21 months

Buddy, you are now 21 months old.  That is ALMOST 2!!!!  It has been an amazing month for you, little guy.  Daddy and I have been astonished at how much you have learned and the things you are now doing.  You look like you have grown a lot in this picture, though you are pretty on par for your age.  You're wearing mostly 18-24 mo clothes with a few 2Ts thrown in there.  You're a size 5 or 5.5 in shoes and a size 5 in diapers. 

I think the biggest advancement you have made this month is in vocabulary.  You have learned so many new words.  You can name most people in our extended family (you LOVE saying Nick and "Yaya" ie Leah), you love the letter W and can recognize it too, you have most of your colors down pat (yellow, green, purple, and black are probably your favorites), and you adore repeating words after us.  My favorite thing is when I say "i" and then you say "I" and then love and then you.  It's adorable!  I think your favorite thing in the whole world right now is Wheels on the Bus.  We could sing it non-stop.  You also still love the Elmo videos on youtube and the alphabet and number trains on youtube.  You are now saying two word phrases.  This is a milestone you have to meet by the age of 2, so I'm glad it's already happening.  Check that one off the list!  You know that Daddy sings in the choir at church and you love to say "la la la, Daddy" (that's supposed to be Alleluia).  You also love for us to sing Alleluia to you, especially for me to sing it when Daddy is gone.

Running in the hall.

You adore your bear and your milk first thing in the morning.  We have occasionally forgotten bear at daycare and it's rough when that happens.  Luckily your Little Giraffe blanket is also ivory with the same textures, so that will usually get you by.  You also love "woof" (dog lovie), baby (pink baby doll that make noises), and Spot.  But bear is definitely, definitely your favorite!!

Going down for bed has become a little bit of a struggle over the past two weeks.  You've backed up your bedtime from 7:15 until about 7:45 but now you will NOT go down without crying for extended lengths of time.  It's hard b/c you have always been a good sleeper.  Once you are down, you don't wake up, it's just the getting down that is rough.  Daddy and I have often had to rock you completely to sleep after you've been crying for 20-30 min.  We both know this is a horrible habit to get into, so we really need to start a direction with you to get you back to your normal sleeping pattern.

Helping is your favorite.  You love to do pretty much anything we ask.  If we are cleaning, you want to help.  If Daddy is shoveling, you want to help.  If we are in the kitchen, you want to help.  Baking with mommy is one of your favorite activities.  You're so funny about stirring- it's messy, but you LOVE it and you love watching the Kitchen Aid go "wound and wound". 

Lately you have learned that unasked for kisses on the cheek melt mommy and daddy's hearts.  You'll stand behind us on the couch and reach for our cheeks to kiss us.  You also love giving hugs and are so sweet about it.  

I'm really proud of how much you are learning and how sweet you are, Buddy!  We're soooo glad you are ours!