1.5 years of age

Today we mark Joshua's 1.5 year birthday. As is our custom here at Nolen News, we recount the things that Dave and I have learned as parents,as well as the funnier and more interesting things Joshua has done over the last three months. Several important milestones have been reached between 1.25 and 1.5 years of age. With those milestones have come many bumps, bruises and laughs.

Joshua is adding lots of words to his vocabulary each week. Some we recognize, some we can interpret and others we have no clue on. He continues to sign certain words but sometimes doubles up with the spoken version as well. Here he is again demonstrating his grasp of animal noises:

Joshua prefers to communicate his displeasure in shocking and appalling ways. Like most everything else he has hit the terrible twos a little early. His tantrum of choice involves banging his head against a wall, the floor, someone else's body or his bed until he gets a bruise on his forehead. While he was teething a few weeks ago one of us had to sleep on the floor of his room so that he would remain calm and not bash his head.

Speaking of sleep, thankfully Joshua has returned to sleeping through the night the last several nights. He is sleeping longer than he ever has and we are too!

Joshua is very teachable (at times) these days. He copies actions that he finds entertaining. I have taught him that whenever we see a bug in the house he is supposed to smash it. Since he enjoys clobbering things, he has taken to this quickly. The scene usually goes something like this: Joshua sees a bug or something he thinks is a bug, he shushes everyone, points to the suspect and then smacks his hand on the floor-not necessarily on target.

With all the added knowledge, Joshua has also gained a feeling of independence. He wants to do most things for himself and in his own time. This has been fun to watch develop, but it also makes it difficult to reign in the king. Here he is striking out on his own and letting us know when he is done. It also proves a fitting closing to this post...