Reed is 18 Months!

Okay, so I fudged the truth just a bit in my last post, saying that I was all caught up.  Not completely caught up!  Reed had his 18-month check-up on October 11, so I'm a couple weeks behind there!  But after this, I really will be ALL caught up.  A few fun videos to post tomorrow, along with some cute fall and Halloween pics, and then we'll be primed to head into the holiday season, with Thanksgiving, Hanukah, and Christmas just around the corner.

I'm continually amazed at how much Reed changes from check-up to check-up.  At 15 months, he was a new toddler, still finding his walking legs.  His vocabulary was growing, but even my speech pathologist aunt said that many of his words, while words, were approximations.  What a difference three months makes!  Reed has gone from wobbling to running (and attempting to jump), and we've lost count of the number of words he can say - and say clearly!.  Without further ado, here's a snapshot of Reed Alexander at 18 months:

• Weighing in at 24 lbs and 11 ounces and measuring 32 1/2 inches long, Reed is in the 37th percentile for weight and the 57th percentile for height.  Our little chubber has leaned out!
• He's down to one nap a day, from 1 p.m. to anywhere between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.  While I sometimes think he could still use the two naps, the new schedule is so much easier to work around!
• While Reed is still finnicky about food, he's branched out a bit.  He now enjoys chicken nuggets and french fries, fish sticks (are we seeing a trend here?), veggie burgers, nearly any kind of fruit, peanut butter Ritz crackers, cereal bars, and cottage cheese.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that some day soon he might let a vegetable cross his lips!
• He's much more adept at feeding himself now.  He's great with a spoon (see video below) and he loves the control and independence of eating on his own.
• His fascination with music continues.  We played Reed his first CD in August - a Lisa Loeb children's album - and he now has all the songs memorized.  He can recite the last word of every line.  He's also become enamored of my childhood favorite, Free to Be You and Me, and requests it every day with "Me!" or "Be!".  At daycare, the multiple CD players around the room are his entertainment centers of choice.  During the weekends, we love having family dance parties to the Muppets station on Pandora!
• Reed also continues to love books.  We're told that at daycare he can often be found by himself, reading, and at home, his favorite spot is in Jeff's or my lap, reading a book.  Like with his CDs, he has most of his books memorized.  Some of his new favorites are Go Dog, Go, Rumble in the Jungle, Counting Kisses, Green Eggs and Ham, and Are You My Mother?
• He know and can verbalize all of his body parts, as well as most animals.
• Some of his cute baby phrases have disappeared.  "Mama" has become "Mommy" and "pappy" (for pacifier) has become "paci".  My heart broke a little with the paci.  I loved how he sounded when he said pappy! 
• Some of my favorite new words are "curlers", earrings, and "uic-ic" (music), and I love hearing him use phrases now too, like "I want", "I see you", and my personal favorite, "I love you" (which he said on my birthday!).

As promised, here are a few cute videos of our sweet boy.