18 Months

My little boy is growing up so fast. He celebrated his 18 month birthday on July 8th. He's keeping us very busy running all over the place. Some of his favorite things to do are:

• Pick up sticks outside
• Play with balls
• Push any toy that he's supposed to ride on
• Play in the dirt
• Play with the little people farm

He says at least 20 words by now. Some of the newest words are: grapes, please, Max, and yogurt (or gogurt). He signs more and all done very well. He blows kisses....only on his terms though. He recently learned to do "raspberries". One day I was laying on the floor playing with him and he lifted up my shirt and did a raspberry on my stomach. We had no idea he knew how to do them.

We've been working on teaching him to eat with a spoon and he's doing pretty good. Yesterday he had a baby ice cream cone and did okay with it too. At daycare they've been working on him sleeping on a mat and eating at a table instead of highchair - two of the things he needs to be doing to move to the next room - he's doing pretty good.

He's generally a very good toddler. Still sleeps really well at night and is very easy going for the most part. He's become very independent and even a little defiant. He gives us a hard time when we try to change his diaper or his clothes. When we take away something he's not supposed to have or try to get him to do something that he doesn't want to do (stop playing to eat, getting out of the bathtub, etc.) he screams and stiffens up. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that this too shall pass. Wish me luck on that one.

Still no teeth!!! It's crazy. The dentist took an x-ray and found a full set of teeth just waiting to erupt. Who knows when it will be but I hope he's not in too much pain when it happens. In the meantime he's become proficient at chewing just about everything with his gums. He's still a good eater and his favorite things are fruit and yogurt.

I still look at him and wonder how we got so lucky to have such a wonderful little boy. He has changed our lives in a way that I could never have imagined....the love I have for him is stronger than I knew existed.