18 months

18 month stats

Weight: 23 lb 3 oz, 36th percentile

Height: 32.25", 43rd percentile

I had a few concerns about Bryson for this check-up. His soft spot has not gone away, which is supposed to go away by 18 months, and he has grown an extra front tooth! (The dentist confirmed it was an extra tooth but would not do an x-ray due to his age.) Both of these are signs of the disease Matt was born with, cleidocranial dysostosis along with the bulging of the forehead. Bryson has this as well and has had an off-the-charts large head since he was born. His head measurement has continued to follow the growth curve though so it hasn't been a major concern. Cleidocranial dysostosis has been passed down through Matt's family, but only through the females. So some of these tendencies in Bryson that lean towards the disease are definitely a surprise because it doesn't fit the family pattern. His physical and mental development are coming along just fine. He's slightly under normal in terms of how many words he can say, so I'll continue to watch this and encourage words. If he does have the disease, it is a much milder case than Matt had and worst-case scenario will result in any extra teeth being pulled. 

Besides these health concerns, he is such a fun boy. The older boys love playing with him and laughing about the cute things he does. Bryson has proven to be very stubborn in his eating. He's refused to try bread, but just a week ago tried a homemade roll and liked it! He ate leftover rolls for the next few days, but today when I gave him a roll with his dinner, he refused to eat it again. Moody and stubborn! He's started to throw some tantrums too when he doesn't get his way about something he wants.

He is most definitely a momma's boy. When Matt gets home from work, he'll run over and give him a hug and kiss, then wants nothing to do with him the rest of the night! It proves to be quite funny sometimes with his refusal to go near Matt!

Bryson currently loves to look out the window for lizards which conveniently hang out on one window screen in particular. That window happens to be in the piano room which works out nicely when I need Bryson distracted so I can work with Caleb for his piano practices. 

He went through a phase where he would not lay down for me to put his diaper on each changing. It got to the point where I was tired of the fight so I became very adept at putting on diapers while he stood up. Just within the last week, I can spread out the diaper, pat it, and he'll come running over and put his head down in the diaper. We're starting to practice sitting on the potty before bath time every night. He loves his bath time!

18 months is an age I look forward to with each of my children so they can start going to nursery at church! Actually due to callings that have kept me busy during 2nd and 3rd hour both with Carter and Bryson, it's Matt that looks forward to it more than me since he's been on baby duty. Bryson did great his first week.

Words he can say: hot, hi, and dogga. He also has specific sounds that he makes for things like airplanes and lizard.

Playing at the park

He's growing up so fast!