Our Monkey is 17 Months Old

Ryker turned 17 months on September 22nd. I have been so busy with random things but mostly Pampered Chef that I haven't been updating my blog or taking the number of pictures I want or remembering all of the little things that Ryker does every day.

We call Ryker our little monkey because he climbs on everything. I thought things would be safe on our counter tops but one day I walked into the kitchen and found him on the counter top smiling at me. I freaked out and pulled him off immediately and tried to explain why he should not be on the counter. Lets just say that was a couple weeks ago and I have caught him on the counter several times. He even threw the top of my Scentsy warmer onto the tile floor and it broke. I think this will be the biggest thing I have to worry about with him.

It is amazing the new things that Ryker comes up with. As you can see from the pictures above he LOVES hats this month. Every where we go he is pointing them out and wants me to buy him one. I think this started mid July with his bike helmet (which he hated for the first few weeks, he would cry and try hard to pull off) now each time we are in the garage he says "Bike Hat". I found this cute fire hat at Dollar tree one day and he wouldn't take it off. It has been about 3 weeks since I bought it and he still puts it on everyday. One day I was in my closet and he saw Dave's collection of hats and said "Hat" so I pulled one from the bottom of the stack and gave it to him. As you can see in the other pictures above that he LOVED it. He walked around all day with it on. I love how Ryker is starting to use his imagination. I can see those wheels turning in his head. We have bought him several different toys that he will play with for 15 minutes at a time. Ryker has been easier to occupy some times and yet more demanding for attention at other times. Ryker has gotten better about playing with other kids (thanks to me slowly introducing nursery) and enjoys when I watch my friends kids so he has someone to keep him entertained.

Ryker is a jabber box and spouts out several words at a time. I have lost track of all the new words that he says because he learns new ones on a daily basis. Some of my new favorites are "belly" in which he will point to yours or raises up his shirt to reveal his, and "gaga" for glasses or sunglasses. Ryker also says "Hey dude" and "outside" Rykers favorite is "cracker" to which he has been using for all types of foods.

Ryker loves to be tickled and is very ticklish. Ryker in the past hated to be tossed around but now he will say "again" and want you to toss him over and over.

Ryker now has 8 teeth on top and 6 on the bottom (includes 4 molars) and is still cranky when he is teething. On those days, I don't want to go anywhere but it is usually the day that I have SO much to get done.

Ryker is a very challenging toddler. I know that he is only 17 months but I get frustrated when he does not listen. This past month I have found myself raising my voice more than I ever thought I would. I just have to keep telling myself that things will get easier. I would love any advice on teaching 17-18 month olds... more like teaching me how to handle an 17 month old.