17 Months

Joshua is one month away from a routine check up. Mommy thinks he is around 23 lbs. He is not chubby, but he has a slender figure. He has been eating ok. Carbs and fruits are still his favorites. Not much surprise in terms of eating. Josh has acquired more vocabulary. He can say more in Chinese. Mostly he says single characters, but he also says a term that contains two characters as well such as lion, dolphin, banana, grapes, etc. in Cantonese.

Joshua and Anson went to a Open House of a Pre-School. In the beginning Josh hesitated to walk in, but soon he relaxed when he saw cars... Throughout the two hour session, Josh played in different area and he made eye contact with mommy and daddy at times. Mommy knew it would not be easy on his first days to Pre-School! He will probably start next year when he turns 2. He has been less attached to mommy when going to the Gym weekly. Mommy and daddy decided to take him out to meet more people so that he won't be shy. Despite the occasional stranger anxiety, Joshua is talkative. He can babble all day long. Mommy's not sure where he got it from? He is also very active all day long. Sometimes, his legs keep kicking even he is strapped in his car-seat or booster chair.

Joshua's molar teeth are yet to come. He is still eating with his six front teeth. Should mommy be worried? He tends to stuff a big chunk of food to his mouth. He doesn't tear and chew. As long as he is eating, mommy is fine with that.

One big change is Joshua can now skip the afternoon nap without being fuzzy. His morning nap stretches longer and he is good to go with a short power nap in the car.

Joshua likes books and he enjoys reading with mommy. He can recognize some shapes such as circle, star, cross (+). He is not into colors yet. He knows the letter "O" and gets the idea of 1,2,3. His favorites are airplane, train, bicycle, etc. he can recognize the unique sound of airplane and train even he can barely hear the source. He also shakes his body when hearing music.

Josh knows what is not allowed to do such as grabbing mommy's glasses, opening cabinet doors, climbing up furniture, etc. And of course he challenges the rules at times. Ultimately he is a boy! Mommy is trying to be consistent on maintaining disciplines. It is time to enforce some rules, but it should not be overdone. Instead of yelling No all the times, mommy prefers to look at Josh in the eyes and talk to him in a serious tone. Mommy knows he understands. He usually calms down after "a talk". Then he points away, makes funny sound/face or laughs to dissipate the tension.