18 Months

Time Flies! 18 months have passed and I grow more and more into a little kid each day. I'm now over 28 pounds, 35", and in size 7 shoes! My vocabulary is ever changing - several words actually sound like real words now, and I'm also putting 2 words together to make sentences (more cheerios, uh-oh fall, hot ouch, oh no, my dad, dump truck, trash truck, help me, etc.). I start jabbering the minute I wake up (standing in my crib yelling "mommy") until the minute I go to bed at night ("nu-night mama"). I have 16 teeth and eat just about everything though have started turning my nose up to veggies. The doc says this is fine since I love fruit and will eat fruit all day long if my diapers could hold it! :)

My favorite past times - playing with trucks, cars, trains, balls, blocks, sticks and rocks. I love stacking them and lining them up. I organize them based on type/size and create little piles with them (so Brun). I even like to play make-believe with my other toys...lining them up and moving them like a train, making train noises, or waving a block in the air and making airplane noises. I'm really starting to think outside of the box. :)

Dad has become my new favorite person- I still run to Mom when I'm scared or have a boo-boo, but lately - seeing Daddy is the highlight of my day. I love searching room by room for daddy yelling his name. I'm so intrigued by everything that he does (my new favorite word - "tools" since I've been watching dad do some work around the house).


A few other changes around my house...I started going to daycare for just one day a week, and Mom continues to be busy with new clients so this is helpful. I also have a new babysitter for Thursdays and Fridays during the day if Mom needs her to come- she's a sweet lady in the neighborhood that reminds me of grammy and nagy (except she's a bit more expensive). I'm also learning about poop (pup) and pee (pete pete), not sure if I'm ready for potty training yet (though my Doctor thinks so), but I now know where my poopy is and can point at it (in my pants, of course), and I know where the potty is but for now I just like climbing on it.

With Hannah gone (see previous post), I've now taken a new liking to Otis... Yesterday, Mom walked in the room to see Otis with my matchbox truck on his back (and the day before, there was a little purple octopus on his back) - he's been pretty good about letting me play with him like that (he used to jump and run to the other room when I went near him). Mom still tries to keep tabs on us though, because Otis is a big boy and he might be too rough with me. But I'm growing pretty fast and will soon be caught up with Otis. :)

Gotta run now.... I hear the trash truck coming!!!

Bye Bye Hannah

I have to say bye-bye to one of my favorite pals this week, Hannah. Of my two doggy friends, she's my favorite, but unfortunately she's kind of old and has become unpredictable with kids and babies, even though she slept by my crib to protect me for the first year of my life. Hannah will be happier in her new home in Colorado though - plus she gets to go on a plane to get there! We're all pretty sad about it but it's better for everyone in the long run. Mom and Dad try to keep us sperated to be safe, so I don't have many pictures with Hannah...but here's one from the other day.

To Miss Hannah - you will be sorely missed in our household. We'll all remember how you wag your little butt every time you're happy to see us, how you plop your head down on our laps to be pet, and how you lick our fingertips when we walk past you. You've been a wonderful part of our family and you'll never be forgotten in our hearts. Bye-Bye Hannah...

To Jack, On Your First Day Of School

To my sweet Jack,

Today is your first day of school, and I can't explain how much I love you and am proud of you. You were so brave (too brave)... you let me hold your little boy hand while we walked to the door and as soon as it opened, you slipped away from me and ran to play with your new friends, "kiz" (kids) as you call them, and the mountains of unexplored toys. And as I left you with your new environment (abruptly as we parents were instructed to do), I caught a glimpse of you through the window and watched for just a moment, mesmerized at how quickly you became a little boy, and how there's very little baby, if any at all, left in my sweet Jack. And now I sit here writing you this note to express how very much I've enjoyed watching you grow into the little boy you are today, and how I will cherish watching you grow into the man you will become. But in my heart you will always be my sweet, sweet baby Jack.

You only go to school on Wednesdays, and it's only a half mile away from home, but I know it's going to be a whole new world for you. This, Jack, is the beginning of your childhood, but please take your time for Dad and I, because there's so much more to come.

I love you,
Mommy