ah (for teeth or brushing teeth)
awa (for agua/water)
baa (for sheep)
baby
bathroom (it's hard to write out how this sounds but it's pretty close to the real deal)
boom boom (for balloon)
bowl (for bowl or plate)
bubbles
bun (for spoon or fork...or spork, as the case may be)
bye/buh-bye
dabo (for dipping, something he likes to do with any and all foods)
daddy
dop (for drop or dropped)
done (sometimes he says "ah done" as in "all done," sometimes just "done")
eee (for eggs - does that count?)
go (he was saying gaa go, as in "gotta go" for awhile but not lately)
hat
hoo hoo (for monkey...although I know this means something else in some families, if you get my meaning)
i (for fries and rice...see what I mean)
knee
la la (for music or singing)
lellow (for yellow)
mommy (sometimes he says, simply, "mom" and laughs, like he's calling me by my first name)
moo (for cow)
moon (n sound included, as of recently)
nana/nani (for banana)
nano (this one's a bit mysterious but it's definitely associated with trains and we think more and more means outside, as in going outside to see a train)
nigh nigh (for night night)
no
not (this is sort of a combination of bonk/nut from a book he has in which one of the main characters has a nut drop on his head and the book reads "bonk" when it happens - so this generally is said whenever somebody hits their head on something)
num num (for num num/yummy, i.e. at dinner)
poo poo (what else; interestingly he doesn't really say pee pee...)
pop (as in pop the bubbles)
tee tee (for TV)
toot toot (for train, his most favorite thing of all)
up
woof woof (for dogs, wolves, etc.)
I'm not sure I organized that correctly, more by sound than by the word he means when he makes the sound. Hmm. Oh well, you get the idea. Fascinating, isn't it? It really is my favorite thing about this age, I think. When he first said bathroom, clearly the most complex word in his vocabulary, I had this flash of, wow, I'm going to be able to communicate with this person one day! Imagine the possibilities!
Otherwise, month 18 was, frankly, a little rough. With no daycare but several orders I'd already committed to, and Christmas right after, every day was a struggle to try to be a good stay-at-home mom and make plans, twice daily (morning and post-nap), to keep Elias busy and content, run errands, and make the most of his sleeping time, which meant every waking minute he was asleep I was working away in what felt like my own little sweat shop most evenings (not that I'm complaining!). On top of that, Elias's nighttime sleep in particular was still less than ideal, waking up at least once a night for mysterious reasons. I finally took him to an allergist after taking him back to his regular pediatrician, with no answers, thinking perhaps he was still having milk allergy issues after all (runny nose/persistent cough being one of the symptoms). We did a blood test (aka baby torture) which revealed no allergies (yay!) and the allergist, who is now his regular pedi as well (third time's a charm, it seems), concluded that he probably had some lingering constricted airway issues from the virus he picked up at daycare #1 back in November. And/or picked up a second virus on top of that, which, in hindsight, seems likely since I'm now about ten days into some sort of crazy, lingering, deep in the chest respiratory thing. Bleh. Honestly, at least one of us has had a cold at all times ever since we moved here in July! What gives, California?!
Additionally, early in the month we visited one of the first daycare providers I called a couple of months ago, before the Monday thing fell into place (and then fell apart), and put down a deposit to hold a part-time slot to begin after the New Year. Next week we'll begin the transition, visiting, together, on the mornings of the days he'll be there. Hopefully this will help with the whole trust thing and he won't be so freaked out when I leave him there the following week. He'll probably still freak out, though. I'm bracing myself for a rough transition, but hoping three days a week will be enough time for him to adjust a little more quickly than he did at the last place.
As for me, I'm feeling the expected mix of emotions, excited to finally have part of the week back to work and hopeful that this will help not only in terms of my getting stuff done but also as far as the marriage and family time goes during evenings and weekends, instead of feeling like a divorced couple, handing Elias over to Neal for most of the weekend so that I can catch up on work. But of course I'm sad to see this stage ending. Or changing. Having only two days a week with Elias will be an adjustment, even if it's a largely positive change. I wish I could do it all. I know some women do. Some women manage to be wonderful SAHMs until their little ones go off to preschool and then, or maybe even before then, during their perfect toddler's three-hour naps, launch successful small businesses, but I guess I'm just not one of them. Since about the one-year mark, I've really felt like something's gotta give and either it's the quality of my time with my kid or my little glimmer of a life of my own. I don't want to put it all off another 18 months and of course I'm focusing on the pros of daycare, interacting with other kids his age on a regular basis, getting used to someone else taking care of him, etc.
I'll let you know how it goes. And in the meantime, if you could send me your good toddler transition vibes, I'd sure appreciate it!
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