Rigby at 18 Months
Rigby is such a beautiful and captivating child. He is delightful in so many ways. After 18 months, I still catch myself staring in wonder at this highly energetic and amazing blonde boy toddling through our house, tugging at our legs, and practically ruling our lives.
He's happy and sweet. He's social and curious. He's feisty and impatient. He's a dreamy year and a half year old!
Rigby is a very social child and he loves to wave to everyone from the stroller as we pass by, especially the cross guard at Jack's school whom after 3 months still refers to Rigby as a girl! He continues to babble frequently and quickly raises his volume to gain your attention. He has learned many words, although I am quiet certain no one aside from our family unit can understand them. Some of his words are "mama, dada, Jack, Sadie, doggie, choo choo, cheese, cheers as he clanks his sippy cup to your glass, bye-bye, black (he likes to point at the black tiles in our black and white bathroom and say the color), belly, beeba (belly button), dadee which he uses to refer to both his dadew (pacifier) and lovey as one unit, and meema which he uses as a catchall for "help". Jack's friends and the neighborhood children happily engage Rigby's obsession with bellys and belly buttons by lifting his shirt or their own to expose their tummy. He grins so wide and laughs out loud, loving the attention!
He has become a great mimic and will try copying any funny moves or sounds that he observes. Last week in Target, Jack bought a toy called Mojo Jojo and Rigby kept repeating the name and getting us to say it out loud, then he would crack up. He has a great sense of humor and will laugh easily and readily.
He loves to point out planes and birds in the sky. His favorite things are playing in the dirt, walking along the sidewalk by himself, throwing balls, cuddling with his lovey (a small green and white blanket) and dadew, drawing anywhere and everywhere, and climbing to the highest point of every playground. He has a new love of Thomas the Train toys and will play with them on the porch fully engaged. He also seems quite content during our morning runs and will chat with me along the way about the buses, birds, cats, dogs, or trains that he sees. Lately, he has really enjoyed the Halloween decorations.
Sitting still and contently in the stroller for walks and run multiple times per day is such a surprise because aside from these times, Rigby does not stop moving. He is never sitting still and will repeatedly attempt to climb out of his high chair or the shopping cart. When we are at home, he walks through the house like a tornado leaving a trail of stuff behind him.
His most favorite thing is water. He especially loves to fill a cup and then pour the water out over and over again. He is very fond of his bath and starts extending his arms and sort of clapping/flapping when the word is mentioned.
Dinner at home has been quite a challenge with Rigby. He has been a picky eater and it is a challenge to make dinners that he enjoys eating. Jack was not picky so this is new ground for us to navigate. During dinner, Rigby is whiny, loud, and more often throwing or spitting out his food than eating it. We are trying some new strategies to help solve these issues until age helps to resolve them naturally. An after dinner walk to calm all of our nerves has been necessary for the past 2 weeks.
Rigby has an aggressive and bold side which he is quick to display when his is after something that he wants or perceives as his own, or when he is told "no". The other night in the bathtub, Jack took Rigby's cup and in protest, Rigby slammed the water while yelling at and splashing Jack in the face. Rigby will also slap or bite or pull our hair when he is particularly upset. Jack was never a biter so this, too, is a new behavior for us to manage.
He tends to sleep from around 7:30p until 7:00a and I will happily report that he is reliably back to sleeping through the night after a very hard month following our New York trip when he woke multiple times per night without much consoling. He still wakes up several times nightly but all he has been requiring his a recovering and a quick back rub. He takes a nap each day from 11:00a to 2:00p which works so brilliantly with Jack's school schedule.
Rigby is full of love and gives the sweetest hugs with little back-pats and the most delicious open-mouth kisses. Even at the most trying times, he is such a wonderful addition to our family.
Rigby, we love you so much! Happy year and a half!
PS Rigby at his first 1/2 birthday (6 months) and Jack at 18 months.