Big and Stinky

Little Buddy is now 18 stinkin' months old. I can't believe it. I don't feel old enough to even have a child, let alone an 18 month old. Our visit at Dr. Church's went well. He is 24 lbs (20%), 34 inches (90%), and 49 cm head circumference (80%). Again, tall and skinny with a big head where he always is on the growth charts. Dr. Church again says, "typical breastfed baby." He met all of the two year old development milestones except for verbalization. I think I ruined him with sign language. He will say "mama," "dada," a "daaaa" sound for dog and another "daaaaa" sound for done. That's about it. He will sign please, thank you, share, friend, candy, cookie, boat, banana, eggs, and some letters and numbers. Brody loves to read stories, when HE is in the mood for it. If you try and force reading on him it lasts about 20 seconds and he is gone doing something else. He has a temper and is learning to be sassy. When he doesn't get what he wants he will stomp his feet, lay on the ground, and pout. I have been very stern about no biting and hitting lately and it seems to be working better. I practice the Supernanny time-out method. Not that I'm against spanking, because really I'm not...but I don't think it's right to hit or bite your child for punishment while at the same time telling them the reason why you are punishing them is because they hit and bite. He gets one warning in a calm stern voice while looking in each others eyes. Then if he continues to bite/hit he goes into his crib for 1 minute, by himself, no one else in the room. At 1 minute I come back in, explain why he was put in time out, ask him to say sorry and then we exchange a hug. He seems to be a quick learner. I spank him when he does naughty things though =).

In other news, Blake quit his job. As many of you know he has been in Rexburg, Idaho the last 9+ months working on a project. I didn't advertise the fact that he was out of town because I didn't want people to know that many days I was home alone. The investor/owner of the company he worked for wanted to develop 19 4-plexes in Idaho Falls. This would have been a 2-3 year project. After much fasting, praying, pondering, thinking we decided that it wasn't the right decision for him to continue to be spending Monday-Thursday in Idaho and only with us on the weekends, or for us to move to Idaho Falls. We are now self-employed. Welcome to the world of SCARY absolute FEAR! If it wasn't that I knew with all my soul that this is what Blake is supposed to be doing right now, I would be freaking out. Since we met 5+ years ago he has always talked about owning and running his own business, this is now his opportunity to make it work. So...for any construction needs: New building projects, remodels, commerical/residential, concrete, anything call Blake Hall! 801-317-3943. Licensed, bonded and insured. We would like to eat and have light and water. So call him!