Hank 18 Months

 This post is pretty late.  In fact, I'm pretty behind on updating the blog in general but we've had a lot going on that I will talk more about in a different post.  For now I need to do an update on our little man. 

 These past months have brought a lot of fun but also a lot of whining from Hank. He seems pretty opinionated lately, but doesn't have the vocabulary to communicate those needs so I hear a lot of grunting, whining and crying throughout the day.  And it seems he can't get enough of his momma lately.  He wants to be held a lot and is pretty shy around new people.  Fortunately, he does have a new found love for daddy (something Lucy never had at that age, and still doesn't really have!) and has even pushed me away when I've tried to take him out of Ben's arms.  I have loved it! Not that I don't love the snuggles and being the preferred parent sometimes, it's just nice to have a break every once in a while!

 Lucy and Hank have a bit of a love-hate relationship.  They can play together really well, but I am finding that we are entering the sibling rivalry stage as they fight over toys and have learned to communicate their frustrations with each other by hitting and throwing tantrums.  When they aren't "fighting", it has been a true joy to watch the relationship grow between these two and see that they really are best friends (for right now).

This photo shoot was actually started after Hank's first time out.  He hit Lucy (something he just recently started doing) so I told him he had to do a time out.  I sat him in Lucy's time out spot, walked away, and then watched as he patiently waited in the spot until I came to get him.  It was so darn cute and he was sitting so sweetly, I had to go grab my camera! I'm not sure why, but he seems to get time outs or "breaks".  Part of me wonders if it's because he has seen Lucy do them so much.  I'm not sure if he fully gets that it is a punishment, but we will often use it as more of a break or time to calm down if he is frustrated about a situation (i.e. throwing a tantrum). 

As he has been since birth, this little man is WILD.  These last few months have brought on lots of crazy stunts that have lead to lots of blood, tears, and a stressed out momma!  Hank will do anything, try anything and has absolutely no fear.  And he is actually pretty tough, people often can't believe that he doesn't cry after a fall or if he does cry he usually gets over it pretty fast. 

His favorite words (and consequently things) are ball, truck, and mama.  I was a bit worried about his speech, but he has around 15 words and the doctor said for a second child and a boy that is great for 18 months! 

He loves to throw balls (or anything really), play t-ball, play with cars/truck, point out trucks we see on the road, ride his bike down our drive way, go for walks in the wagon, swim (which includes jumping in off the side to dad) or play in the tub, swing (for awhile he would swing almost the entire time we would be at a park), play chase or hide and seek, jump on the trampoline (as long as Lucy isn't on there too), being outside in general, dancing, "talking" on the phone and pushing things (which at our house is usually a baby doll stroller or a grocery cart... we really need to invest in one of those toy lawn mowers!) 

He is overall a pretty good sleeper, although I find that he is about a half hour to an hour off of Lucy (what she is now and what she kind of always has been).  He usually sleeps 7:30pm-7am (although I try not to get him out of the crib until closer to 7:30am) and takes one nap around 1 or 1:30pm for 1.5-3 hours (usually 2 hours on average).  Whereas Lucy usually always sleeps in until 7:30 or even 8am... I'm guessing I was a bit spoiled with that.

 And here are a few videos from the past couple months.  The one with Hank riding his bike shows what he does every time we go outside - rides the hill down our driving and then stops or curves at the end so he won't go in the street... I was so impressed with this move!

We had a late stomach flu bug in our house and it was a bad one.  Lucy was throwing up for 3 days so we had a lot of TV days in the family room.  Hank was pretty understanding and gave Lucy as kiss to make her feel better.  He has been giving the best hugs and kisses lately!