I’ve really gotta get faster at writing these things. Chief will turn 18 months old in a week and I am just now jotting down his 17th month. This is getting silly…
Month 17 brought on a lot frustration; a lot of tears, screams, and thrashing around on the floor – mostly on his part. Chief is now so aware of everything going on around him – he knows when we hide something we don’t want him to have, he knows the process of disarming the alarm or making a cup a coffee, he knows his snacks are on the shelf that’s just out of reach. Poor guy gets so frustrated by the things he thinks he SHOULD be able to do. Can’t put on his own shoe? Tears. Can’t open the front door? Tears. Can’t reach the Keurig? More tears. He wants to be big SO BAD, and Mom wants him to be little SO BAD.
Baby Update:
He uses silverware successfully, and usually prefers it to eating with his hands. If we want him to eat something on his plate that he’s picking around, all we have to do is stab it with his fork.
He added more words to his growing vocabulary. “Brrrrr” when it’s cold outside, or he dunks his hand into a cold glass of water; “Beep, Beep” when he wants to use (play with) the microwave; “Baby” referring to any person under 4 feet tall; “Bug” when he wants to see Mom’s beetle brooch; “Uh Uh” with a head shake when we ask if he wants his diaper changed; and “Buffalo” referring to the small buffalo I keep in the car that I pull out when he gets exceptionally unruly. Lots of “Bs” this month!
He puts up dishes as we unload the dishwasher. Specifically the kitchen utensils, he puts them up, then dumps them all over the floor. He’s helping, right?
He found his nose. Ask him where his nose is, and he’ll jab his little index finger so far up his nose his second knuckle will disappear.
He’s a yoga baby. He can down-dog with the best of ’em, naturally.
Mr. Independent. Chief’s independence has reached a whole new level. There is no hand holding, no sitting contently in the grocery cart, no sharing drinks or letting Mom and Dad help feed him. He’s gotta do it all himself.
He slept on us for the first time in I can’t remember how long! I feel like this needs to be noted. Chief hasn’t napped on us in 10 months, I bet. He was so tired from traveling one weekend, that when he woke up from his nap he crashed on us for another hour. We savored every minute of our family snuggle. The picture is terrible but we just had to document it.
He can throw one heck of a tantrum. This is probably the thing that stands out most about 17 months. I make it sound like it’s been terrible. It really doesn’t happen THAT often, it’s just (up until recently) completely uncharacteristic. We can usually put a stop to the crying by taking him outside to get some fresh air.
I need to see your license and registration.
Mama update
The Bridgforths became campers. Yep. We bought a travel trailer. We haven’t gone an adventure yet, but we’ve got plans in the works! We’re craving crisp, mountain air, hikes through the woods, and time away from cell service.
Half Marathon training is underway. I started training at the end of January to run 13.1 miles on April 29 at the OKC Memorial Marathon. Chief goes on most of my weekday training runs. I push him in the stroller and he stays content as long as I’m bribing him with “crackers.” Crackers can mean cheddar bunnies or bunny grahams, it doesn’t matter, as long as he’s loaded with snacks he’ll let me run as long as needed. The stroller is great resistance training.
When I first started running at the end of January I had to do a one mile time trial. The last time I did a time trial was a few months postpartum just to gauge my fitness level. It’s so encouraging to see that I’m getting faster!
February 12, 2017: 8:39 min/mile (4 months postpartum)
January 29, 2018: 7:47 min/mile
I ran a 5K at the end of the Chief’s 17th month and I PR’d! 24:09 / 7:47pace. I knew when I saw that I ran 7:47 for 3 miles that my 1 mile time HAD to be faster.
I timed it again in Chief’s 18th month. To be continued…
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