Ack! (Alternatively titled: I’m Back!/Christopher is 18 months!)

I cannot believe it’s been two whole weeks since I wrote a blog!

I feel like such a slacker.  :-/ (Although I promise – I’m really not!)

Seems like so much has happened in the last two weeks, yet it’s not really been anything all that big or exciting.  :)

I’ll catch up in several individual posts over the next few days (promise!) but first and foremost, (and even though I should have been in bed an hour ago – I have college tomorrow!) I must write about C-Monster turning 18 months old!

Friday, February 18 was the day!  When he woke up that morning I went into his room singing “Happy Half-Birthday to you,” and he just looked at me like I was crazy.

I meant to take a picture of him in a nice outfit sitting in his crib next to his name (like all of his other “monthly” pictures I took) but I never did get around to it that day. I took these right after he woke up.

  

We spent the day together while Stephen worked. (Although I do think we visited with both grandmothers for a little while.)  It was  a pretty low-key day and I’m pretty sure I made it through with minimal tears.

Christopher Tyler,
I cannot BELIEVE that 18 months have passed since the day that you were born.  It’s FLOWN by, my love! They have been the best 18 months of my entire life.  I cherish every single second I get to spend with you and I am so thankful that God picked ME to be your Mommy!  You are such a precious little boy and I am continually amazed by you.  You are the light of my (and your daddy’s) life! I cannot imagine my world without you in it.

What are some things that you’re doing at 18 months?

-- You just started wearing size 5 diapers.  You wore size 4 diapers for over a year.
-- You can still wear some 12-month clothes, but you mostly wear 18-month stuff.  Although, some 18-month things are too small. And then other 18-month stuff is too big. Ha!
-- You love to drink! You have milk in the mornings (usually two glasses) and water the rest of the day.  Most days you have one glass of apple juice (half water, half juice) which you like a lot. You drink out of straws really well.  You love water and I’m so glad you do!
-- Almost every morning (at least on the mornings that I don’t have college) we share a bowl of Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal and snuggle on the couch. It is my very favorite part of the day!
-- You are great about independent play! (At least at our house! At Granny’s house – ha! Not so much!) You love all of your toys… and you also love all of my pots and pans!  Every single day, at least twice a day, I pick up all of the pots and pans that you’ve dragged out from the cabinets. Your daddy says he’s going to put a lock on the cabinet, but I told him I don’t mind because you love it and it really doesn’t make that big of a mess.  Your room, however… goodness, child – you can make it go from clean to disaster-area in about 4.7 seconds flat. Daddy keeps saying “I can’t wait until he can clean up after himself!!!!  although I’m not quite sure why he says that because he doesn’t clean up after you half as much as I do… haha!
-- You can say several different words but you don’t really talk a lot.  You can make a few different animal noises and you say/nod “yes” and “no” but you just don’t have a lot to say right now.  I have a feeling when you do start talking you may never quit!
-- Even though you don’t talk a lot, you listen and understand everything that we say to you. We can ask you questions or ask you to do something and you understand us and do them!
-- You LOVE bath time.
-- You eat very well and still aren’t picky. Occasionally you may shake your head NO at something we offer you, but usually if I offer it 10 minutes later, you’ll eat it. 
-- You love your puppy dogs.  You are always petting and loving on Baxter because he’s inside all the time. You are almost always VERY sweet and gentle with the dogs and that makes me very happy!  I think you will be an animal person (just like your momma and daddy!) 
-- When you’re loving on someone (human or dog, or sometimes stuffed animal) you squeeze them and kind of make an “uuuuhhhhh” noise like you’re squeezing so hard you can hardly stand it!  It’s adorable and melts my heart!
-- When we tell you to give us a kiss or to give us sugar, you turn your cheek to our lips so that we can kiss you on the cheek.  Occasionally, when you are being playful and super-sweet, you will hug my neck and pat my head or hair then lean forward and give me a kiss on the lips.  Oh.My.Goodness. I could just die from the sweetness!
-- You sleep SO well and you always have.  I am SO SO SO thankful for this! Your bedtime is 7 pm (although over the last week or two it has been between 7 and 8) and you usually sleep until at least 8 am.  On the nights when you have stayed up later, you have slept in later – as late as 9 or 10 (or this morning, 10:30!)  Most days you take one nap, usually between 11 and 1, (it varies depending on what time you got up) and nap for about 2 to 3 hours. On the days when I have college class, you have to get up early –- usually around 7, so I think that you take 2 naps at Granny’s house on those days.
-- At your 18-month appointment you were about 33 inches long (66th percentile) and weighed about 26.5 pounds (57th percentile.)
-- You have 12 (I think) teeth. We brush them every night!
-- You have recently been throwing some serious temper tantrums! Usually it is because you are not getting your way or because I’ve taken something away from you that you aren’t supposed to have. Most of the time when you’re super fussy, it’s because you’re tired and you need a nap.  We can ask you, “are you ready to go lay down/take a nap?” and you will nod your head yes. :)

I know that there’s more than I’m forgetting, but hopefully if I remember them I can come back and add them or blog about them separately. I love having a blog to document and record all these important milestones in your life and I hope one day you’ll be able to read them and appreciate them. :) Your momma loves you to the moon and BACK (times infinity!)