17 months old

What a day we had today. Chance turned 17 months old today, that seems like such long time and yet like no time at all. Scott was working for the day in Baton Rouge so this morning I dressed Chance in some of his cool new clothes (thanks grandma g.) and then we spent the day playing around the house and going to Chuck E. Cheese. I had not been to Chuck E. Cheese since I was very little and Chance of course had never been so I was excited to try it out. He had so much fun. I had taken a coupon from the paper so we got lots of tokens when we first arrived. At first Chance was not sure what to do there were some kids running around and some of games look like things he has been taught not to touch, like the computer screen. After we got settled I le him down to walk around, I took him over to a little car, I told him it was ok and that it was there for him to play with, then I sat him in front of the stearing wheel and that was all he needed to know. From that point on he was off.

He tried to climb into anthing that had a stearing wheel, he rode in cars and busses and trucks. He even put the token in the slot by himself and then turned the wheel back and forth while the little car moved up and down and from side to side. half way through our visit he ate a whole slice of pizza which is a lot for him but he was using a lot of energy. He did not want to sit for long though and soon he was off again. We stayed for two hours and by the end Chance was starting to get "floppy" which is our term for when you pick him up and he just kind of goes limp and molds to your body this usually means he is tired. So we packed up the rest of our tokens and the tickets Chance had won and headed home. Soon after we got home Scott pulled up outside which was perfect timing since I had a little last minute travel coordinating to do. Scott and Chance played for a while and then we all went outside to water the lawn and play outside a bit then it was dinner and bed. It was a long day and Chance was ready for bed I don't think he made a sound after I put him in his crib, just straight to sleep.

17 months
Most children can • Uses six words regularly• Enjoys pretend games• Likes riding toys

Some children can • Feeds doll• Speaks more clearly• Throws a ball underhand

Few children can • Dances to music• Sorts toys by color, shape, or size• Kicks ball forward

18 months

Most children can • Will "read" board books on his own• Scribbles well

Some children can • Strings two words together in phrases• Brushes teeth with help• Stacks four blocks

Few children can • Throws a ball overhand• Takes toys apart and puts them back together• Shows signs of toilet training readiness

These milestones are from babcenter.com It is strange how all kids are so different yet so alike. I copied both the 17 and 18 months here because he is doing a lot of both. I am just going to go down the list and comment on the things he does or does not do although it desn't flow very well when you read it that is the easiest way for me to d it so here we go. Chance has just started getting into his riding toys but he loves pretend games and plays all different kinds all the time. He uses "mama" "dada" "this" "up" and "hi" regularly but there are alot of other words he has only said a few times like "red" "done" and "yes" thenthere are other times that he says things and we aren't sure if they count as words like for 'no' he turns his head to the side quickly and says a sharp 'n' sound, does that count? Chance does not feed a doll but I think that is because he does not have any dolls and he is not that fon of stuffed animals the words that he does have though are becoming more defined. He thows a ball underhand and overhand and he is getting much better on his aim, most tims he can at least throw it in your direction and a few times right at you. He has been getting a little confussed as to why he can throw a ball but can not throw other things. Chance can kick at a ball but only hits the ball about half the time. He sways and twists to music and his dancing is getting more complicated he is also starting to dance on his own when music comes on without us telling him its time to dance. He has also started clapping when he hears other people clapping on a music track of on TV. He sorts items by shape and color but not so much by size.

As far as 18month things go he will read his own books all the time nearly everyday sometimes he jsut flips through the pages and sometimes he babbles out loud as he turns them. He also is really getting into drawing, he brought his crayons in to me this morning and I got a piece of paper and he scribbled circles al over the page. He does not put words together yet but he does brush his teeth all by himself. He likes to brush and will point to the toothbrush in the morning when we go in the bathroom. He stacks blocks up to four and usually the fourth or fifth one will topple the tower. He takes things apart and puts them together over and over and over again. As far as toilet training goes he has started doing something different in just the last week or so, he is going off to the hallway in front of the bathroom or in the bathroom when he poos. I am taking that as a good sign.

Well that's the big 17 month update.