Zachary's Progress at 18 Months

Zachary will be 18 months tomorrow and it's amazing how he's changed over that time. 

Zachary can:

• Walk very quickly, especially if he knows you're chasing him

•  Understand most of what you say. He demonstrates this by responding to commands such as: close/open the door, give an item to someone, bring the remote, turn the light off/on, put his toys away, give someone a kiss etc. He answers 'yes' when you ask him if he wants various things such as a drink, food, to go outside/upstairs, a cuddle or a certain toy. He can point on demand to the following: his head, his hair, his eyes, mouth, teeth, knees, shoes, socks, feet, trousers, jumper, a bed, a mirror, door, window, floor, ceiling, TV, remote, Mummy, Daddy, Bumble, his drink/food, his bookshelf and a few other things.

•  Talk using single words. He can say the following words with meaning: Mum, Dad, cheese, juice, row (as in row, row, row your boat), yes, there, this, ball, yum.

• Join in with songs, doing the actions. His favourites are row, row, row your boat (which he can request himself and lets out a very animated scream when he sees a crocodile) and wind the bobbin up.

Zachary likes:

•  'Helping' with the things Mummy and Daddy are doing

• Throwing things down the toilet

• Tipping his drink upside down to empty it onto the carpet

• Running around with no clothes on, playing his belly like a drum

• Hiding behind curtains and in cupboards, then jumping out to surprise passers-by

Zachary hides inside Mummy's pantry cupboard

• Wearing sunglasses

• Flicking light switches on and off

• Animals, especially dogs, of which we tend to see a lot

Playing with Daddy in a home-made den

• Eating - his current favourites are satsumas and blueberries. He usually polishes off most of the food on his plate.

Enjoying his grapes

• Reading - he has a box full of books which he loves to get out, particularly enjoying the ones with flaps. He has a bedtime story with Daddy every night which is one of his favourite parts of the day.

Zachary likes to turn the pages a little faster than Daddy does

•  Going outside - he loves walking and automatically holds onto your hand or the buggy

Off to splash in puddles with Grandma and Grandad

• Buses - our house is on a bus route and Zachary loves watching the buses drive past. He also enjoys trips to see the buses with his Grandparents in Leyland.

• Bath time - Zachary could play for hours in the bath if he had the chance. He loves his bath toys and always cries when you get him out.

One of Zachary's last times in the baby bath

• Brushing his teeth - he likes the taste

• Balls - he loves to throw them and has been enjoying the ball pool that he got for Christmas.

• Emptying drawers and cupboards - especially Mummy's drawers in the kitchen.

He throws all of the balls out of his ball pool, then puts them all back in again

Zachary hates:

• Wearing hats - he pulls them off at the earliest opportunity

Zachary removes his hat

• Mummy or Daddy leaving - he cries when Daddy leaves for work, or if Mummy drops him off at Bumble's.

• Being told not to touch something he's interested in 

• Loud noises - particularly Henry the Hoover 

Zachary is still sleeping badly, waking approximately every 2 1/2 hours (he has had some better nights where he's only woken a few times, but recently has been worse), but we're well adjusted to it. He has breast milk at night before bed. He goes to three toddler groups a week which he loves and he usually has an afternoon nap each day. Zachary now has 10 teeth, including 2 upper molars.