Roddie Report: 18 months

It's that time again, Roddie gets his immunization shots, and you get an update of his statistics!  We were in to see Dr. Larry the other day and the numbers came in at 34.4 inches tall and 25.25 pounds.  Judging by his clothes, he grew that inch or so since 15 months in the past 2 weeks!  He continues along the tall and skinny curve, with no areas for concern.  So, what else is our little man doing at 18 months?

• He loves Elmo, coloring, "writing", tiny notebooks of any kind, his winter hat, his shoes, blocks, meat of all kinds, raisins, ice cream, his belly  and, as expected, whatever his sister has at a given moment.
• He can drink from a regular cup, no problem, though he may still knock it over between sips!  He feeds himself with a spoon or a fork, and has strong preferences which at times!  While he obviously can't dress himself he does a good job of helping
• His vocabulary is growing, finally! In the past month or so he's picked up a lot of new words.  One funny thing he does is use a new word a bunch of times for a day or two, and then not again.  Some highlights include football, backpack, socks, Papa and Nanny, and we haven't seen much of the dreaded "no" and "mine" yet, though I am sure they will appear soon.  I can also see that he's starting to understand that if he could use words, he'd be less frustrated, so things are moving along!
• He's addicted to stories at bed time, and heaven forbid you quit before he's done!  Favorites include "The Little Blue Truck" and "The Going to Bed Book".  If you try to cut him off with only a couple of stories, bed time is painful, whereas if we read 3 or 4 (which honestly, who cares, its snuggle time!) then things go smoothly!
• He likes to exert his independence, and has taken to stomping his foot when he doesn't get his way.  We're working hard to put an end to this.  The independence thing manifests itself in other more positive ways instead, like when he insists on carrying his own backpack
• He loves to dance!  Any time there is music, this kid is dancing.  Often imitating Norah's ballet moves, but not always.  I love watching them dance together
• True to one of his namesakes, my grandfather, he knows a pretty girl when he sees one.  He definitely knows how to flirt!  We have a cute 16 year old babysitter who comes over from time to time, and she's particularly enamored with Rod as well, but Matt and I were both stunned with the looks and smiles Rod was giving her as left for dinner last weekend!  The affinity for ice cream is also reminiscent of Papa Roddie - I hope the trend continues, as by all accounts my grandfather was a pretty great guy.
• Roddie and Norah have really started playing together, and it's awesome to watch.  While of course they have the usual sibling conflicts, they are also very considerate of each other and quite loving.  Rod never goes to bed without giving Norah hugs and kissies!
• And lastly, my favorite - he's become much more snuggly!  In a different way from Norah, but he will sit tucked up next to Matt or I on the sofa for a little bit, or likes to sit on our lap after dinner.  I know (hope, for his sake) that he will grow out of this, but I am relishing every moment in the mean time.

Speaking of sibling conflicts, I gotta run