My baby boy is now 18 months old today. Brandon is 31.19 lbs and 34.57 inches tall. Brandon is wearing 3T tops and 24 month pants and wearing size 7 shoes and rubber boots. He seems so much older than his 18 months which I attribute to having a big brother to watch and copy. Brandon is a charmer; his dark brown eyes melt you every time and his smile lights up his face and the room. When Brandon laughs he squeezes his whole face up and anyone near can’t help but laugh too.
On the other side of things, when Brandon is told “no” he has this way of standing very still, looking down towards the ground and sticking his bottom lip out. It is so very cute but don’t dare laugh, Brandon is upset and needs to be taken seriously. In these times he is very different than his big brother, Brandon does not want to hug it out, he does not want anyone to touch him or talk to him, he just needs to stand there for a while. Brandon has never been much of a sleeper, he doesn’t seem to need the same amount of sleep as his big brother; Brandon goes to bed later and gets up earlier and naps are pretty short — no rest for Mom and Dad. Brandon has become very attached to his blanket as of late; his big brother has a favorite blanket and if big brother Owen needs his blanket everywhere he goes then it must be for some very good reason! Brandon is very happy playing on his own and can get into his own little world at times; of course he also loves to play with big brother Owen. I use the word “play” loosely as it seems that Brandon’s version of play, at times, is grab whatever Owen has and run — Owen gets upset, cries and then Mom and Dad try to figure out what happened all the while Brandon has this very curious look on his face.
Brandon is using a ton of words and sentences now, he can communicate quite well with us, but of course there are a lot of times when we just can’t figure out what he is trying to tell us. This is when we use Owen — we have recently discovered that Owen understands so much more than we do of what Brandon is saying and wants. So sometimes we will say “Owen, what does Brandon want?”. Owen will look over at Brandon listen for a few seconds and then look at us and tell us, very bluntly, as if any simple person would know.
Brandon is a very healthy eater; he loves most everything – well except tomatoes – and has a very healthy appetite. Brandon is a slower eater, but then maybe he just eats at a normal pace but because Owen eats so quickly we just don’t know what normal is!? Eating slow is not a bad thing, don’t they say it’s better to eat slow than fast!? With only 8 teeth but more on the way as we speak, sorry write, it is amazing how much Brandon can handle — steak, chicken, apples, meat balls… He loves fruit — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, oranges and apples, just to name a few and cheese!! He loves his cheese — just like his Dad.
Brandon’s interests are slowly emerging — cars and trucks are a definite favorite, he loves the Little People sets too — house, farm, castle – anything he can get down on his belly and move his people around in. And of course we can’t forget cooking — Brandon (like his big brother) loves to cook — they have an excellent play kitchen from Sears and will spend hours cooking supper, pasta and meatballs, pouring coffee and tea and using the microwave “one more minute!” Oh and the phone, how can we forget the phone — Brandon has his own play phone and will talk on it all the time — talk to Grandma, Aunty, Kosmo, Daddy, Mommy — and when the real phone rings, Brandon will stop whatever he is doing and say “phone is ringing” and will run to the phone and wait so HE can talk. Brandon will get quite upset if he doesn’t get to talk too!
With spring right around the corner, there will be so much more for Brandon to discover. The sounds and sights of the outdoors are so wonderful, I can only imagine what he will think. We are all looking forward to many walks and bike rides this spring and summer. Happy 18 months old Brandon!!
Can’t forget big brother Owen. Owen is almost 3 years old — just a few short months to the big birthday. Owen is such a great big brother to Brandon. Owen loves to teach Brandon new things, get Brandon his milk and make sure he has enough dinner — even taste testing it for him. Owen has become quite protective of his little brother and will tell Brandon to stay on the sidewalk and stay away from strangers. Owen has recently discovered Winnie the Pooh from Brandon’s closet and takes care of him too. Feeding him, changing his diaper, putting him to sleep, carrying him like a baby and even letting Pooh ride on his shoulders “like Daddy does for Owen”. It has been so rewarding to see Owen and Brandon grow as brothers, they learn so much from each other and care so very much for each other. The day starts with a “good morning Owen, good morning Brandon” and ends with a “night night Owen, night night Brandon”.
