Matteo at 18 Months

At 18 months, Matteo is 34" (in the 95th percentile) and is 26 lbs, 9 oz. (80th percentile).  He is babbling nonstop, like he is actually talking.  He has his favorite people (like the waitress at our favorite Mexican restaurant) that he will just babble on and on and on too.  (What's especially funny about her is that he will screech out and look around, trying to get her attention, because he LOVES flirting her). 

Matteo's vocabulary consists of "bus"  (anything with wheels), "nana" (usually means the computer, because that's where he Skype's La Nonna), "bye bye (which sometimes gets confused with "bus"), "Nono" (which could mean "no" or Nono," which is grandpa in Italian), "bap" (which means bath).

He loves to run around our apartment like he's on a racetrack.  He will run circles around our kitchen and hallway. 

He loves to be read to.  His favorite books are by Sandra Boynton.  He especially loves "Blue Hat, Green Hat," "The Going to Bed Book" and "Are You a Cow?"  He often passes the time by flipping through his books on his own.  He has started babbling, as if he's reading, as he turns the pages.  Of course this melts my little teacher heart!

He still loves to look our the window at the buses and cars.  Fabio bought him a little stool, so he has an even better view now!

He has started using a fork to stab beans, blueberries and other pieces of finger food.  It's a good way to keep him entertained while we finish dinner.

He loves "Pimpa," an Italian cartoon about a little dog who is friends with the fishes, birds, stars and wild animals.

When we come home after being gone for a few hours or a few days (like last week when Fabio was at a conference and I was on a 4 day camping trip with my 5th graders), he squeals for pure joy, scrunching up his little face and using his whole body to release his little screech.

He has started laughing on cue.  All we have to do is laugh (and then he mimics), or make some silly face.

He is such a fun boy.  He loves to run free and explore new things.  His little hands are into everything, and sometimes it's exhausting, but I love him so much.  I'm trying to cherish every moment with him.  I can see the time zooming by already.

Here are some of the things our little whirlwind enjoys:

Reading with Mama:

Playing outside.  Matteo's first snow:

 Playing in the kitchen, especially sitting on the colander:

Taking walks:

Going to the zoo:

Checking out Mama's phone:

 Opening and shutting doors:

Climbing stairs at Nana and Grandpa's house:

Sipping on a vanilla (coffee free, of course) icy drink at Starbucks:

Taking baths: