Boyd - 18 months

OMG, so behind on this post - ACK!

• Boyd went through a period where he was incredibly attached to me (it's just now waning). Maybe because I was able to spend so much time with him during my almost 3 week vacation in July? He is still constantly taking my hand and leading me around, which is super sweet but also a little limiting because it's hard to get anything done. But I enjoy seeing what he is so intent on showing me - sometimes it's a toy or book, and other times he needs help with a task.
• Oh 18-month sleep regression, I'm SO GLAD it's over. I adore my sweet baby Boyd, but following him around for 3 hours in the middle of the night was not my idea of a good time. It ended up being approximately 3 weeks of sleep interruptions. 
• To complicate matters, Boyd picked up a cold during that period and it made him a wee bit cranky during the day and evening. One night he woke up at 11:45 p.m. and I held him for 30 minutes while he fell back asleep. I credit Hyland's homeopathic Tiny Cold Tablets and his strong constitution for a quick recovery. Boyd promptly passed his cold onto me (2 week duration, grrr) and then I gave it to Darin.
• The activities that keep his busiest the longest these days are anything involving keys/locks, threading an item into something else, stacking.
• Risha, Jilly, Boyd and I had a Monday playdate at Sand Lake Elementary School about a month ago. There is a great playground there, as well as a pathway to the lake and a small dock. We were even able to see a float plane take off! The pilot was great - motoring past us a couple times and waving to the kids. They loved it. I do think Boyd was a little confused as to why the plane was on the lake and not in the water. 
• More words are spilling out of his mouth. I'm pretty sure we had an "I love you" in there too, although he still cocks his head to one side to "say" that. I would say that he can repeat about 75% of the words we ask him to say. They may not sound correct but he's trying. :-)
• Still very friendly to strangers.
• Boyd likes to "help" take off and put on his own clothes. 
• SO good about putting things away when we ask him to - and even when we don't! 
• Likes to drink from cups and bottles like a big boy. 
• He's an awesome eater when hungry. The other night we made fresh PWS silver salmon & spot shrimp, plus asparagus. He could not get enough, especially when it came to the asparagus. Such a good boy. Other favorite foods: Annie's organic Bunny Grahams, Aussie bites, cheesy toast.
• He's getting pretty good at picking himself up after a fall and dusting himself off. No crocodile tears - just real ones when he is truly hurt. 
• Our first family boat trip took place last weekend - I will do up a special blog post about that!

Earlier this week I toured a Montessori school that I've heard good things about. A few friends have kids that attended the toddler program there, although the school does go up to 6th grade. I totally fell in love with place and put in a registration form/deposit for the waiting list. The area he'll go into is a 19 month to 3 year room - hopefully 2 or 3 mornings a week from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Ideally I would do drop off and then my mom would pick him up. Cross your fingers that a spot opens up! I think he would learn a lot about independence, self reliance and respect in this type of environment.