy...I was wrong. This little man will not leave my side. He's constantly at my feet, reaching up to be held, shyly lays his head on my shoulder when we are around new people, and always saying "Mama! Mama!" He is far from independent like Holt was. I guess I really took that for granted. Holt has always been good at playing alone and entertaining himself. Jett can do it for about 5 minutes before he's crying at my legs wanting to be held. Being held is by far his favorite past time. He has quite the temper too, but also a sensitive little heart. If he gets frustrated with a toy or blocks, that thing will end up across the room in seconds. If he wants me to help him with something and I do, he will also most likely throw it across the room, which always results in more tears. For instance, he's having trouble getting his fruit snacks out of the bag, I help him but obviously not fast enough for his liking....boom...fruit snacks on the ground. Now they are trash and now he is crying even more. I'm not sure how you can explain this to an 18 month old so I just laugh it off. If I tell him No No, his bottom lip sticks out before the words finish leaving my mouth. He just really likes things to go his way, nothing out of the norm for a kiddo!

Jett also has a hilarious personality. His smile and his laugh are infectious. I don't know where his old man smoker's laugh comes from, but I am obsessed with it. It's straight from his gut and it's one of the best sounds in the world. His gap teeth make it all the more hilarious. The way his whole face squenches (autocorrect says I made this word up) up in delight can turn a bad day into a good day in an instant. He loves loves loves peekaboo and hiding in our closet, specifically in Daddy's shirts. He thinks he's so sneaky. He runs off with Holt's toys and his snacks and hides there as if it's a brand new secret and no one will ever find him. Jett is monkey see monkey do with his brother. He mimics actions, sounds, words....anything to be more like Holt. Kids are so easily influenced by their surroundings it's scary! You would have never seen Holt picking up action figures making "Hi-ya" and fighting noises at this age, but Jett sure acts like he knows what he's doing! His other favorite, Bentley. He loves his Buh-bee. He thinks all dogs are buh-bees. Bentley is 11 years old now so I get a little nervous his inner grumpy old man will come out when Jett climbs on top of him saying "Giddy up!", but much to my delight, he just lays there letting Jett take him for a joy ride. Jett loves to come in from being gone and let Bentley out of his house, he also loves to tell him to "Goooo!" when it's time to leave and he needs to go into his house. He loves going to check the mail in his buggy and scaring the bejeesus out of us playing on the playground or playset.

His speech is not quite where Holt was at this age, but the beauty of having two kids, you don't worry about milestones and things like this. It will happen. Now that I know what a yapping 3 year old is like, Jett can stay 18 months forever in the speech department. Not really because it is fun to see them learn how to talk and say funny things. He's learning new words everyday, but they aren't exactly clear. They are his own language that only someone who is around him 24/7 would understand. Book and ball sound almost the same. Cow sounds and dog sounds are very similar apparently. One day he knows all his animals, the next day he looks at me like I have 4 heads when I ask him what an elephant says. Once Holt learned something, he learned it. Jett is learning who everyone is aside from Mommy and Daddy. He loves his brother "Oat". Haha! As soon as we pull into the preschool parking lot he says "Oat? Oat?" Sometimes "Up, Oat?" I'm guessing because he always hears me say, "We are going to pick up Holt!" So he probably says around 15-20 words that are real or close to what they should be and a few short sentences "Go Bye Bye", "All Done", all the basics really!

His stats at 18months:
23 lbs 14 oz (44%)
32.5 in (50%)
18.7 in (52%)
Size 5 diapers
18-24 month clothes
Size 5 shoe
10 teeth (bottom 2, top 4, and all molars. Kind of a weird order to get your teeth...)

So contrary to looks, he's not as big and hefty as people think he is. They think he's a little chunk, but he's not. He's solid. He and Holt could not be more different in body type. Kyle says he will be a linebacker. He just plows into things, no problem.

He has had his fair share of ear infections, so we have another appt in a few weeks to check the fluid in his ears. We could be heading towards tubes, but I also think he could be suffering from allergies, which could all be related in my opinion. He is cranky, so cranky. He is clingy, so clingy. Kyle jokes that he still has colic, but seriously...is it possible? I think I got more done with a newborn sometimes. He's always been more high maintenance, but I just can't remember Holt ever clinging to me like this ALL THE TIME. I think it's because he is miserable most the time. Hopefully we will get some answers soon and he can go on being happy!

I can't describe the love I feel for this little guy. Cranky clinginess and all, he is my little ray of sunshine, always has been, always will be!