18-month milestones

As I mentioned, Isaac had his 18-month well-baby check-up on Thursday (although he is nearly 19 months old). He cried throughout the entire doctor's appointment, beginning as soon as he saw the inside of the exam room. He kept saying, "Go, okay" to me and Craig, and "Bye" to the doctor and nurse, complete with a hopeful little wave of the hand. It was so pitiful. But after it was over and he got to pick a trinket out of the toy chest he started saying, "New toy!" instead, so I guess there was no lingering trauma. (If you ask him about his visit to the dentist for his chipped-tooth exam, he'll say, "Motorcycle!", which was the item he picked out of the toy chest there.)

Anyway, to mark this milestone of an age, here are a few developmental milestones -- or if not actual milestones, at least new things that seem really cool to me: 

two-word phrases: he uses more and more of these every day -- some are words that are always bonded together, like pick up, come here, put back, or all gone; others are modified nouns, like toy catalog, hot tea, bare feet, naked baby, or bigger clippers; he can also insert an appropriate please, more, no, or too (as in no moon, too high or book please); the longest sentence he has constructed was really two two-word phrases strung together: "Bad dog, no cookie!"

diaper awareness: not only has he begun to tell us as soon as his diaper is dirty, but he has sometimes announced "poopy diaper" right before he poops -- I'm considering getting a potty chair, although I don't want to rush him

conventional knowledge: he can tell you most of the colors (especially yellow, which he loves, although he can't seem to get a handle on green); he is interested in hearing the names of letters and can spot capital letters L, O, and I all on his own; he can identify a handful of flowers and birds (and why not, since the kid can tell the difference between a bulldozer, a loader, and a backhoe?)

physical skills: for the last month he has been able to throw a ball surprisingly far using his right arm overhand (and unlike his Mama, he hardly ever throws the ball backward by accident); he can climb up and down two steps on a ladder by himself; he can hang from the rings in Kindergym for a long time; he can feed himself with a spoon or fork acceptably well (except for very liquid foods); he can walk backwards (and says "Backward!" as he does it)

imaginary play: he's still obsessed with pretending to cook (invariably he says he's making "apple pie") and feeding us the imaginary results, but he's begun feeding his toys as well -- it is super-cute to see him offering a bite to a doll or stuffed animal, especially as he never showed any interest in animating them before

self-awareness: he usually still refers to himself as "baby," but he's beginning to say "boy" every once in a while, often as an addendum, so if you ask him "Who wants a cookie?" you might get "Baby -- Boy!" in reply; I think he has tried to say his own name a few times, but it's pretty indistinct.
Oh, Isaac, you'll always be "baby" to me.