Joe seems to get heavier and heavier, despite the fact that he isn’t getting any longer and not really any wider. He’s just dense, I guess. Our little brick. The little man is still in a size 12 months in most quality clothes, but can fit into smallish 18-month sizes too. He has long arms and not so long legs.

What surprised us most recently was the size of his (not so) little Flintstone feet. You see, the weed is learning how to walk, so we figured that it’s time for Momma-the-tightwad to suck it up at the register and buy the kid some quality shoes. Given my feet issues (mainly, the almost annual spraining and breaking of my left foot because I so easily trip over flat ground), shoes are the one thing that I always splurge on for the family. So, we went to Nordstrom and had Joseph’s feet measured. I was surprised that he came in at a size 4-1/2, which explains the difficulty we were having getting those size 4 shoes on him (oops). I should have known…I’ve been buying him 2T socks…

It’s not easy to find soft-soled shoes for beginning walkers in a size 5 (the size they recommended since half-sizes are hard to find in most brands, and he needed growing room anyhow). Joe’s chubby ankles won’t do well with Robeez (elastic at the ankle), so we’ve been keeping him in gripper socks in the house. But we really needed shoes for the outdoors, since he’s always wanting to be on the ground (to practice those walking skills). We found one brand we love: See Kai Run, my absolute most favorite shoes out there. I don’t think we’ll buy another brand for quite awhile. The quality is awesome and the styles can’t be beat. During that same shopping trip, I stumbled across the most adorable orange and yellow shoes. They look great with all of  Joe’s bright-colored outfits.  Nordys also has an awesome pair of kelly green  shoes that are next on our list of must-haves. Check these out!

OK, back to the update: Joseph now has 4 teeth, two on the bottom (center) and two eye teeth on the top (the left one is still struggling to break through, but you can see it). He climbs and walks (holding on to things) like crazy and crawls at the speed of light. We do use a walker under close supervision, though he’s starting to be a terror, always operating at “rabbit” speed (for those of you who don’t know electric carts, that’s the fast setting). He loves to run into us at full speed. We’re getting used to wearing shoes in the house just to protect ourselves. No doubt Joe will be upright on his own in no time. We just bought two more gates and started the official cabinet babyproofing.

We still have to watch Joe like a hawk (not that we wouldn’t) because he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. He’s very attached to his binky. His favorite oral fixation is paper (he’s already “eaten” several baby board books, so we have to stick with the cloth ones for now). And he’s getting darned good at clenching his jaws to avoid a finger swipe to clear his mouth. He does the same with food when he doesn’t want to eat. Over the past few weeks, he’s been refusing solids a lot. He must be feeling better, because he ate like a horse today. We suspect it’s a combination of asserting independence and having sore gums, and perhaps growth patterns. Joe seems to enjoy feeding himself finger foods, but hates most veggies and has finally figured out how to spit out what he doesn’t like. He lets us know when he’s done or if we give him something he doesn’t want: he simply picks it up and throws it on the floor. At least the hardwoods can handle it.

Given the craziness, Joe’s schedule has been out of whack, especially with the ongoing teething. We go through Tylenol like it’s water. Not my first choice of remedies, but he really complains without it. Literally. He’ll moan and “chastise” me and get all dramatic and start biting on everything (including me) without meds. Rumor has it that adults couldn’t stand the pain of teething, so I’m giving the kid some slack and giving in to the meds. Besides, the doctor gave me the thumbs up.

Joe’s pretty restless at night, even after a long, hard day on the playground. Sleep issues are probably our number one concern. We’ve been trying everything, but my nerves are already so frayed that I don’t have much patience for the nightly screaming that accompanies bedtime (and Dan doesn’t hear it, so I can’t put the earplugs in). Lately we’ve been letting Joe fall asleep in our bed and moving him to his crib. Then I have to get up every couple of hours to coax him back to sleep (usually a binky and a quick backrub does the trick). I’m hoping that my nerves will calm down in time and I’ll be able to stick to the routine. I just can’t stand listening to him cry. I still think our comfortable bed might have something to do with his dislike of bedtime, so the second we can safely give him a softer mattress, we will. In the meantime, Joseph must go to sleep with “duckie,” his yellow mini blankie (it has a duck head and a small square of plush blanket) and, of course, his binky (though he’s less selective there; any binky will do).

Finally, on the development front, Joe is really starting to understand more and communicate in his own way. He’s always been chatty, even if these days he’s still stuck on “dadadadadadada” in varying inflections and the occasional “nananana” or “babababa” (no “mamamama” yet).  We weren’t consistent with sign language so he’s not really signing (except “more,” we think), but today he waved when he heard folks say “bye.” That was a first! (We say good-bye and try to get him to wave every morning when Daddy leaves for work.)

We’ve set up a playroom in the front sunroom where Joe can go crazy with his toys. He mainly likes to hold (and suck on) and walk around with a single megablock (he’ll throw the big ones with multiple connectors), empty all of the megablocks out of the wagon, or throw them across the room. He especially likes the black one, but the purple or blue one will do in a pinch. He loves pushing his walking car back and forth across the carpet, running into a wall, and demanding help to turn. He also enjoys “playing” his piano and turning the pages of the music book (which changes the song on the piano). He’s quite active and physical and, at times, has a short attention span. Definitely all boy.

Joe has been increasingly testing his boundaries and understands “no” even if he primarily grins in response. We’re well aware that we’re facing a delicate time in asserting who’s boss and need to be serious and consistent. It’s just that he’s so darned cute even when he’s pissing us off, it’s hard not to laugh at his devilish antics!