Happy half birthday, Pigpen!

Hello, December 17th! Today is Pigpen's 18 month birthday. You know how he celebrated? By greeting me at his door this morning when I walked in. As in, he was on the floor. Reading books. Right there, in his little sleep sack that I thought would prevent climbing, just browsing through some Sandra Boynton literature.

Piglet never climbed out of the crib, not being much of a climber what with his short legs and all. He got bumped out of the crib against his will around 19 months because, well, I needed the crib for another resident.

In honor of him being a year and a half old, I'll give Pigpen a courtesy update. Pigpen is a mess. Both literally and figuratively. He is still the messiest boy around. Always has a bit of crust on his face, goo on his shirt, something in his hair. He wants to learn how to say and do everything rightnowthisverysecond and gets frustrated when he can't. He has a touch of red-headed temper, but is generally an agreeable little fellow. Actually, he's kind of hilarious. He loves to make people laugh, even if he doesn't know why they are laughing. He makes faces, dances, and generally performs his way through life.

His favorite things are steps, balls, and Gus. The affection for Gus is not a mutual relationship. Gus cringes when Pigpen comes near, knowing that there is always something in his hand about to be thrown. Pigpen was a late walker (15 months). He walked for about a day and a half and then started running and climbing and jumping. I say jumping, but really it's just falling off of things. He's a daredevil and likes the sensation of falling. Since he can't figure out how to jump like Piglet, he just climbs atop things (the hearth, the couch, etc) and walks off, crashing to the ground in a fit of hilarity. This makes people who come to our home uncomfortable as it seems he could crack his head open, but so far so good..

Eating is an area in which Pigpen does not excel. He does not do vegetables of any kind, or meat, with the exception of bacon, of which he could eat a whole package. He likes crackers, but not bread - unless it's cinnamon toast covered in sugar. He doesn't like french fries, anything green, or cheese, but can eat his weight in fruit and yogurt. He knows exactly what cake, cookies, candy, donuts, pie, and brownies are, whether he's had them before or not. He has an extremely accurate radar for sweets. He won't eat pasta, pizza, or any other normal kid food. He likes a good waffle (haven't introduced syrup yet, trying to keep that on the DL), pancake and cereal. I am desperate for food ideas for this kid if anyone has suggestions.

Pigpen is STILL taking two naps a day. I find this extremely confusing, as Piglet dropped his morning nap at 9 months. Pigpen loves his sleep. He sleeps about 1.5 hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon, then goes to bed around 7:30pm to sleep until about 8am. He snores like a 350 pound trucker, so my theory is that he's not getting deep sleep which must be why he sleeps so much. The pediatric ENT is currently evaluating him for adenoid removal.

Pigpen has a lot to say. It's not all understandable yet, but he makes his point known. When he's desperate, he just points to something and yells, "DAAAAT!" or "DISSSSS!" until we figure it out. He says the usual mama, dada, Piglet, Gus, dog, ball, steps, balloon, car, truck, hungry, more, all done, cup, book, yes, no, bath, door, Elmo, and probably a bunch more. He can point to his nose, hair, teeth, and eyes. He knows hands and feet, but if you ask where his tummy is, he sticks out his tongue every time. When he is finished eating, he takes off his socks and places his bib on his head.

He loves to hide household objects in our shutters and stack koozies four high. He is vexed when I leave a cabinet safety latch undone. He loves to play in toilet water, dump Gus' water bowls out, and throw picture frames. His favorite places to hang out are in the tupperware cabinet, in Gus' dog bed, and currently in the Christmas tree.

Pigpen is never still for a second and still only weighs about 22 pounds. He's fast and he's small, so it's hard to keep up with him sometimes. He will be starting playschool two mornings a week after Christmas to give him an outlet for this energy and social craving. That, my friends, is Pigpen in a nutshell.