18 Months

Eighteen months is proving to be a very fun age. I think it's my favorite age since ten months, which is the last time Gavin made a big leap forward in his ability to interact with us. Then it was all giggles and play. Now it's a positive explosion of words. Gavin talks all the time. He learns new words every day, and he's starting to figure out sentences. He can ask for what he wants now, and he can definitely understand most of what I say.

It's so much fun to watch him turn into a person and start to discover his likes and dislikes. He has recently become obsessed with Elmo. He often requests that we play the theme song to Elmo's World and then dances and sings along to it (sort of). If the song comes on unexpectedly he stops whatever he's doing and gets excited for Elmo.

We ended up buying him a stuffed Elmo, and he's been sleeping with it every night. This is actually something of a relief to me. Up to now he hasn't shown any interest in stuffed animals or blankets. He doesn't insist on carrying them around or sleeping with them or anything. He likes books and has his favorite toys, but he hasn't gotten particularly attached to anything long-term. He still forgets about Elmo half the time and is content to leave him behind when he wants to do something else, but it's nice to see him snuggling a stuffed animal.

He also getting better at a whole slew of physical activities. He's learning how to use a fork (which often results in a lot of frustration, but he's getting better). He can almost go down stairs on his own now, so long as he doesn't get distracted by anything. He can climb up on our couches and continues to love jumping and anything that involves him being upside down.

But he balances all this physicality really well. He's still a very observant and deliberate baby, who will often watch for a while before jumping in on his own. And he still loves to read and will happily hang out in my lap with a stack of books for as long as I'll let him.

It is so much fun watching him grow up and start to be more independent. I have to rein it in a little here and there - Gavin is pretty upset that I don't let him walk the dog on his own. But it's mostly exciting to see what he can do and how much he's willing to try.