The Harvey Family: Blake

Blake:

can jump. I'm guessing this is an extension of jumping on the trampoline at MyGym and Future Flipz but he likes to jump over and over on the ground like a wild man. He doesn't get much air but it's still pretty funny.
can tell us where his boo boo is. This is a huge jump in communication since we've had to try and mind read up until this point. Most of the time he'll tell us where he's hurt and he'll make us kiss it (sometimes he likes to get extra kisses and tells you he has a boo boo on the "other (ova) hand" for instance). If it's teething pain and his mouth hurts we'll still have to guess if that's bothering him.
throws a ball with arch. He surprised us when Grandad was visiting and started throwing a ball that was actually catchable. Unfortunately he likes to get as close to you as possible before throwing it which can be a dangerous place to be. We're still working on catching, and he can do it with certain balls but for the most part he just stands still while you throw it at him and he waits until it hits the floor before he'll pick it up and throw it back.
can whisper. We've been reading On the Night You Were Born as one of his night time stories and when they talk about saying your name out loud I always whisper "Blake" and then repeat it on each page. He's started saying it before me and then he points out other things on the page with his whisper voice.
finally went in for his 18 month checkup and scored amazing on his autism screening so no worries there. The doctor said he's incredibly bright and was impressed at all his skills. It is very comforting knowing that he's not behind in any categories even though he was born 3 weeks early. He definitely remembers the doctors office now and as soon as he saw the exam room he started freaking out crying and didn't cooperate for his height and weight or any other part of the visit even though we didn't get any vaccines since he had a runny nose. Turns out he had a mild ear infection so the doctor was ok with no vaccines for the day. He measured in at 25.5lb (41%), 35in (96% - he was squirming a ton so this probably isn't right), and head circumference 19.5in (86%).
lets me wipe his runny nose and tries to blow it. This is an improvement over his last cold since he would run away and avoid the tissue every time I'd try and wipe his nose. It's nice to have a little cooperation and he'll even try and blow his nose to get out all the yuckies. The snot sucker still comes in handy though since he's not skilled enough yet to get everything out on his own.
started telling me when he goes poo poo. It's always after the fact but at least it's a step in the right direction toward potty training. Obviously he's not even close to being ready but being aware of it is a help.
says bye bye to everything. If we see something on a walk outside he has to say goodbye to it before we leave, it's like a sense of closure for him. One day we saw a cat that he thought was really interesting and I kept trying to get him to leave it alone and keep walking, and finally once he said "bye bye cat" we were able to move on. Sometimes he says it when he is ready to leave somewhere. We went to a pumpkin patch last week and when he was ready to go he said "bye bye pumpkin".
is finally done with bottles. It took about a week for him to not protest the sippy cup first thing in the morning but I think he's moved on at expects the sippy cup first thing in the morning now. We were down to just a morning bottle for quite a few months, since it was like his pacifier first thing in the morning. He wakes up every morning ~~asking for~~ demanding his milk and he drinks about 12 oz before he stops fussing for more, or at least gives up when I tell him that he's had enough. He has always been super impatient when it comes to his milk... does this ever stop? I've heard people say to try and give him a smoothie or some milk substitute but I think he'd just go ballistic.

Pics:

He didn't want me to put his smoothie in a pouch, he wanted to drink it with a straw like Mommy.

The good ol' stool helps me reach all kinds of fun things.

He used to be so tiny in this chair, so I had to take one for old time's sake. =)

Watching lots of fun videos on Grandad's computer.

Helping Daddy with a project.

Using his new power drill to help Grandaddy with the latest house project.

The new blanket I made for Blake. It's a 36"x36" square. He seems to love to put his fingers through the holes of Daddy's blanket so I thought I'd make him a smaller one that he could carry around and with smaller holes that fit his fingers better. So far he couldn't care less about it. Oh well.

He got tired of the fort being in the living room so now he drags it all over the house.

The newest addition to our garage, the Prius! I'll have to take more pics later.

We went to a pumpking patch with one of our playgroups and Blake had to wear his hat.

Me with the munchkin.

He kept yelling for me to sit next to him (he wasn't feeling his best).

Checking out the pumpkins with bumps.

This one has bumps too Mommy.

Getting ready for story time on the hay bails.

Showing Blake how to color in the lines.

Giving it a try.

Learning colors with the crayons.

Since it's fire prevention month, there was a fire truck expo at the mall so Blake got to check out a bunch of fire trucks and even sat in the driver seat of one. Of course he wanted to press all the buttons.