Dylan at 17 months

Dear Dylan,

I can NOT believe that you are already 17 months old. It seems like yesterday that we were expecting you and look at you: You are no longer our little baby (although you always will be my baby no matter how old you are) but you are a curious, energetic toddler. Below is a list of all the things that you did at 17 months:
* You visited grandpa and grandma Moen in Utah and spent your 2nd Thanksgiving there along with mommy and daddy.
* You enjoyed ham and turkey and finished your entire plate :)
* You loved Wendy and Decker (grandma/pa's dogs) and wanted to see them first thing in the morning when we were in Utah "doggies, doggies"
* You love to say "Hi" and "Bye" to everyone (even when placed on a changing table at a public restroom).
* You love Elmo and DVD's in daddy's car. When we strap you in the car seat you will look up, point to the ceiling and demand "Ebbo", "EBBO".
* You love "Nannies" = bananas
* You go to sleep around 6:45 - 7 p.m. and only cry for about 2 min. before falling asleep
* You are finally having your LOVIES (you enjoy your disney pig and Pier 1 piggy)
* You are doing really good eating with your fork
* You certainly love ice cream :)
* Size 5 shoes (daddy got you some "dr. stankfoot" sneakers)
* You said a twice in one day at daycare "Poop" and sure enough Cori found a pooper in your diaper. Should we start potty training??
* You are curious and love to explore and check out things (what is behind, how does this work, etc.)
* you started playing hide and seek
* You say: hi, bye, doggie, duckie, nanna, ice, mmmh, hello, hi guys, broom broom, apple, elmo and ebbo, daddy, mommie, dada, more, circle, oval,

And here is what Daddy had to say about you at 17 months:

Dylan's words:

Yes, no, ok, nanna/nanny (for banana), mama/mom, papa, doggie, mama (=llama), tiga (=tigger our cat), baby, apple, elmo (he points at the TV while saying it), bye bye, poop

Milestones this month:

- he is climbing

- runs short distances

- waves bye

- kisses and hugs

- walks backwars

- uses a fork and spook really well

- can identify and apply and banana in his book

- drinks for a sports bottle

- pet his first dog

Things he does:

- he likes to point

- loves to smile a lot

- walks with arms to his side and out in front of him like Frankenstein

- growls and roars like a lion

- kicks in his high chair

- throws Cheerios and Crunchies all over the back seat of the car

- runs for short distances

- walks backwards

- climbs on anything he can find

- loves to pick up leaves on the ground

- holds hands

- hugs his piggy

Things he hates:

- Dr. Khanna's office

- Changing table

- getting dressed in the morning

- not getting what he wants

Things he loves:

- holding hands

- reading books

- watching Elmo movies

- eating bananas

- taking baths

- brushing his teeth

Our little man has grown at least an inch this month. His little beer belly is slowly going away and he loves to climb on everything. He likes his toys esp. books and his farmer tad toy. He is such a well behaved little man; he only melts down when he really needs something like a diaper change, food, sleep.

We recently took him on a 500 miles road trip to Utah. He loved to run on grandpa's farm. Every day he would say Mama and point to the 5 Llamas grandpa has in the yard. He likes to play with the dogs and look at all the rocks on the ground. He had a really good time and we cannot wait to take him on our next adventure. 

Our Utah Vacation in review

Saturday November 22, 2008: We left Los Angeles at around 7.20 a.m. Jeremy drove from L.A. to Bakersfield while I talked to Mom and Dad and Dylan watched Elmo movies. After breakfast, diaper change and getting gas, I moved to the driver's seat while Jer moved to the passenger side and started working on a paper for school. We switched again in Las Vegas and arrived safely in Cedar City, Utah at around 3:30 p.m. Utah time.
The first day we just hang out and saw Grandma and Grandpa Moen's farm, the lamas, the chickens and the dogs. Dylan really enjoyed the doggies and the dogs really loved the little guy and bombarded him with doggie kisses.

Sunday, November 23, 2008: The entire family went to Zion Canyon. The trip was beautiful. After checking out the Visitor's Center, Paul drove one route through Zion. We stopped at the Checker's Mountain and had lunch and headed back to the entrance where we took a shuttle bus to explore the other route with the weeping stone.

Monday, November 24, 2008: Deborah, Dylan, Jeremy and I went to St. George. We visited the B. Young House and toured it. This was pretty interesting since we also saw cotton plants and learned why the city is called Dixie. Afterwards we walked down Main Street and checked out a quilting store. We had lunch at the Pizza Factory (yummy) and than went to the Pioneer Women House. At that point Dylan did not want to be held or sit in a stroller anymore so I ended up taking him outside the museum and let him run loose. He ended up getting on a bench that served as a fabulous backdrop.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008: Jeremy, Dylan and I drove up to Bryan Head and soaked in the breathtaking mountains and meadows. The coldest spot we reached was 37 degree. Brrr.... There was some snow covering the mountains and it looked breathtaking. Afterwards we went to Cedar City and checked out a museum, and looked at all the little stores on Main Street.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008: Jeremy's Birthday. We went to breakfast at Ihop :) and than drove to St. George and spent some time at Barnes and Nobles just relaxing and reading. They had a table with Thomas the Train set up in the Children's area and Dylan love it. It was so cute to look at him trying to figure out how the trains move. After checking out the stores in the Outlet Center we grabbed lunch at In-n-Out and than went to see the Dinosaur tracks. Afterwards we tried to find the Art Center but were unsuccessful. We ended up in an area where they had an outdoor ampitheater. The theater was set up in a way that they mountains were the backdrop. So beautiful. In the evening we all went to dinner at the Pizza Factory.

Thursday, November 27, 2008: Thanksgiving. It rained cats and dogs and we were pretty much indoors the entire day aside from walking down the street to see the horses.

Friday, November 28, 2008: We left Utah in the morning and arrived back home in Los Angeles safely. As much as I like travelling, it's so nice to be back home in your own environment.

Dylan at 16 Months

- Loves to read.
- His favorite books are “Noisy Farm” & “The very hungry caterpillar”.
- Loves to go to swim lessons and started to kick his legs. Will do the “kitty/doggie” arm movements every so often.
- Started to become a picky eater. Will push food away when he does not want it and say “No”. Uses the fork and is doing pretty good with it.
- Still uses “No” all the time for anything.
- Will pick a book out of his toy boxes, bring it to mommy or daddy, crawl in our lap and wants us to read to him. Melts my heart.
- Loves watching DVD’s in daddy’s car. His favorite are “Elmo” and “Thomas the train”. Will point to the ceiling when he is in the car seat and indicate that he wants to watch a movie.
- Will throw his sippy cup left or right when he is done. Little Stinker.
- Is running. Loves to be chased around the house and will run away and laugh hysterical when I tell him that I get him and tickle him.
- Loves his 2 stuffed animal pigs. So cute to finally see him have a “lo-vie”.
- Gives very VERY rare and very selected “open mouth, slobbery” kisses.
- Is sitting on the toilet for a few minutes before bath time.
- Loves spaghettios, yoghurt, English Muffins with cheese and meat, bananas, meatballs.
- Will allow daddy to give him a haircut when we give him a popsicle as bribe.
- Had his first popsicle this month and loves it.
- Favorite toys: books, red barn that makes animal noises, vacuum cleaner at school, cars, bath toys.
- Has 8 teeth (6 on the top (2 molars) and 2 on the bottom).
- Loves to listen to the “Muffin Man” song on the way home from day care.
- Walks really good on the hand and stays with us at the mall/and doesn’t run away.
- Will put his head on your shoulder when he is tired.
- Takes 1 nap per day (usually around noon - 2 p.m.)
- Wears size 12 - 18 months and some 18 - 24 months.
- Loves farm animals.
- Had his first full blown “testing” tantrum when daddy had his union meeting one night.
- Sleeps from 6:45 p.m./7 p.m. - 6:30 a.m.
- Says “bubbles” in addition to all the other things he has said before.
- Bite 2 times another toddler at daycare. Is being told when his behavior is not acceptable.

Dylan at 15 Months

- Says “mama”, “papa”, “dada”, “appleba”, “tigga”, “bubble”, “wawa” (for water), “hi”, “okay”, “bye”, “backe, backe” and just started saying “no”. No is without a doubt his favorite word and is used 95% of times.
- Has 6 teeth (4 on the top and 2 on the bottom). We think that one or two molars are about to break through soon.
- Loves to eat bananas, apple bars, waffles, cheese sticks, grapes, fruit, yoghurt and cherries/cookies.
- Spills cherries all over mom’s and dad’s back seat in an attempt to pick out the good stuff that is located underneath the cherries (= cookies).
- Walks like a champ and has started running (still falls down when he is tired).
- Wears size 4 diapers.
- Follows some direction (f.-ex. “Dylan, can you please bring mommy your sock?” He usually will bring the sock to me).
- Weights 25 lbs 13 oz and is 31 inches long.
- Wears size 12 - 18 months cloths (Mom likes to shop at the Baby Gap and will buy bigger sizes up to 2 T so he can wear them for more than a few months).
- Drinks 3 cups of organic whole milk each day.
- Hates to have his teeth brushed and usually struggles and screams.
- Does no longer love baths (stands up immediately when placed in the bathtub) and holds on to the side and refuses to sit down.
- Will do the “kitty”/”doggy” movement when asked (this is the arm movement he learned at swim class). Loves his swim lessons. Each time we enter the pool area at the Rosebowl Aquatics Center, he squirrels with excitement and wants to get in the water immediately. If we do not take him in right away he will throw a mini baby tantrum.
- Is a really good baby and usually only cries when he’s tired or when he’s hungry.
- Loves to play outside. His favorite outside toys are slides and the sandbox.
- Loves music and shakes his body when he hears it.
- Loves the acrylic paints in the office and can spend hours unloading the paints and putting them back in the crop in style cube.

Dylan @ 12 months

- Weights 21 lbs 12 oz (40 percentile) and is 29 inches long (45 percentile). His head circumference is in the 25 percentile.
- Says “dada”, “papa”, “mama”, “Omi”, “Opi”, “Babba”, “wow”, “mmmmhhh”, oh boy” (only one time so far), “okay” and “hi”.
- Has 4 - 5 bottles of formula (between 6 - 8 ounces a day, plus 2 - 3 solids and snacks).
- Drinks from sippy cup.
- Hates diaper changes and rolls from back to front in 0.1 seconds. Pulls himself up to the window and open the curtains and looks at the cars.
- Takes all his baths in the big bath tub.
- Loves to eat (this kid can eat 24/7 if we let him). His favorite foods are crunchies, bananas, waffles, broccoli, pasta, yogurt, pretty much everything you offer him.
- Crawls really, really, really fast. Pulls up on everything and everyone. Walks for up to 8 - 10 steps when we hold him on two hands. Will stand on his own for about 10 seconds if he doesn't know it.
- Loves to play with his play mobile (esp. the barn and the doors).
- Loves to open drawers, doors, and loves to crawl in and out of doorways and in between the safety gates.
- Loved the indoor playground (his 2nd time).
- Reaches for mommy and says "mama  mamam".
- Stands up in his crib almost every morning.
- Has 4 teeth (2 are fully out (the bottom 2) and 2 are coming in right now (top 2)).
- Has a rough time sleeping through the night right now (not sure if it's due to teething or not).
- Has been in an adult size pool for the very first time on 6/22 for Miles 1st Birthday and loved it (after initial hesitation).
- Loves books and will flip through pages when sitting in his car seat.
- Just received his first Elmo laptop and loves it.
- Loves to sit in the big boy shopping cart seat.
- Has become a true little dare devil (nothing is too high, needs to explore everything, needs to see what is inside drawers).
- Wears size 12 - 18 months and some 18-24 months (those are big on him), still fits in some 6 - 12 months cloths (depending on the company).
- Wears size 4 diapers (Huggies).
- We bought his first real shoes the day before his birthday (one of his presents).
- Celebrated his first birthday party at Arbor County Park. Had his first cupcake and frosting (loved it and made a gigantic mess :)).
- Likes to chase Tigger.
- Likes balls - can throw balls and roll them back and forth.
- Had fun opening presents and gift wrap.
- Hates getting a haircut (bribes are no longer possible).
- Loves going to Disney.
- Watched his first movie (Baby Einstein and Curious George).
- Is forward facing in Jer's car and really seems to enjoy it.
- Loves music and shakes his booty.
- Is finally drinking his water.
- Still shoves at least 2 or 3 of his fingers in his mouth when eating/feeding himself. Dr. Khanna said to wait till his 15 month appointment to see if he is getting the hang but if he doesn't to contact early intervention to set up some physical therapy.
- Did not get any 12 month shots other than hepatitis (will get the MMR in 3 single shots around his 2 year birthday). Was screaming bloody murder at the doctor's office today.
- Waves “hi”.
- Loves to clap his hands.
- Loves to do "Hoppe Hoppe Reiter" and "Backe Backe Kuchen".
- Does not understand the concept of "NO" and will go right back to the item we don't want him to get into (trash in his room, fan in his room, and stove in the kitchen).
- Still loves his pacifier.
- Still does not give kisses (to mommies disappointment).