Wild Man

Owen is getting so big! He'll be 17 months old on Wednesday. Last week he had his "16-Month" Check Up. He hasn't quite broken the 25 lb. mark yet, but he's working on it! Besides physically growing by leaps and bounds I've noticed his mental and emotional development taking off in recent months.

Owen scored perfectly on the Ages & Stages Questionnaire the doctor has us fill out. It covers communication skills, gross and fine motor, personal/social development and problem solving. I enjoy filling them out because I get to concentrate on what Owen is doing these days. Unfortunately, there's so much going on in our lives I don't always take the time to stop and sniff the flowers along the path of developmental milestones.

Physically, Owen excels. He's been walking since he was nine months old so at nearly 18 months old he's got running down pat. Now he's become expert at climbing. Chairs onto tables. Floor to coffee table. Pillows to bed. His favorite? Scaling the toilet... first, he climbs to the seat, then to the tank. He tries to stand on the tiny window sill above the toilet, but hasn't gotten his "spidey" legs to figure that part out yet.

That's not to say he doesn't have his fair share of accidents, but he's pretty tough. Last week I noticed a little dot under his right eye. Initially, I thought it was dirt then I realized it was a bruise. Upon close examination I realized that his whole right eye was bruised. The little guy had gotten a black eye at some point during the day and didn't even make a fuss over it. When he got his shots last week he first had a finger prick for a blood draw (remember how bad those hurt?) then a shot in the left leg and another in the right and finally let out a wail.

Owen is also making social strides. He says "hi" and "bye" but not always when I want him to. He often says hi to strangers and then looks intently awaiting their response. He continues to prefer men often reaching out to them. I have also noticed that he's developed relationships with people outside of the family... people that he feels comfortable with and remembers.

He's become very talkative. When he chooses to, he can repeat anything you say to him. He understands it all. A few weeks ago we were eating hot dogs and he said "hot dog" clear as day, but I've yet to get him to do it again. Here are his most frequent words:

• Mom/Mama/Mommy
• Dada/Daddy
• Bubba/'Den
• Emmy/Dissy (sissy)
• Cat/Meow
• Duck/Quack
• Bible
• Sing
• Bus
• Car
• Bye-Bye
• Hi
• Dog
• Dink (drink)
• Bopple (bottle)
• Dat ("that" for pacifier because we say to him, 'you don't need that thing')
• Cup
• Bite
• Up/Down/On/Off
  

He'll say just about anything you get him to focus on so this list is just part of what he's says. And he's adding a new word to his repertoire every few days. He also says two word phrases like "Dada bye-bye"; "Bubba bus"; "Mama up".

I am so happy that he's developing normally and doing all the typical things little boys do. I guess I should maintain that positive attitude even though I detect terrible two behaviors starting. My gut feeling is that it's going to be a pretty wild ride with our wild man, Owen.