18 Month Letter

Dear Eli,

You’re a year and a half old and there are so many, many things I want to remember about this time! You are growing and changing so quickly now, it seems unreasonable to blink for fear I’ll miss something. Just a few things that I especially want to remember…

You learned to blow kisses about a month ago. You love to blow kisses to Maddy, to cars driving by, to Bailey when we’re going upstairs, or anyone who you think is leaving. You are such a sweet, affectionate boy! Little Lambie definitely still gets his fair share of loves and still goes EVERYWHERE with you. Though he now has some company...Big Lambie and your blue blankie also go to bed with you every night.

You’re vocabulary is beginning to grow! You can say shoes (zoos), cheese (sheez), bird (bur), cat (dat), teeth (deef), more (mo, mo). And just yesterday I swear you were saying, “no, no, no” after I told you “no” and helped you crawl off the dishwasher door…You can say the sounds for horse, pig, sheep, bear, duck, cow and chicken (which is no surprise because you absolutely love reading animal books, watching your Farm Animals movie, and pointing out all of the animals on our walks.) Your signed vocabulary is growing even faster than your spoken vocabulary. You can sign drink, eat, please, ball, hot, dog, cat, horse, bird, bear, toothbrush, fish, book, baby, blanket, bath, flower and you’ve made up your own sign for gum.

It seems like you’ll be ready to potty train soon. You’ve gone to the potty on the toilet almost every night for the past two weeks. Your favorite part is “wiping” which to you means pulling off handfuls of toilet paper and watching them drop between your legs into the toilet. You’ve also become very aware of dirty diapers and always let me know right away when you’ve gone poo-poo.

In the past month, you developed an aversion to all vegetables (Unless you count potatoes and sweet potato French fries, which I don’t!). You’ll take a bite, then spit it right back out, sometimes even wiping off your tongue to be sure it’s all gone. The other night I thought I could get you to eat lettuce if I covered it in enough ranch…oh, you ate it all right! After removing all of the ranch, you carefully spit each piece of lettuce back onto your tray. At least I can always get you to drink a fruit smoothie. One new food that I would have never guessed that you’d like…gum! After discovering a piece in mommy’s purse, you quickly figured out what it is all about. You can chew a piece for up to an hour before swallowing it!

When you’re upset, you can have a serious temper tantrum! If you’re really mad, you’ll still bonk your head, but have also discovered hitting, kicking and throwing. Mommy and Daddy are hoping that you are learning patience as much as ours is being tried! However, you bounce back quickly from disappointments and overall, continue to be a laid back, easy going guy.

We went to the park for the first time and you couldn’t have enjoyed it more! You love to slide down the slide (all by yourself with mommy catching you at the bottom) and even try to crawl back up the slide as soon as you’re finished. When we go for our walks, you point to the little playground by our house and say, “mo, mo.” You love being in the stroller and seeing all the sights, but the playground is an even greater thrill.

Each day brings something new and exciting for you. And each day we love you a little more. Of all the things you’ve learned to do these past two months, I think my favorite is the way you reach up and hold my hand. There’s no place I’d rather be than walking alongside you as you journey through life.

Love You Buddy!