Our "Year-and-a-Halfer"

Cash is almost 18 months old. Its hard to fathom that he'll have been on this earth for a year and a half next week. Colt and I always joke that, "This is the best stage yet," because we've said that so many times over the last 18 months. When he was a newborn, we couldn't wait to see that first smile. A few weeks later, we found ourselves sitting on the edge of our seats, many evenings, watching him ALMOST roll over. Looking back, its funny to think THAT was entertaining for us, but it was uncharted territory!

Cash was always a very sweet, VERY laid back baby. I never wanted to be the kind of parent that was tied down to a strict sleep schedule, or based where we could and couldn't go on "where can we take the baby". That philosophy worked well for us, because Cash is comfortable in basically any environment, and is usually well behaved when we're at a restaurant or in public. USUALLY! He adapted to our gypsy lifestyle pretty well.

When he got to be closer to his first birthday, his personality really started to develop. For the first several months we joked that he was, "Colt's baby". Sharon always said that Colt was a very easy, laid back baby and child. He was carefree, happy, and didn't require a lot of spankings. I on the other hand was the perfect storm of manipulativness (is that a word?), stubbornness, and charm. Basically I needed a lot of spankings, but I could probably talk you out of giving me one (although was not always successful). I was a very independent child, and I wasn't super cuddly. My mom said I was very observant, and was always trying to figure things out for myself. Over the last few months, Cash has morphed into "my baby". He is ALWAYS on the go and doesn't have a very long attention span with any of his toys. In fact, he would prefer to play with household objects such as my broom, mop, Swiffer, vacuum, laptop, cell phone, remote control, drum heads, guitars, etc. etc. etc. I spend most of my day cleaning up after the tornado toddler that is my son. The thing is, I really love that about him. No, not the cleaning part, but the fact that he is so interested in learning everything he can about his environment. Of course, every mother thinks that their child is a genius, but I am astounded sometimes when I watch him try to complete a task that requires overcoming an obstacle. He has very good problem solving skills. From as little as 6 months old he was escaping from various seats that were meant to keep him occupied while I showered or dried my hair.

Cash at 6 months old

From there he learned how to escape out of his Bumbo, Exersaucer, high chair, pack-n-play, and the bucket seat tables at church. There's no holding him back! If he sets his mind to something, he can usually make it happen. Lately, if he can't, he has taken to throwing a temper tantrum. This topic deserves a new paragraph.

Before you start thinking this is going to be a full out brag fest about my well adjusted, genius, problem solving child, I should say, YES...believe it or not, my little golden boy can LOSE HIS MIND sometimes. Screaming fits, hitting, biting, pinching, scratching...you name it, he's probably done it, and YES, he gets disciplined for these fits. I remember my mom telling me that she had a book called, "The Strong Willed Child" when I was a little girl, for tips on how best to discipline me. Basically the book gives advice on how to break your child's will just enough to make them obey and respect authority, but not enough that they become little robots, just walking around waiting for their next command. Although I've never read the book, that is sort of my discipline philosophy. I want Cash to grow up being confident and comfortable with making decisions on his own. When he does something wrong for the first time, I will explain to him that its wrong. If he continues in the offending behavior, he'll get punished for it. My main thing is, if for example, he's going to play in Moe's water dish, or mess around with the TV, if its the first offense, he'll be told firmly, "NO". Then I wait to see what his choice is going to be, but I don't stop him if I see that he is going to try again. I want him to make the decision, and then see that there are negative consequences to bad decisions.

Now...that being said...that's what we are trying to do. It may be completely wrong based on different discipline theories, or it may be completely naive. There have been many times in my short parenting career where I have stated an opinion on one thing or another (whether publicly stated or in my own mind) and then later, when Cash got older, thought to myself, "Wow...I had no idea what I was talking about!" That's one of the great parts about parenting. Learning as you go! I suspect it will be much more difficult to consistently discipline when I have two little boys running around my house. I feel like my whole idea of "good" parenting, and child rearing will be transforming here in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

A quick 18 month overview:

- Cash is very verbal these days and says probably 40-50 words on a daily basis. He is also combining words like, "Yes Ma'm" and "Thank You".

- He goes to bed between 9:30pm-10:30pm on most nights and sleeps until around 9:00-9:30 most mornings.

- He loves oatmeal and almond milk for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich, fruit (fruit usually ends up on the floor--going through a "no fruit" phase), and diluted V8 V-Fusion for lunch. Dinner depends on where we are. If we are at a restaurant, he'll usually have a grilled chicken breast with ketchup and some kind of vegetable side item or rice. Ok, ok...sometimes he has french fries. He loves Coke, and requests it when we are in the checkout line at Target standing next to the drink cooler by saying, "Coke!" Sometimes we ask the waitress at a restaurant if they'll give him a splash of Coke in his water. He feels like he's actually drinking a coke when in reality its about 98% water, 2% Coke. He loves it. He has also tried my mom's coffee and enjoys that as well. Of course, I don't let him have coffee, but I can remember being really young and sneaking sips of my mom's coffee too. And people said it would stunt my growth...Pssssh! (I'm 5 foot 3--HAHA!). If we are at home for dinner, he loves chicken (a recent discovery as he used to hate it), or occasionally hot dogs. He still isn't into red meat. He loves corn, zucchini, squash, wild rice, and pasta, and sometimes broccoli.

- Cash loves to play with Moe, but has recently started trying to rough house with him. Moe isn't into it. He's a lover, not a fighter. Cash gets disciplined for being too rough with Moe, but Moe just licks his face. He's such a sweet dog.

- He loves going to the aquarium and Busch Gardens with our annual passes. They both have a water park area that he enjoys. I'm sure you've seen pictures on Facebook. We recently got annual passes to the Zoo, so we are looking forward to using those.

- He says prayers everynight with me, and when I'm done saying them, he says, "Maymen" (Amen). He has also become quite the little song leader in church. Its so cute to watch him open the song book and wave his hand in the air to keep the time while he "sings". He will also bow his head when its time to pray, although sometimes get pre-occupied with what's going on around him.

- O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with Elmo!!! Every morning when he sees the TV, or sees one of our cell phones (we've shown him Elmo videos on YouTube on our phones), he says, "Elmo!" He can do a cookie monster voice, and he's also quite fond of Big Bird and Abby Cadabby (spelling?).

At (almost) 18 months, Cash is such a ball of energy. He's into everything, he's mischievous, curious, interested in his surroundings, loves learning new things, and is always on the go. On the other hand, he is such a sweet cuddler when he's getting sleepy, he loves to give kisses and hugs, he loves to run his fingers through mine and Colt's hair, and he LOVES his family.

He's really cool. We are so lucky to have him as our son. :)

A pregnancy post will be coming soon. I've become negligent in my posting duties, and there are things to report. Thanks for reading!