"The Chonker" at 19 Months Old

A. His Schedule – He usually wakes up at around 7 a.m. and goes to sleep for the night around 7:30 p.m. He takes a long morning nap at about 10 a.m. and usually does not wake until after 12:00 p.m.

B. His Size – He's wearing size 24-month clothes and size 6 shoes (though he's almost outgrown them). Currently, he's wearing size 5 Pampers.

C. His Personality – He is a charming fellow. He's so friendly. He greets everything and everyone with a smile, unless he's feeling hot (which can happen in our climate in the humid summer). As long as he is well-fed and well-rested, he's very content to just hang out and try to emulate the big kids, including sitting at the bench for meals, sitting on the couch, and feeding himself. We continue to affectionately call him "the Chonker" because he's both very interested in food and pretty sporty - he's learned to say the word "ball" before many other words.

D. His Favorite Things

• Colors: He looks good in green and yellow.
• Shows and Movies: He loves listening to music and therefore he loves Cocomelon.
• Books: He sometimes tries to turn the pages of books like his oldest brother does. He would rather fumble with the pages than get help from an adult or listen to the story itself being read to him.
• Toys and Play: He still seems to derive a lot of joy out of listening to his mobile. His other favorite toys include anything that is like a sword or a ball (especially softballs) and a pretend guitar which plays a random tune.
• Art: He cannot be trusted with magic markers; ask me how I know.
• Activities: He enjoys the company of others and doesn't like it when his people separate, e.g. if one of us goes downstairs.
• Words: He reliably says "maam" (for "mom"), "daa" (for "dad"), "no," "ball," and "caa" (for "cat"). He seems to understand a lot and he says more words, but unreliably. 
• Time of Day: He likes the early morning right when he wakes up. He also likes any time of day that involves being outdoors.
• Bedding: He loves a mint-colored baby blanket from Target and recognizes that it is his (he will hug it when he sees it).
• Clothing: He is rocking shorts and a t-shirt on most days. It's a treat to see his chubby, tanned legs.
• Foods: He loves self-feeding, and enjoys berries, applesauce in a squeeze-pack, fruit snacks, Fruit by the Foot, and fries. He will try most foods and seems to like almost all foods except bread.
• Animals: He likes our dog, he is obsessed with our cat and follows him around, and he is good friends with our pet bunny. He's really a kind, gentle little guy.
• Heroes/Characters: I can't say.

E. Things He Does Not Like – He does not like seeing his people leave (e.g. me leaving the house to head to the grocery store). He also does not like it when items are taken away from him, such as the broom (it is kind of like a sword from his perspective, I think). He also does not seem particularly fond of swimming pools.

F. What He’s Thinking About – I don't know he's thinking about, but he's frequently smiling, revealing an adorable dimple on only one cheek.

G. Surprises – I guess it never ceases to amaze me how different each one of our kids' personalities is from the others. They truly are unique.

H. Best & Worst Things –

• The best thing(s): Spending time with him - he's so cuddly.
• The worst thing(s): I guess there's always going to be parental guilt for not being able to do or provide more for your kids. I wish I had more time to hang out with him.

I. Family and Friends – Right now, his social circle is basically our social circle. He has a couple of little cousins up north that are about his age - maybe they will be pals when they're older.

J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – In general, I'm a more relaxed parent now than when we just had one or two, due in large part to having "been there and done that" and thus not being surprised or overwhelmed by new situations. I am trying to use the Lazy Genius system to focus in on what's important - this summer, to me that seems like nature hikes and going to the pool with my family.

K. Milestones – He started walking at the very end of April (so just over 16 months old) and now he can run.