18 Months

This one feels big! A year and a half!

Things I love about this age:

• If I put my hand out he'll take it and we'll walk together (assuming he wants to go where I am going).  It is a kick for me every time.  It makes him seem so much older but how many millions of parent/child hand-holding scenes have I witnessed throughout my life?  I am happy to be a part of this cute world-wide happening.  
• He whispers "hot" now.  We started saying it while we'd cut his hot dogs into wheels and they're still cooling a little.  He has over-extended it a bit and is starting to say the word when we feed him anything; we're working on the clarification. 
• Everyone keeps telling me not to expect him to talk much for a while (and he doesn't).  I know boys are a bit slower to this, especially the first child, so I realized the other day I must have lowered my expectations in other ways too, because I asked him to bring me a blue block on the other side of the room just for the heck of it, and he got up, spotted it, and brought it to me.  Good job, Juju!
• He lets me trim his nails now -- victory.
• He wants to do more and more by himself.  One example: he's recently become addicted to Yoplait Yo-on-the-Go yogurt drinks and MUST hold it by himself.  This usually at some point results in spilling...I take it away, clean up, and then give it back to him with me holding it...tantrum....hmmm.  (Is this something I really LOVE about this age?  No but I appreciate his appreciation of autonomy.)

"Don't you hold my yo-on-the-go!  Baby do it!"

• His repertoire of dancing moves increases every day, and he'll even shake it for the 5 seconds the NBC Nightly News jingle is on.
• He goes to bed at 7, wakes up about 7:30 in the morning, but doesn't call us until 8.  He spoils us.
• He becomes more and more obsessed with Jeff every day.  When Jeff walks through the door it's time to plug your ears; there will be some ear-piercing shrieking going down.
• Still ticklish, still a sucker for attention, still silly, still has a gap between his front teeth, still go-go-go, still loves his mommy, still loves to be outdoors, still loves me to read to him, still loves to be social, and still is our favorite monkey.  I know him inside and out.