Tyler - 18 Months

Tyler is officially one and a half! I think this will be the last of my monthly posts for now, and I'll pick back up with birthdays and other milestones. Here are some highlights from the last month:

• He still has lingering hives (see last month's post), but they are almost all the way cleared up now. We saw a big flare up earlier this month after he ate a Nature's Valley peanut granola bar and so are thinking he might have some type of food allergy. We have an appointment with a pediatric allergist mid-June to get him tested. Until then we'll just be sure not to give him anything with peanut or almond to see if we can prevent more flare ups.

• Tyler is quite smart and understands pretty much anything we say to him. Whether or not he chooses to do what we ask/tell him is another story. He is also quite strong-willed. Here's an example: Tyler started taking pans out of a drawer in the kitchen. Matt and I asked him over and over again to put the pan back in the drawer. He ignored us. Finally, just to see if he really understood what we wanted, I said, "Tyler, if you put the pan back in the drawer, I will give you a chip." He practically ran to put the pan away and excitedly came to me for his "reward". What a stinker.
• Speaking of chips... Tyler loves chips. And chocolate. I know... super healthy. I do try my best to make sure he eats balanced meals! He also likes watermelon, soup, pizza, and waffles and still likes cereal and chicken nuggets. He is 22.5 pounds. He is in the 25% for weight and the 75% for height.
• Tyler's personality is starting to show through even more. He already has a cute sense of humor. Take this video, for example. He refuses to say "mama". He will only say "dada" when I ask him to say mama. You can tell he thinks he's funny.

• This is kind of gross, but Tyler likes to find pieces of string or lint or a stray hair and play with them. I guess it's motivation to keep my carpet clean :-)
• He loves dogs and loves going to the park (he especially loves the slides!)... and throws a royal fit when I take him away from either. I have been trying to work with him on not throwing a fit, but nothing works. Ugh, I hate those fits! Sometimes I just don't even want to take him to the park just to avoid the fit at the end... but despite the fits when we leave, I have decided his joy and smiles while we are there make it all worth it.

• Tyler still doesn't say very many words. I asked his pediatrician about it at his 18 month checkup and he didn't seem too concerned, as long as he can hear okay. I know that he hears well, so hopefully he'll start talking more soon!
• I love that Tyler likes to help me with "chores". He has started helping me empty the silverware and bottom drawer of the dishwasher and he likes to empty and load the dryer. What a cutie.