At his 18 month check-up we were surprised at how much he has grown since his 12 month check! He weighed 23 lb 3 oz (20% percentile and up 3 lbs), was 32.5 inches tall (60% percentile and up 3.5 inches), and his head was 18.75 inches in diameter (70% percentile) The doctor gave him a clean bill of health and told us to keep doing what we are doing...he also asked me how we managed to keep up with Jackson's activity level, and my response was that we just don't stop chasing until he is in bed!
Some of Jackson's favorite things right now include: being outside (anything involving dirt, sticks, and rocks), going to the park, feeding the ducks that live in the pond near our house, chasing with his daddy, building with blocks, talking on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa, riding his "bike" (3-wheeler), reading books, hide and seek, playing with his friends, and last but CERTAINLY not least watching "Elmo" (Sesame Street). We recently broke him of requiring his binky to sleep, so now he insists that he has his little bunny to cuddle with at bedtime and nap time.
Jackson continues to develop his cute personality! He is very affectionate and will give us, the dogs, or practically anyone/anything "love" (hugs) whenever we ask him too. He is also fairly strong willed/independent, and isn't afraid to let you know if he is unhappy...his "fits" are pretty far and few between and seem to be over just as fast as they start (thankfully!) He has gotten to be really talkative (I have no idea where he gets that from?!) and is saying/copying more words than what we can keep track of. He can identify several animals (cow, chicken, duck, horse, pig, turtle, bird, snake, monkey) and the noises that they make. He also is starting to pick out colors (his favorite for now is yellow) He loves to point out airplanes in the sky, every bus that drives by our house, and when he can hear the "choo choo" outside.
I don't know why we got so lucky to have such a great little boy in our lives, but I sure am glad that we did! Words can't adequately describe how much we love him and how we look forward to every single minute we get to spend making memories :)