Malcolm at 19 months

At his 18 month checkup last month, Malcolm weighed in at a solid 30 pounds (97th percentile) and measured 35.25 inches tall (also 97th percentile).  So, he's staying proportional, and ... solid.  The kid is a little bulldozer.  Elizabeth calls him "el búfalo".  It's funny to see him wearing all of the shirts and outfits that Michael was in only a year ago - last summer was the later side of 2T size for Michael, and it's the early side of it now for Malcolm. But I think at this point Malcolm will start just getting taller. 

In the meantime, that is 30 pounds of very snuggly little boy.  He gives excellent hugs and loves cuddling with Mama or Dada at bedtime.  He doesn't have a favorite stuffed animal or blanket, but he does have a comfort object ... my belly button.  I suppose that is one positive to having the baby belly stick around, since it's all nice and squishy (insert eye roll).  It makes me laugh, but it does help settle him down whenever he is a little agitated or just needs to relax at night.

I have spent the entire day staring at loan documents so I'm not going to have organized thoughts right now, but a few other quick thoughts on my baby:  He is incredibly decisive, and though it's not clear what goes on in his head as he moves from activity to activity or place to place, he has no doubts.  Michael will play forever in the bath if you let him. Malcolm, in contrast, will play quite determinedly with his cups and the water for awhile, then abruptly look up, say, "No mas" with a wave of his hand, and stand up.  He is ready to move on and you had better be, too.

He is patient when you're following routines but quick to object if you're deviating at all.  When we take our evening walks, he is very calm and watches the world go by while we head to our destination: the playground.  If I mix it up a bit by walking past our normal playground to another one nearby, though, or turn down one street instead of turning to cross the creek, he immediately gets very upset at the realization we're not going where he thought. 

Favorite signs/words this month include moon, cheese, eat, cracker, hot, banana, button, potty and bike.  Not a lot more distinct words but he's working on it.  He can recognize and make the sounds for D, T, B, A, O, P and M (he gets SO excited to show me the D and say "Dada!  Dada!").  He can climb on our bed by himself and ride Michael's tricycle expertly.  Also he can throw things in the toilet.  He LOVES doing that.  He threw his shoes in the bathtub last week, too.  We try to be alert to the little guy coming up in our peripheral vision to catch him before he moves, but he gets by us quite a bit.  Crazy boy!  I could do without the fishing-stuff-out-of-the-toilet routine, but otherwise, I pretty much can't get enough of my baby.