One of the most wonderful experiences of being a mom is to watch your child grow. Checking and tracking a child’s milestones can give a mom comfort in knowing your child is developing at normal pace. Although, all kids are different and moms should be careful not to compare their child with others, it’s can be fun to document his progress and enjoy his ever changing life.
With my son’s first 12 months, I have documented his milestones (check link here). I thought by now I would stop this documentation thing but it continues to this day. Watching him grow with so much fascination with his environment has pulled on my heart so much that I should write and update his toddler milestones (or at least for my family’s sake).
As of March 9th, Richard Rey is now 18 months old. He used to not to smile a lot when he was such a tiny tot but it changed over time. He learned how to wave bye-bye, and now he waves at every new face he sees. He also sends a flying kiss for good measure. He really is the sweetest boy a mom could ever ask for. 🙂
Listed below are some of Richard Rey’s Milestones at 18 months old:
Self-Feeding
Whenever we have dinner together at the table, Richard Rey has his tray and is feeding himself as well. It is mostly messy, but I am so proud of him trying to learn how to use the fork. Apart from that, whenever we make say the sign of the cross, he is so cute pointing to his shoulder or sometimes his forehead. He even knows that when “amen” is said, he folds his hands together as to pray and that makes me smile.
For breakfast, he loves scrambled eggs with toast on the side and milk. He eats on his mini table which his dad gave him last Christmas.
Dances with Music
Oh yes! The cutest thing he ever does is when he bangs his head when daddy plays rock music. He knows how to do the “itsy bitsy spider” and recently he’s been pointing to his body parts while we sing “head-shoulder-knees & toes”.
Understands Instructions
For moms, understanding instructions probably the most awaited part of having a child. Richard Rey understands quiet a few instructions now. It’s funny how he can slowly understand them but still chooses not to speak most of them. Haha. Some of the instructions that he can understand are – when you ask him to put his dirty clothes unto the hamper, when I tell him to get a diaper and throws it into the trash bin, when I ask him to get the chair and he does it; and when we do the tidy up.
We have a Curio cabinet that is made of glass. He’s been curious about what is inside of it and he has been banging on the glass. We kept on telling him not to bang the glass door until we decided to give him a “time-out”. And now for the past 2 months, he just walks past it without touching. He really doesn’t like “time out”.
Identifies Body Parts
He can identify his head, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, teeth, hands, tummy, feet. He also can identify his armpits (ilok) too, which he knows in Bisaya (one of the Filipino languages).
Likes to Help
Whenever grandma or mommy cleans the floor, Richard Rey loves to help too. We usually gave him a Swiffer which is easier for him to use and is good at grabbing dust. He also likes to help daddy in taking the trash out and mowing the lawn. He loves to use his little toy mower when daddy is working in the backyard.
Knows Right from Wrong
Like I said previously, he has a time-out which he understands whenever he has done wrong. Whenever he thinks that he might be in trouble, he always looks at daddy to see his reaction. Daddy is the enforcer and he really looks for his approval.
Bedtime Routine
If I could remember, around his 6-9 months, my husband and I started training him for his bedtime routine. He sleeps in a crib in his room. He only takes one nap a day now (1pm-3pm). He’s bedtime at night is 8:30pm-7:30am straight. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night but usually goes right back to sleep.
Babbles
Babbles a lot. He says “dad” a lot. Nah-na for food and “ahhhh” for water. He does say “Ma-ma” sometimes too. “Booo” for ball, balloon, bird, moon and starts (haha).
Can throw a ball and even kick
Walk up the stairs
3 months ago, my husband took the gate off the stairs because it is scarier to see our son trying to push and pull the gate away. To date, I would say he is a pro climber. Haha. But we always make sure that somebody’s with him whenever he climbs. Plus, it also helps us not to keep carrying him as he is getting heavier every day.
Brushing his teeth by self
Whenever daddy brushes his teeth, he stands close by and watches him. We bought him an electronic tooth brush for kids and he loves it.
Identify people/objects in the picture
During his bedtime stories, he can identify objects in the book. Some of the words that he says to identify them are “bah” for ball and “Nah-na” for banana (haha). He can also point the objects while mommy or daddy counts. Few things that he can identify are cup, milk, dog, trucks/cars( saying the same sound) balloon, cake, star, moon, book, banana, chair and table.
Stacking
One of his favorite game is stacking. One time, he stacked a foot high of blocks and he is so proud of himself doing that. He stacks boxes too!
Emotional Milestones
Most of the time, he is a happy boy. He smiles and laughs a lot. He does show excitement especially when we showed him how to blow bubbles. At times, he is also showing frustration or impatience with something that doesn’t work the way he wants it like unzipping the Lego bag. He will shout and cry every time he can’t unzip the bag. What we do is that we talk to ask him if he needs help then he calms down as we show him how to unzip it. He does show some shyness in him at times. Like when we were at a grocery store and a lady waved at him. He waved back at her but he covered his face unto my chest and smiled. Most of the time, he is very good at seeing new people.
And that sums it all!
SHOP HIS ROOM
