18 Months!

I know I say this every time, but Easton has changed so much since my last post at 15 months! I don't even know where to begin! Sorry in advance for the novel to come...

Easton is taking one nap now (for the last month or so), usually going down around 12:30 or 1:00 depending on his mood and when he woke in the morning. He sleeps for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Bedtime is at 7:30 pm and he sleeps until 7:30 am. He gets 13.5 hours of total sleep per day, which is exactly what is recommended for his age. I often wish he napped longer, but I guess a trade off between getting less night sleep and a longer nap, compared to what he’s doing now, and Dan and I both enjoy that he does down early so we get a few hours to ourselves in the evenings. Having kid-free time is sacred, something we definitely took for granted before having Easton!



He is wearing size 2T clothes, size 6 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He has 12 teeth and some eye teeth on their way... boo! At his 18 month well baby checkup yet,  he was 26 lb 4 oz and 35" tall!   

His vocabulary is slowly starting to grow, I would say he has about 15 words or so, including mama, dada, thank you, please, yes, no, that, there, juice, chi chi (cheerios), Lucy (our dog), soosie (his pacifier), shoes, truck, car, cheese, baby, hiya, hello, uh-oh. Majority of those he has only said a couple times, its just a couple he uses quite regularly. Most aren't clear, but Dan and I can understand them!  I definitely think in the next couple of months he’ll acquire many more words, as he’s only started saying most of the words above in the past few weeks.

He’s in a weird phase with food, not eating much at all at meals, besides breakfast. He’s more of a snacker at the moment. I make him a big smoothie with whole milk, yogurt, and fruit everyday, because it’s the only way I can get some fat and dairy into his diet. He still LOVES fruit, and would eat only that if given the choice, I’m sure. He also likes cheese, turkey, crackers, goldfish, raisins, hummus, chickpeas, pizza and pasta. But even his favorite foods he shuns from time to time. I cant figure him out!


In terms of toys, he is really into trucks, tractors and cars at the moment. I bought him some little matchbox cars/hot wheels last week, and he always seems to have one in his hand, zooming it around the house while “vrooomm vrooming” to himself. It’s so cute! Such a boy thing.

He loves going to the park, pushing his wagon, riding on his trike (although he doesn’t understand how to pedal yet, but loves when we push him around), playing in his sandbox, collecting rocks, swimming and just being outside in general.



We're definitely starting to see some "defiant" behavior and the verge of some terrible two temper tantrums, but all in all, Easton is a pretty chill dude. He knows what he wants, and is determined to get it, so when its not happening, we're working on explaining why, and offering him another option. He does "freak out" easily when he's tired though, so that's wonderful. Gets it from his mama for sure. We dont believe in spanking, but we really haven't had to discipline him at all yet, thankfully. We ignore the meltdown behaviour and it usually stops as quickly as it started with that tactic. We'll be starting a time out chair or something like that when we get there. Fun times!

Here is what our typical day is like (when Dan is working)...

We wake up around 7:30 and E gets a diaper change, then we come downstairs for breakfast. We sit together, and Easton has cheerios with flax seeds (another one of my sneaky ways to get fat into his diet), berries and whole milk, and some diluted apple juice.

Then he gets to watch one show, which takes about 25 mins, while I clean up the kitchen and do the dishes I was too tired to do the night before. He watches one of his favorite shows, Backyardigans, Octonauts or Curious George.

Then we go upstairs, brush our teeth, and get dressed. E usually plays with his toys (or more often, all of my products under the sink), while I have a quick shower and do my makeup.  As a mom to a busy toddler, I have mastered the shower and makeup routine, getting it down to about 15 minutes flat. I may or may not throw my hair into a bun 6 days a week, and have mascara all over my eyelids, but hey, I try!

After we’re dressed around 9:00, we usually head out for a couple hours, either to the park down the street or to the Early Years Center (which I have just recently discovered and LOVE). Something active with other kids to tire him out, so he’ll have a decent nap.

We try to get home for 11:00 ish before he gets too grumpy to eat his lunch. Around 11:30 or 12:00 we’ll have something like grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, some grapes and apple sauce, then E will play or we’ll read some books together before nap time at 12:30 ish.

He is usually up from his nap around 2:00, at which time we’ll play in the backyard, go to the park if we didn’t go in the morning, or go get some groceries, have a play date, or run other errands.

We’ll arrive back home around 4:30, and Easton will watch another 25 minute show while I prepare dinner. We eat around 5:00 and then usually crash and need to veg for a little while, while Easton plays, usually outside. I kick my legs up on our new patio furniture and watch him throw dog poop across the yard and empty the contents of his sandbox into the garden. Ok, not really. Only sometimes.

After dinner, we might take Lucy on a walk and stop by the mailbox. When he's not walking Lucy himself, E loves to push his Thomas car toy, while collecting rocks from the sidewalk and peoples drive ways. He puts them on Thomas and pushes them until we get to the mailbox, then he throws them in the sewer, to hear the splash. He also points and waves at every car, truck, bike, dog, and person that walks by.

He has a bath around 7:00, then we usually read a few books, and bedtime is at 7:30.  I put on his fan, sing, 'You are my Sunshine', lay him in his crib, give him his soother and Congo (his favorite gorilla stuffie), give him a kiss, and he’s lights out in 5 minutes. That's been our routine for ages and it works like a charm.

When Dan is off, we try to do something fun as a family, so our routine is a bit different, but we always make sure nap time is at home.  He won't sleep for long in the car anymore, and sleeping at someone else's house, HA... forget it. We really need to work on that since he’ll probably be going to a home day care a couple days a week come September, so I can work a bit more.

Ok, I think that’s enough for now!  Except, here are a bajillion photos of some summer family time, the best time! 

Here are some shots from our day trip to the beach in Port Dover this past weekend...

As kids, my brother and I used to run around on the lawn in front of the Erie Beach restaurant so it warmed my heart to see Easton having such fun doing the same!

Poor old Nelson was so tired, so Easton graciously gave up his wagon to help pull him home!