Brennan-19 months

This month was rough for Brennan and me. We both got sick with terrible head colds. This is only the second time Brennan has ever been sick, so it was so hard for us to see him so miserable. His sickness brought a lot of irritability. Everything we did made Brennan mad and resulted in a ton of temper tantrums. Luckily, he is feeling much better now, and is back to his sweet self!

This month Brennan learned to say the word "no" and shake his head. I've always dreaded when this day would come, but the way he says it. isn't so bad! He is so innocent and sweet when he says it, not aggressive at all. Anything you ask him in a question form results in him saying very gently "nah" and him shaking his head. It's so hard not to laugh at him. One day I asked him if he had a good nap, and of course he said, "nah" with a huge smile. Another time I asked him if he knew that I loved him sooooo much. Again, his response was "nah" with a shake of his head. We're trying to teach him that "yes" is an acceptable answer to questions as well.

Outtakes:

Brennan-18 months

Age: 18 months

Weight: 27lbs 4.5oz (87th percentile)

Height: 32.5" (50th percentile)

Head: 49.7cm (96th percentile)

Brennan started gymnastics this month. It's a parent and tot class. He's a little timid to try out the equipment, but loves just running on the spring floor. I hope this will help him be a bit more social. I wouldn't say that he's shy, but he's definitely not outgoing with strangers. When he gets nervous, he always puts his hands into his mouth. Once a stranger turns their back to him, he starts waving and yelling at them. It only takes him 10 minutes to warm up to people, but we want him to feel confident in social situations.
One of Brennan's new moves this month is walking backwards. He thinks he's pretty cool doing it. He'll walk really slowly backwards, with a huge smile on his face and then once he bumps into something, he bursts out laughing.
Brennan is really understanding what we're saying. We can ask him to get something and 9 times out of 10, he will. If he doesn't understand he'll say, "Huh?" and wants us to point to the object. He can also point to any animals eyes in a book. Sometimes he surprises me when I ask him, "where are his eyes?" and he'll take his little pointer finger and precisely point at the tiniest eyes in a book!

Outtakes:

Brennan-17months

Age: 17 months

Brennan has concurred opening doors this month. Most of the doors in our home were child-proofed when we moved in (you have to lift the handle up, instead of down.) Brennan has figured out which ones are not child-proof, and he spends a lot of time on his tippy-toes, opening them, This includes our front door! 

One of Brennan's favorite things to do this month is dance. He knows which toys play music, and where the button for our surround sound is. He'll start the music and dance in a circle. Earlier this month, Carrie Underwood was preforming on the Today Show and I saw Brennan dancing circles all over the living room.

It's very obvious when Brennan is ready for a nap. He hasn't paid too much attention to our Christmas tree, but when he's tired he'll repeatedly pull ornaments off of it and throw tantrums when you take the ornament away from him. It's not a coincidence that this only happens around 11AM and 3PM. 

Brennan met Santa for the first time this month. He hated him. We figured he would be stone-faced or have a pouty lip, but we never predicted he'd cry like he did. We met him at brunch with Santa at the Florian Park. After Brennan sat on his lap, Santa tried sitting with us at brunch, and Brennan lost it again. He didn't want that guy within eyesight. 

Outtakes:

Brennan-16 months

Age: 16 months

Weight: 24lbs 15oz (75th percentile)

Height: 32" (56th percentile)

Head: 49cm (94th percentile)

Brennan's favorite things to do now, are throwing things down the stairs and playing fetch with Xander. Brennan loves watching an object roll down the stairs. I'm sure he feels that the bigger the thing, the more interesting it is to watch it go. Brennan plays fetch with Xander all day long, and Xander LOVES it! Xander's not good with bringing the ball back to the thrower, but that's more fun for Brennan to go retrieve it from Xander. Brennan would play fetch with Xander for hours, but Xander's limit is usually 15 minutes at a time. They do this at least 5 times a day.

Brennan throws little fits when he doesn't get his way. He'll walk away and then drop to all fours and put his head on the floor. It's pretty much the cutest tantrum ever!

Outtakes:

Brennan-15 months

Age: 15 months

Brennan is officially walking! It took him about one week to perfect his balance, and now he walks 90% of the time. With walking, he now has freedom to carry things easier as he's getting around. For example, we're finding measuring cups in shoes and his toy hammer in a kitchen drawer. It's getting interesting; it's like little unexpected surprises that bring a smile to our faces.
Brennan has continued to be so happy. He wakes up laughing and doesn't stop during the day. He's such a sweet little boy. He will take a quick 2 second break from playing, to lean over and give me a kiss. He also just started hugging this month. It's seriously the best feeling in the world to have his little hands grasp so tightly around my neck.
We've noticed that Brennan understands us more and more every day. He lifts his hands in the air when we ask, "How big are you?" and he'll go get the toys that we tell him to.
Brennan's least favorite things remain the same, diaper changes and getting dressed.

Outtakes:

"so big"

Brennan-14 months

Age: 14 months

Weight: 23lbs 5oz

This month Brennan has perfected waving and pointing. He loves to wave at Xander every time he sees him. He is gasping in shock and pointing ALL OF THE TIME. He's so funny, he'll gasp and then point at a photo, a window, or nothing at all. I think this is my fault, because now I notice that I'm gasping when I talk to him, trying to get him excited. It's pretty darn cute, though.
Brennan has 12 teeth!!! He doesn't put up too much of a fight when I brush them every morning and every night. A little positive reinforcement goes a long way. Usually when I say, "You're doing such a good job!" he'll whine a little less :)
Brennan is running with his walker. He takes off so fast that I get nervous, but he's never wiped out. He's an expert at turning and picking it up to go over things. He really enjoys pushing anything he can. Some of his favorite things to push lately are the dining room chairs and the coffee table.

Outtakes:

Brennan-13 months

Brennan stood up with no hands right after his first birthday. If we try to get him to take some unassisted steps, he laughs and sits down. Oh well, he can take his time :) He also got his first two molars! He has a total of 10 teeth now! 

Brennan has become a little tornado. He makes messes everywhere he goes. Some of his favorite places are the kitchen cabinets and drawers, Xander's toy jar and water dish, and the stairs. When Brennan goes onto the stairs, fifty percent of the time, he'll go up two stairs, and then wait for one of us to see him. Once we make eye contact, he is beside himself with excitement! His whole body shakes, and he screeches. He loves to be chased! 

Grandma Barb got Brennan to really drink from a straw. GG Fran taught Brennan a couple months ago, but he didn't get the hang of it until recently. This is wonderful during meals. Speaking of meals, Brennan is packing away that food somewhere. He loves everything we've given him, except vegetables. He refuses to eat broccoli and carrots, unless they are pureed with some fruit for sweetness.

a typical breakfast

Brennan also went on his first vacation! We went to the Dominican Republic with my family to celebrate my mom and dad's milestone birthdays. This also meant Brennan's first flight. He did pretty good, considering we woke him up at 3:30am and he didn't nap at all. 

Going on a relaxing vacation with a toddler, isn't so relaxing :) We still had a wonderful time!

Brennan's first time in the ocean

Brennan's first time in a pool

 I'm proud to say Brennan didn't get a sunburn, or even a sun tan!

Outtakes: