18 months

X at 18 months:

Says hi, bye-bye, up, shoes, cheese, cheers, ball, cup, and probably some other words.

Makes appropriate animal sounds -- you should hear his lion roar. He doesn't just say "roar," he actually snarls.

Has a defiant streak. He will purposely continue to do something if I tell him not to.

Will climb furniture and cry because he can't get back down again.

Is cautious about the stairs (which is very good because we don't have a gate) but fearless at the playground. The other day he repeatedly climbed up a ladder and slid down the steepest playground slide I've ever seen, laughing his head off the entire time.

Still attacks his brother, but typically tries to wrestle or grab his book instead of pinching and biting.

Fights me every day when I try to put him in the stroller.

Loves magic markers and will stick them in his mouth, draw all over his face, and scribble in every book he can find before I get it away from him. (We've been using the Crayola Color Wonder markers as decoys, but he needs to learn not to scribble in books.)

Loves hopping and jumping. (And those are two more words he knows.)

Has definite preferences and will shake his head when he doesn't want something.

Does not have stable food preferences yet; eats pretty much everything, but you never know what he'll eat on a given day.

Loves chasing, peekaboo games, and books. (Unrippable board books only for this one.)

Tries to catch bugs and animals. I had to rescue him from a goose bite at the zoo, and have had to stop him more than once from attempting to grab a bee. K at this age would get excited when he saw a dog, and would start running up to it, but then at the last minute would shrink back. Not X. He will stick his pudgy little hand right in the dog's mouth.

Whenever we see an animal, no matter how far away, he will point at it. "Woof! Woof!"

Doesn't look as round and chubby as he once was... but he is 25th percentile in height and 70th in weight.

Has no problem drinking out of a regular cup, but then he dumps it out for fun. I've never understood why people suggest weaning kids off sippy cups at this age.

Loves the sensory table and kitchen play areas in K's classroom. Too bad we won't be going in the big kid room anymore.