Letter to my 18-month-old Asher

Darling Asher:
I suddenly realised this week that we moved into our new home on March 1st-- three and a half months ago--and since then, I have not written in your Baby Book, as I don't know where it is hidden. Probably in the last box we will open, somewhere in the garage. So, in an attempt to continue chronicling your growth and development, I wanted to write you this note that we can later stick in the relevant place in your baby book so that we continue to have a record.
Yesterday you had your 18 month appointment at the pediatrician. You way 24 pounds and measure 32 inches. At last you have trippled your birthweight!!! You are in the 25th eprcentile again for weight, which is better that the 10th percentile you were in at your 12 month checkup.
It would seem to be sods law that the few months I don't write in your book are the months during which you have learned to walk and really developed a vocabulary, which must now span upwards or 20 words, which is the 18-month "average." Having said from alsmost the getgo that you would one day be class clown, due to your dynamite personality, it seems appropriate that one of your first phrases would be "knock knock" which began last week (6/18). You are beginning to understand "no" and when I say it, you repeat it back to me, which I can only assume is a good thiing. You are testing the boundaries and so understanding no doesn't always mean you stop what it was you were doing.... these days, splashing in the toilet, slamming doors shut, fiddling with the oven nobs!
Other words you now say are "ball", "pool", "peas", "cheese", "Mummy", "Daddy", "this", "that", "what this", "juice", "door", "EIEIO" (Old McDonald), "uh=oh" -- esp when things drop on the floor, "hi", "hello", "bye", "bagel", "baby"
\n\u003cdiv\>You know a lot of the animal noises: dog, cat, cow, lion, duck, bird, snake, horse, pig and last week we learnt donkey\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You understand even more words: cup, fan, shoes, hug, kiss, splash, kick\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You also understand a lot o commands/ questions, such as "Where is your [cup]?" "Bring Mummy your [cup.]"\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You eat most foods but your appetite seems to be in 48-hour cycles: one day you eat so well, the next day you don't. These days, you especially enjoy mac and cheese, Dr. Praegers foods (fish sticks and veg pancakes), pizza, noodles, asaparagus, avocado, corn, peas, carrots, melon, grapes. You love chocolate buttons and pretzels.\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You began to walk about a month ago and once you plucked up the courage to give it a try you almost stopped all crawling simultaneously. You began to walk in a music class at NOVA -- i looked up and i saw you walking across the room when you thought no one was watching you!!!! i had suspcted for some time you were secretly giving it a go!! Hard to believe now that I was ever worried that you seemed to be the last walked amongst your friends! We bought you your frist pair of shoes at STride Right, 2 weeks ago -- a white pair of tradisional first shoes with little train motifs on them. They are very cute and you love them!\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Yo are fascinated these days by: my sunglasses, my keys, my phone, doors, the wine/ beverage fridge, the oven, cabinet doors.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Last week I bought you your first potty -- a FIsher Price one that sings to you. We are beginning to introduce the ceoncept to you as part of your bedtime ritual and I figure that you become interested in your own time. You enjoy sitting on it and playing with it, and that is what matters for now.\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>We love your new pediatrician (AT LAST), who is Dr. Aber at Aventura's Pediatric Associates. She is my good friend, Jen Adler's, sister-in-law.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Yesterday, June 25th, I threw out all your Avent bottles. We now are using the born free cups for bedtime and regular cups at all other times. I can't believe my baby is off the bottle.",1]
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You know a lot of the animal noises: dog, cat, cow, lion, duck, bird, snake, horse, pig and last week we learnt donkey
You understand even more words: cup, fan, shoes, hug, kiss, splash, kick
You also understand a lot o commands/ questions, such as "Where is your [cup]?" "Bring Mummy your [cup.]"
You eat most foods but your appetite seems to be in 48-hour cycles: one day you eat so well, the next day you don't. These days, you especially enjoy mac and cheese, Dr. Praegers foods (fish sticks and veg pancakes), pizza, noodles, asaparagus, avocado, corn, peas, carrots, melon, grapes. You love chocolate buttons and pretzels.
You began to walk about a month ago and once you plucked up the courage to give it a try you almost stopped all crawling simultaneously. You began to walk in a music class at NOVA -- i looked up and i saw you walking across the room when you thought no one was watching you!!!! i had suspcted for some time you were secretly giving it a go!! Hard to believe now that I was ever worried that you seemed to be the last walked amongst your friends! We bought you your frist pair of shoes at STride Right, 2 weeks ago -- a white pair of tradisional first shoes with little train motifs on them. They are very cute and you love them!
Yo are fascinated these days by: my sunglasses, my keys, my phone, doors, the wine/ beverage fridge, the oven, cabinet doors.
Last week I bought you your first potty -- a FIsher Price one that sings to you. We are beginning to introduce the ceoncept to you as part of your bedtime ritual and I figure that you become interested in your own time. You enjoy sitting on it and playing with it, and that is what matters for now.
We love your new pediatrician (AT LAST), who is Dr. Aber at Aventura's Pediatric Associates. She is my good friend, Jen Adler's, sister-in-law.
Yesterday, June 25th, I threw out all your Avent bottles. We now are using the born free cups for bedtime and regular cups at all other times. I can't believe my baby is off the bottle.
\n\u003cdiv\>You still have very sensitive skin and get heat rash bumps ocasionally. We still see Dr. Fallabella, your dermatologist every three months.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You are going through a biting and smacking phase. It is your way of getting my attention. i tried smacking you and biting you back (!) once but I obviously didn't do it properly as you just laughed at me! and i felt terrible. so we are firmly sticking to one-minute time outs in your bedroom or on a chair. you don't like that at all.\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You rplaymates are Carly (your girlfriend), Izzy, Jax, Hannah, Hayley, Andrew, Sage.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>We read every night together and end each story session with "Each Peach Pear Plum" -- I think I have recited that to you every n ight now for a year! it s part of our ritual.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You also have your own ritual these days -- when i come in in the morning and after your nap, you like to hold up each of the anmals in your crib and have me name them for you. "hippo", "elli" "baby elli" "bunny" "teddy" "doggy" "baby doggy"..... i swear one day, when you can say them all, you will surprise me by reciting the list yourself!!\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>you like to make aaaah, baby. And you will come up to me and spontaneously say, aw mommy sometimes -- it is so sweet.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>you are beginning to have empathy and if you do something and i pull a sad face, you will come up to me and say "mommy", as if to say you are sorry, or 'what's wrong'. you are such a little mush! (as i type this, as if by cue, you have just sayd "MOMMY" and crawled onto my lap!!!!)\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You now give me kisses, which I love. You come up to me and go "ma" (kissing noise) -- its lovely. i love that we have our little impenatratable bond. Being your Mummy makes me the happiest woman in the world. You are a joy to have in our lives.\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>All of a sudden you are looking like such a big boy.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>you have had two hair cuts to date.",1]
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You still have very sensitive skin and get heat rash bumps ocasionally. We still see Dr. Fallabella, your dermatologist every three months.
You are going through a biting and smacking phase. It is your way of getting my attention. i tried smacking you and biting you back (!) once but I obviously didn't do it properly as you just laughed at me! and i felt terrible. so we are firmly sticking to one-minute time outs in your bedroom or on a chair. you don't like that at all.
You rplaymates are Carly (your girlfriend), Izzy, Jax, Hannah, Hayley, Andrew, Sage.
We read every night together and end each story session with "Each Peach Pear Plum" -- I think I have recited that to you every n ight now for a year! it s part of our ritual.
You also have your own ritual these days -- when i come in in the morning and after your nap, you like to hold up each of the anmals in your crib and have me name them for you. "hippo", "elli" "baby elli" "bunny" "teddy" "doggy" "baby doggy"..... i swear one day, when you can say them all, you will surprise me by reciting the list yourself!!
you like to make aaaah, baby. And you will come up to me and spontaneously say, aw mommy sometimes -- it is so sweet.
you are beginning to have empathy and if you do something and i pull a sad face, you will come up to me and say "mommy", as if to say you are sorry, or 'what's wrong'. you are such a little mush! (as i type this, as if by cue, you have just sayd "MOMMY" and crawled onto my lap!!!!)
You now give me kisses, which I love. You come up to me and go "ma" (kissing noise) -- its lovely. i love that we have our little impenatratable bond. Being your Mummy makes me the happiest woman in the world. You are a joy to have in our lives.
All of a sudden you are looking like such a big boy.
you have had two hair cuts to date.
\n\u003cdiv\>you like to practice your talking and you jabber away all day -- especially when you are alone in your crib or in the playroom. we don't have an idea what you are saying but it is a delightful sound.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>You now have 8 teeth (4 front, 4 molars). The eight molars were awful for you to get. esp the last one which kept you up at night and gave you a lot of pain.\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>you have recently begun to enjoy watching the television. you will sit there with your cup and watch for a good half an hour. you seem to like dora, sesame street, jack's big music show, charlie and lola, pinky dinky doo, the backyardigans laurie berkner. you also are back in love with your iny love MAGIQ dog DVD.\n\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>Asher, my love -- I love you oh so much -- more than all the star sin the sky, fish in the sea, sand on the beach.... you get the picture!\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>-- Mummy xoxoxoox\u003c/div\>",1]
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D(["mb","\u003cspan class\u003dsg\>\n\u003cdiv\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cbr\>-- \u003cbr\>Check out The Knocked-Up Knockout at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.beautyandthedirt.com\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>www.beautyandthedirt.com\u003c/a\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003c/span\>",0]
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you like to practice your talking and you jabber away all day -- especially when you are alone in your crib or in the playroom. we don't have an idea what you are saying but it is a delightful sound.
You now have 12 teeth (8 front, 4 molars). The eight molars were awful for you to get. esp the last one which kept you up at night and gave you a lot of pain.
you have recently begun to enjoy watching the television. you will sit there with your cup and watch for a good half an hour. you seem to like dora, sesame street, jack's big music show, charlie and lola, pinky dinky doo, the backyardigans laurie berkner. you also are back in love with your iny love MAGIQ dog DVD.
Asher, my love -- I love you oh so much -- more than all the star sin the sky, fish in the sea, sand on the beach.... you get the picture!
-- Mummy xoxoxoox