18 Months!?

Yowzers, wowzers. When on earth did my son become 18 months old!?

Now, on the walk into the grocery store, by the time I heft that kiddo into the shopping cart, my arms are aching! He's running around, knocking his head on things that he was never tall enough for me to worry about, talking (sometimes bossing his mama around), sitting pouty-faced in time-out, skinning his knees, demanding to "chalk, chalk, outside, chalk, please" when it's freezing and pitch-black outside, sitting quietly while I read books to him, making zooming and crashing noises with his airplanes and cars, and flat-out refusing to eat his vegetables!

But, wait. I'm certain this was yesterday.

So much has happened in the last 18 months that it's impossible to put it all down. Perhaps one of the most exciting milestones was when I could sit him in front of Sesame Street or Super Why with his breakfast and then sneak away to take (eeeek!) a shower. A real shower--like where you get to wash your hair, shave your legs, and feel like a normal, clean human being afterward!

Look at this little chicken nugget. He used to chill out all day while his crazy momma hovered with her video camera.

Hands-down the coolest thing for me to see is his language development. I understand why it's called an "explosion," because it's just that. Hold your nose for some braggy mom statistics that I will want to remember one day:

• He can count to ten.
• He can say most of his ABCs.
• He can identify: A, B, C, H, I, R, and X
• He can put multiple words together. At Christmas, he was saying, "Happy birthday Jesus."
• He says, "Please," "Thank you," and "Sorry" when he wants something, is given something, and has to go to time-out.
• He can say well over 200 words. And there is no way that I'm listing them all. Some of his most impressive are: excavator, helicopter, xylophone, porcupine, violin, jellyfish, ostrich, Washington D.C., etc.
• He can identify and say these shapes: triangle, circle, oval, and star.
• He likes to issue commands to me (you can guess how this goes over): "Stop it," "Come here," "Come on," and "Open the door" are his most frequently used.
• He is familiar with these people and can say their names: Kaden ("Canaan"), Braley ("Blayley"), BeeGee, Pops, Mitchell, Uncle Jake ("U Jake"), Nan, Grandpa, Scott, Aunt Coco ("Coco"), Tracy, Bekah, Nathan, Aunt Lala ("Lala"), and Cathy ("Caffy").
• He frequently uses words that I have never taught him, but that he has just picked up from hearing us talk.
• He loves to greet anyone and everything. He'll say, "Hi, BeeGee!" just as easily as he'll say, "Hi, moon!"
• If he knows I won't let him do something or have something, he will say "please" over and over again in the most precious, pathetic voice you've ever heard.
• I've only heard him talk in his sleep once, and on this particular occurrence, he had fallen asleep in the car, and he said "airplane."

This child loves, loves, loves books. At first, we had a neat stack of books in the playroom. Then, we had to move the books to a basket. Now, he has an enormous bucket full of "playroom" books (his "nice" books are on the bookshelf in his room)! We probably own over one hundred children's books, and we go to the library every Thursday to collect about ten more for the week. For his afternoon nap and for bedtime, I read to put him to sleep. That sweet little darling falls asleep in my arms nearly every night; and when he doesn't, he'll nestle into my chest and say, "Night, night." He loves Dr. Seuss books, William Joyce books, Muarice Sendak books, and any book that takes me at least twenty minutes to read. I love it! I dreamed of arriving at this stage, where he can cuddle in my lap, and I can rock him and read actual books to him! Every single night I look forward to our reading time together.

He has also developed a love for soccer. For those of you who know me, yes I know it's ironic. He runs around the house kicking his soccer ball, shouting, "Soccer! Soccer ball!" He has good coordination, and (I know you're laughing, fam) I think he will probably enjoy playing the sport when he's a bit older.

The toddler also loves watching football with his daddy. This, of course, is nothing new. Here he is at four months watching the AR v. BAMA game.

One of the toddler's favorite things is to be in water. If he hears me say, "I'm going to go take a shower," he will drop whatever he is doing, run at me, and say, "Shower! Shower! Yeah?" And during bath time, he literally swims around the tub. He flips onto his back and kicks his legs.

I have quite the picky eater on my hands. Every night, I put vegetables on his plate and he is yet to eat any. He likes mandarin oranges, apple sauce, Colby Jack cheese, macaroni and cheese, yogurt, and anything that falls under the category of 'junk food' (teddy grahams, vanilla wafers, goldfish, cheezits, crackers, etc.). And that's it. Erg. It drives me bonkers. I keep consoling myself with the fact that James Dobson says that one of the few places to never engage in battle with your child is in the kitchen. So, c'est la vie, maybe one day he'll appreciate his mama's cooking.

I can see that the "Terrible Two's" are sneaking into the picture. Suddenly, there are "NO!s" and some throwing of fits, but for the most part, my little angel is just that. I love this guy more than words could ever describe, and I am so very blessed to be his mama.