18 month check-up

Joaquin had his 18 month appointment yesterday - a little late since he turned 19 months last week. He weighs 24 pounds 9 ounces, which is at the 25th %-tile. And he is 31.5 inches tall - also 25th %-tile. But his melon is 49 cms around which is the 75th %-tile! He's got a nice big melon just like his dad. Everything else was a-ok at his check-up. I thought this would be a good time to note some what Joaquin is into these days...

Likes:
School buses and 'big trucks!". Joaquin will always point out a big truck or school bus when we are on the road.

Elmo (a.k.a. Lalalala): A while back I complained that Joaquin wouldn't sit and watch TV at all. No more! Now we're having the likely battles of him always wanting to watch 'lalalala'. We have held pretty firm to only letting him watch a show before bedtime (easy enough since he's at daycare most of the day)-but weekends are a bit more of a battle. His favorite episode is the Squirmadega one where Slimey the worm races cars.

Music. If I don't let Joaquin watch Lalalala, he will settle for music. He likes anything with a good dance beat and he is a good little dancer. He spins in circles, shakes his booty and during slow songs, he has a cool slow jam. He likes to dance to Single Ladies (a baby classic), and the new Alicia Keys CD. His all-time favorite song is Popcorn by the Barenaked Ladies. He's loved that song for months and always sings along in the car.

Dislikes:

Dirt. Joaquin still gets upset when there is dirt in his presence. Every time I sit him in his highchair, his first move is to inspect the tray. He pokes his finger at any little speck that is on there and sticks out his finger so I can remove it from his presence. If he sees crumbs on the ground he points at them with a distressed face and says something like "Chehhcwhw". He has a little chalkboard and is in a constant battle with the chalk dust. I've showed him how to wipe it off on his pants, and he normally just runs over to me to wipe the dust off on my pants instead.

Mechanics. Joaquin is in a typical toddler stage where he gets frustrated VERY easily. If the tower of blocks falls over, or the train tracks come apart he will throw that poor train or block as hard as he can - and yell and grab his face. It's a sure sign of frustration. I hope he learns to manage his anger a little better later in life!