19 months

baby talan turned 19 months old today. i really feel like i just wrote his 18 month blog and i don't have much to say this time around, even though he's ever changing.
talan has pretty much lost his appetite. he usually does not like to eat at all first thing in the morning. just likes to have his milk and roam around for awhile. then when he does want something to eat for breakfast, he doesn't want to sit and eat it. he'll just grab a bowl and box of cereal and hand them to me. i'll pour it and he'll walk me (with the bowl) out to the living room where he will then eat, and spill, until i put it all away not able to take one more crumby mess. the other morning i made myself some oatmeal and figured i'd see if he wanted some too. turns out he did. and he wanted more this morning. he was actually quite pleasant sitting in his chair with hayden while eating his cold cereal (the crunch berries only from the generic captain crunch cereal) and oatmeal.
lunchtime usually doesn't go much better. there are some days he'll eat an entire jr. lunchable which consists of mini ritz crackers, little chunks of turkey and small strips of cheese. but he much prefers throwing it across the kitchen and crumbling the crackers into his lap. of course the second he gets down from the table he wants to eat something in the living room. doesn't ever like to sit, this one.
dinner time is the same. he'll eat a very tiny bit and then shake his hands, kind of the way you should to say "all done" in sign language and also say "aaa duuuuuu" so well that i think even an outsider would understand him.
he loves to use a fork. if you can't get him to eat something, but then stab it with a fork, he'll typically start eating again. i've slowly tried letting him use a spoon, but he's not so good at it and he would rather a fork anyway. so he might be 15 before he is able to use a spoon. oh well, he leaves way too many other messes for me to clean up, i don't need another one.
another thing about mealtime is that we moved his highchair back down to the basement and he is now sitting strictly in his booster seat. mostly because our kitchen is WAY too small and the highchair was just always in the way. but he seems to enjoy being at the actual table with the rest of us instead of sitting behind us all the time. we usually like it too. usually.
i am convinced that talan permanently lost the word "mama" when he learned the word "dada". he does, however, know exactly who "mama" is now. when asked to point people out he knows who mama, dada, hayden, tina, justin, jessica, papa, grandma, jenn and rainah are (don...i don't think we even have a picture of you! new family pictures need to happen soon!). he says "dada" often and perfectly clearly. in fact, anytime his binky is in his mouth he removes it in order to say it that much better. and lately, anytime hayden enters a room talan will run over to him, pointing, saying "hhhhaaaa ennnnn" in case we forgot.
he knows a lot of animal noises now and i can't ever talk about having chicken for dinner without hearing a "bach bach" behind me. he moos, meows, woofs, growls, peeps, tweets, scratches his arms and makes some kind of high pitched monkey sound, lifts his arm above his head and somewhat trumpets like an elephant, claps his hands and barks like a seal, chomps and makes a biting sound for a shark, and opens and closes his mouth to be a fish.
i have noticed that when we start to sing the abc's he sounds as if he is singing along. and he has become quite animated when he picks up an old cell phone and runs around the house jabbering away to whoever is on it...usually dada, but many times papa. i usually don't dare say it's justin as he will then run to the window looking for him and calling his name.
his separation anxiety has gotten a little worse, but he always seems to calm down once we leave. we haven't been called out of church yet, but they have had to take him out of the nursery and walk him around at times. he now goes not only on sunday's but 2 thursdays a month as well when i got to mops...so i'm hoping that will help him out a little. he has even cried when i've left him with mom before, which never used to happen. the other day mom came over to watch him while i went to the dr. and when she came in the house he just sat in my lap and wouldn't even look at her. he does that with most people that come to the house and i think it's because he thinks i'm going to leave him. once he realizes i'm staying and so are they, he opens right up.
talan is LOUD. he makes himself known all day long. his temper has gotten worse and i'm hoping it's strictly a "terrible two's" kind of thing and not something that continues the rest of his life. he does still tend to get over things quicker than what hayden did/does, but not as quickly as what he used to. he throws himself anytime he hears "no" or you don't do something quick enough. i honestly can't believe he hasn't started bleeding from his head yet as he's banged it MANY times by throwing himself down.
dave recently started putting him in his crib if he starts screaming about something. today it happened two or three times. shortly after getting out of his crib he started to throw another fit. he threw himself down and started to scream. i asked if he wanted to go back to his crib and suddenly he stopped screaming. he continued laying there all dramatic like but never did scream again. ahhh, maybe this will work!
he continues to LOVE music and dancing and drumming. today while listening to a song he purposely drummed along directly on the beat 4 times in a row. dave and i just looked at each other and said....that really is totally impressive. this kid is gonna make us rich someday. he's USUALLY pretty good about not beating on things he shouldn't with his drumsticks so i let him run around the house with them. most think it's not the best idea in the world but then they don't have to live with his screaming when i take them away, do they?!
he loves the show yo gabba gabba and dances along with all of the kids. there is one song where they sing "wiggle wiggle wiggle go! wiggle wiggle wiggle go!" and then they sing "hold still" he wiggles all around and then will freeze when they sing hold still. it's hilarious. one day i'll be smart enough to get it on tape.
he continues to go to bed around 7 at nite, wakes up at 7am...usually a little earlier and takes a nap at 1, waking up around 3:30 or so. there have been many mornings where it looks like he really misses his morning nap....and so do i!
he likes to be read to. for a bit at least. but will turn the page whenever he is ready, not necessarily when it's time, and that's annoying. his favorite book is a little tool book and a my friends tigger and pooh book about the seasons. he also still loves to get out the wheels on the bus book and this book with a bee in it. the book that because we taught him a bee goes "bzzzz sting!" now that we try to get him to repeat letters, he says "a" and then gets stuck on "b" because instead of saying it he stings himself.
hayden can really bug the crap out of talan, but talan certainly knows how to push hayden's buttons as well. apparently the other day while in the basement talan was palming a ball with one hand (he has giant hands, remember) he would fake throw it right at hayden's face. and he kept doing this. acting like he was going to throw it. apparently this really got to hayden. i wish i could have seen it!
they actually can play together really well and it's so much fun to watch them together. first thing in the morning hayden always goes over to him and says "awwww, baby talan. hi baby!" while he rubs his head gently. they love to play chase together and hide and seek. they also love dancing and throwing themselves onto the couches together. and hayden can make talan laugh like nobody's business. everyday when hayden is coming home from school, talan runs to the door or window yelling hayden's name all excited.
talan loves to play with his shape sorter but doesn't have a lot of patience with it after the first round. he loves holding onto the football while in daddy's car and now the soccer ball while in mommy's car. he loves to "brush" his teeth. he loves coming downstairs to "play" but really it's just making a bigger mess. he loves to give people high fives and daps. in fact, while at old navy, he insisted that i take the cart close enough to every half bodied mannequin so that he could give their hands five. he says "cheese" when you take his picture. he loves to pretend talk on the phone, but if someone really is on the other end he won't say a word. he loves suckers....i hate them. he loves to jump. he loves getting up on our bed and trying to do all of the same jumps and flips that hayden does. he loves to take all of the pieces of a puzzle out but doesn't want anything to do with putting them away. he will now help put most of his other toys away when you tell him to. he loves trains. he loves balls. he loves working out with me and my workout tape by punching and kicking in the air. he loves to make a mess. he loves to throw things. he loves to play with my hairbrush while he's on my bed. he loves to turn hayden's leapster video game on and off and trys to act like he knows how to play it. he loves to type on computers. he loves putting his socks and shoes on but hates leaving his socks on once the shoes are off. he has recently really started loving tv...tivo in particular. and he loves standing and sticking his belly out.
talan continues to hate sitting still. he hates cold baby wipes. he hates having water dumped over his head in the bath tub. he hates sharing. he hates being told no.....especially by hayden. he hates waiting. he hates leaving somewhere when he's not ready to go and will stiffen up so you can't get him in his carseat. i've had to wait it out before in a target parking lot. he usually hates cooperating. he hates having to eat a normal meal while sitting.
while talan has become a much more difficult toddler than we ever would have thought he would, he is still a very sweet and happy baby. he has a great sense of humor and he seriously makes us laugh ever other minute. we had a rough day with him, but unfortunately he's getting a cold...hopefully that's all it is seeing as though i just got over strep throat. it's that time of year....outside right now our cars have a layer of snow on them....no joke.
talan continues to grow and change every day. which makes me both happy and sad. he constantly has us on our toes and there is usually never a dull or quiet moment in this house when he is awake. we can't wait to see what this next month brings us.
we love you so much, talan cash. happy 19 months!

i figure an explanation for the pictures just isn't even necessary anymore. you all know he hates to sit still...enough said.