18 Month Doctor Visit

Oliver turned 19 months old yesterday, but I wasn't able to get him in for his 18-month check up until today. Poor Oliver had a meltdown that lasted the entire time we were in the exam room. He wanted me to pick him up and carry him, but I couldn't do that. I just wanted to cry, I felt so bad, but instead I tried to cuddle him and distract him and then I tried being stern. Nothing worked. The moment we left the office, he stopped shrieking and crying.

Oliver's height is 32.5", which puts him in the 46th percentile. His weight is 22 pounds, 11 ounces, which puts him in the 9th percentile for weight. His head circumference is 19", which is the 60th percentile.

The doctor asked me if we'd started potty training yet. I was happy that her question seemed to indicate that it's perfectly acceptable to start teaching now. I told her we've started, but we haven't started working on it seriously yet. She told me that's good and gave me a little handout with a few tips (nothing really new). I decided that I want to start seriously working with Oliver on potty training after our trip to Chicago in June (since I think travel will just mess him up while he's learning).

18 Month Old Photo Shoot (With Dad)

OK, this last photo isn't from the impromptu photo shoot. It's from Oliver's lunch date with Daddy. They stopped at Noodles & Company on their way to visit Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Paul. It meant a lot to me that Oliver ate a lot with Andrew because he hasn't been eating quite as much this month. Some days, getting him to eat anything is a struggle.

ONE AND A HALF!

Oliver is officially a year and a half today! Oh my!

Recently, we've been focusing on Oliver's letters. Oliver has mastered the letter "O," and he can find it almost anywhere--even on a keyboard. However, he doesn't say the letter O yet.

He understands the sounds of "G" and "S" very well. Usually, if I hand him the letter G, he'll look at it and say, "Guh!" If I ask him what the letter S says, he responds with, "Sssssss."

Oliver's shyness is getting even worse. He cowers at the grocery store when the clerks say hi. If I set him down on his feet in public with people around, he starts screaming or crying and has a complete meltdown until I pick him up again. I've ended up extremely embarrassed places, including the park. Yes, Oliver no longer enjoys the park because there are people there. He cries when I set him down on the wood chips. We went outside to play with Owen earlier this week. Oliver mostly freaked out when I put him down on the grass, and I soon had to take him inside. He just couldn't deal with being around Owen unless I was holding him. It's very sad, and I don't know how to teach him to be more independent.

Oliver's Likes and Dislikes:

Likes
*Watching music videos
*Stuffed animals
*Helping with chores
*Daddy (Daddy has recently surpassed Mommy as being Oliver's absolute favorite person in the world)
*Bubbles
*Chalk
*Learning to kick and throw a ball (he's pretty good at kicking!)
*Dogs
*Books
*Nighttime routine

Dislikes
*Baths
*Strangers
*Walking in public
*Dinner time