Rhett's Birthday, Expanded

Rhett's Quantitative Stats
Height: 33 1/4" (25th percentile)
Weight: 27 lbs. 8 oz. (50th percentile)

Rhett's Qualitative Stats
Admittedly, I have no serious knowledge of kids other than Rhett, but he seems like one easy boy, as far as toddlers go. Yes, he has his moments, but most of the time, he's a funny, happy little boy. It's hard for me, however, to typecast his personality (which makes me feel like a horrible mom who doesn't even know her own son). Thankfully, I found some literature in his file that helped me a bit.

Rhett's a pretty active little boy. He loves being outside and going down "whees" (a.k.a. slides or swings). However, after yielding to his desires to go to the park, he frequently ditches the playground to scale the nearby hills and play in the tennis court. But with the high activity level also comes a high tolerance for sitting, at least during reading times. He can sit and read for 30 - 45 minutes. He loves reading and currently his favorite books are "Go, Dog, Go!" and anything Berenstain Bears.

He seems to easily adapt to new situations and people. While not necessarily embracing them immediately, he loves to explore new places. Especially if those new places have new toys. That's the surest way to win him over.

Rhett loves his schedule almost as much as I do. He is generally up by 6:30 every morning (I could take 7, but that's okay). He naps from 1 until 3, and goes to bed at 7. Every day. Our mornings consist of a run and then snacks and a shower, then errand running (or other fun things like playgroups or library story times). After naptime, he tends to be a bit fussier so we try to limit car seat time by going on walks with Bruno or going to the park. He does very well with this, which makes me very happy. It should be noted that the few times where we have to change that schedule (for traveling or doctor appointments or other events), he has adapted well. We just don't have that many reasons to change anything.

His mood. Oh this is a happy guy. Except when he's not. Most of the time, he's laughing, playing, enjoying life. Of course, that's not always the truth and he can certainly go from happy to insanely mad in eight seconds or less. He's not only able to be happy around us, but often engages strangers (after a little coaxing from me) with his squinty-eyed smile. Just the other day we were leaving an elevator when I told him to give the fellow riders a smile, and BOY did he. The entire elevator-filled with people broke into laughter at the charming boy in front of them. Events like this are common with Rhett. While Rhett definitely has happy and sad moments, I don't think I'd classify him as very intense.

I don't think he's the most distracted child on the planet, nor the least. He can sometimes play with toys for long periods of times, but at other times, he can easily be swayed to bigger and better things.

Rhett seems to be very adaptable. He adapted easily to the loss of the pacifier at nine months, and has no favorite stuffed animal. Every night we let him pick two or three to take to bed, and frequently those items change. I haven't experienced any examples of him being rigid and stuck on only one way to do things. He might start that way, but if I show him another option, he is easily moved.

And if you thought that picture looked familiar, well, give yourself a gold star for being so observant! See the old one here.