Daniel: 12-18 Months

This post has also been in the pipeline for a while and the title has changed quite a few times. As you can see it's become a post about Daniel from 12-18 months. The first lot of photos are from our old house (July, August) and the last lot are from our new house (September, October, November, December). He is growing up way too fast for me, but he does become cuter and cleverer by the day. He is a gorgeous little thing with a sparkling personality. I find myself smiling often when spending the day with him!

There's no doubt who Daniel's favourite person is. His most popular word gives it all away. His eyes light up with delight when 'Daddee' enters the room and if the little guy gets half a chance he likes to have his Dad all to himself. As you can see he is also an affectionate little fellow!

Daniel still likes putting everything into his mouth. Here it was the tabasco bottle - I don't think he knew what was going on - no tears but some seriously funny faces and a lot of laughing. He is a real joker and loves getting a reaction from people!

This little boy is a pleasure when it comes to eating. He eats just about anything that is given to him but it is clear that he loves meat. Somsetimes when his plate is empty he even tries to climb over the table to get hold of Nicholas' food. Here is some more evidence that he is a clown!

Danny loves his dummy - only in his cot though - he is 100% dependent on it at night (and so are we). He is very good at going to bed at 19h30 as long as he has his dummy and his bear-bear. If - sorry that should be when - he wakes up during the night it's another story. He usually ends up in our bed at some point but for the time being we're okay with. Even though he is a sprawler and a kicker he is an excellent snuggler. And it means he usually sleeps until we wake him up in the morning!

The brave little guy is big time into climbing. He climbs up everything he can find and is pretty good at it. Sometimes he even contructs a climbing frame for himself so that he can get what he wants. It fills me with dread to think what he will be climbing when he is older!

It's great seeing Daniel playing with, and learning, from his toys. He is pretty good at stacking blocks (and smashing them down), shape shorting (with a little help), the ring thing (prefers doing other things with them though) and enjoys anything to do with cause and effect (especially if it plays music). It's amazing how quickly these little guys learn new things!

*** This is where we moved ***

I'm delighted that Danny has finally developed a passion for books. Like Nicholas he loves the bookshelf and often unpacks loads of books. Not only that, but he very seriously pages through them and chatters away. A book is part of his bedtime routine now. His favourite choices are 'What the ladybird heard' by Julia Donaldson 'Say hello to the baby animals' by Ian Whybrow. I love it when comes to me, book in hand, saying 'Boo-Boo'!

With a brother who loves drawing there is no surprise that Danny spends a lot of time putting pen/crayon/koki/paint to paper too. It's been great watching his scribbles develope into circles and I'm always impressed by his use of different colours. Besides being a great way to keep him busy I also think it is very good for his development!

My baby is chattering away but most of it is still gobbledy-gook. He has however added a few new words to his repertoire. My favourite is when he says 'Mamma' directly to me especially when he wants a little cuddle. He also says 'Daddee' when addressing his Dad and 'Ni-Ni' when he wants his brother's attention. The well mannered little guy says 'taa' very enthusiastically when he gives something to someone or wants something from someone. He says 'wheres' alot and does the universal sign for 'I don't know' excellently. He knows exactly what he wants and says 'no' clearly and intentionally. Two of his favourite words are 'more' and 'again'. He tries to say a few other words too but he tends to drop the end of the word so other people don't always understand him as well as I do: book, ball, tower, dummy, bottle, milk, juice, water, up, down, put, fetch, dance, jump, fish, dog, cat, sock, shoe and jacket. Starting to talk sure is a very exciting milestone!

At 18 months Daniel had all but his eye teeth. Funny that his teeth came out at almost exactly the same time and same order as Nicholas' did. So much so that he was missing one on the bottom left for ages too. He is good brushing his teeth himself and loves showing them off!

Danny is starting to show an interest in more complicated toys now too. He loves picking out something to play with and dragging it across the floor for me to open up for him. The Thomas and friends are his latest craze. I knew it was inevitable but I didn't expect it quite so soon!

Some things change and some things don't. The love between Daniel and Nicholas is definitely mutual and it's one of the things that makes me happiest of all. I hope that my two darling boys will always be the best of friends!