Happy 18 Months, Ian!

Dear Ian,

Happy 18 months!  The past year and a half have been amazing for us!  You are doing sooo many new things now, and we are having so much fun watching you & trying to keep up with you!

You have quite the vocabulary now.  The list of words that you can say include: mama, dada, mommy, daddy, nanny, poppy, nana, ga-ma, mimi, night night, bath, bobbies (bubbles), bees (books), lala (Elmo), baba (bottle), wawa (water), ooey (Zoey), Jesca (Jessica), cookie, eat, car, ball, block, vroom, bye bye, hi, uh oh, Heddie, Edie, JayJay, hot, brrrr, choo choo, moo, tractor, roar, dog, doggy, nee (nose), no no, eye, duck, and boat...those are the words I can remember, at least.  You are a little sponge now and can repeat nearly everything we say!  Uh oh...now we have to be careful! :)

You still love cars and everything that's transportation-related.  When we drive home from Jessica's house (your babysitter), you see the train tracks go over the bridge and say, "Choo choo!"  You point at the train with a huge grin on your face.  You like to also play with your Rock-n-Roll Elmo doll, your Fisher Price Little People Zoo with animals, and anything that's not supposed to be a toy (i.e. remote controls, cell phones, hairbrushes, etc).  We recently got a little play gym with a slide down in the basement, and you love to climb up and go down the slide.  You are also great at going up and down the stairs now!  We still have the gates up, just in case you try to get a little too brave. :)

Your favorite foods now are raisins, graham crackers ("cookies"), cereal, turkey hot dogs, cheese, and the fruit pouches that you can squeeze, and peas and carrots (you call them blocks and balls..haha).  You also like to dip your food in sauce.  Sometimes you eat the food, and sometimes you just lick of the sauce...haha!  You've had your first chocolate milk about 3 weeks ago and LOVED it!  We give you a little as a treat every now and then.  Bananas used to be a hit, but you don't seem to care for them as much now.

Your daily routine has changed because now you don't take your morning nap.  You typically take a nap from around noon until 2:30pm or so.  You are a good sleeper, but still have to have your paci.  You roll all over the bed and throw all of your toys and pillows out before you get comfy.  Around 7:45pm, we start our nighttime routine - bath with "bobbies" (bubble bath), baby massage, milk & reading books, then "night night."  You love to pick out your own books now, but will push them away if you don't like the story, or if mommy doesn't read fast enough!

Daddy has been taking a class at WSU on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Shelby and Mary watch you while he's at class.  You love playing with JJ and Sarah.  The other day when we pulled up to Shelby's house, you yelled, "Jay Jay!!"  It was adorable!!  It continues to amaze me how much you grow and learn everyday.

You are tall and thin.  We haven't had your 18 month doctor's appointment yet, but you have been wearing 18 month pants for at least 2 months now.  You have 16 teeth!  The only teeth left are are your last set of molars.  You've had 4 haircuts thus far, and you usually tolerate them well with the assistance of a sucker. :)

For your actual 18-month birthday, we celebrated by going to the Dallas World Aquarium and the Arboretum.  We were on vacation in Dallas, so you got to spend time with with Nanny, Aunt Heddie, Uncle Chuck, and Eden.

We love you, son!!

Love, Mommy and Daddy