18 months..

a year and a half!

a year and a half, sweet boy! how can this be true? i am a teary, overwhelmingly grateful mom today (and everyday).

i feel like the big 1.5 deserves a special post.. so there will be a ton of pictures.. well, even more than usual :-)

you are growing into such a little boy. you are so smart and so sweet. you are much more toddler than baby these days.

stats:

weight: 25 pounds

height: tall! we will know after march 14th.. the 18 month check up

you wear size 18-24 month clothes mostly, but sill fit into some 12-18 month things. you are still long and lean!

still in size 4 diapers

some fun things about you at 18 months!

you are starting to try to jump and march.. mickey mouse and jake inspire you

you love music. love. you will come to me and start to dance and point to me.. this means "sing mom!" it is so sweet

you are very good at answering yes and no. one of the funniest things is if we ask you if you have done something you know you shouldn't have, you lie and say no :-) you also lie to us about having dirty diapers.. you hate having to stop and get your pants changed!

you very freely give kisses and hugs. you have become so affectionate. you hug your friends and your music teacher often.

you are proficient at skype. if we even say the word, you bring us the computer.

you get really close to our face and say "eye" and poke us right in the eye

you now know where your eyes, ears, mouth, feet, head, and tummy are... and clap for yourself as you point them out

you "read" your books to yourself.. with a lot of emotion, might i add. you are getting to know words to the books and say "down" when we read "room on the broom" (you will have to know the book for this to make sense.. but i don't want to forget it!) your favorite books of the moment are "dinosaurs love underpants", "why i love my daddy", and "gruffalo".

you have added the owl and duck to your animal noise expertise.. and one for a hippo. i didn't know hippoes made noise, but i guess they do. every time you see this hippo in one of your books, you make the same noise. it sort of sounds like the "tweet tweet" noise. also, cats don't meow in your book.. they "woof woof".. i am ok with this. i don't love cats.

you love to climb up in your rocking chair and rock yourself.

you love slides.. not so much swings anymore.

you love to push your own stroller.. and grocery cart.

you finally like milk. :-) but it has to be with a straw and most of the time with ice.

you remain obsessed with vanilla ice cream.

you are still a very picky eater.. but actually are enjoying eating. we will take it :-)

the crust is your favorite part of bread.. you are the coolest kid

you are the strong, silent type.. with only about 5 words (mama, dada, eye, up, down). you communicate to us very well using your hands and understand most everything we ask you to do. 

you love watching cartoons.. disney junior is a must around here. your favorite is still jake and the neverland pirates, but you are also into chuggington and little einsteins quite a bit.

you love your blankie. sometimes you wear it like a cape and become "superRobert"

you have mastered walking backwards.

you have 3 dogs. patch, clifford, and pluto. they all get the most kisses from you than anyone else in the house.

you are so smart. i know everyone says this about their babies, but you are really such a genius. :-)

you remain obsessed with the escalator.. up and down.. so much fun!



you are still on prevacid. i keep telling your doctor that your wife can wean you off, but i think we will start trying soon to decrease the dose. we would appreciate prayers!

you love to be outside. all the time, anytime. rain is no excuse. you bring me your shoes several times a day and ask to go!

we listen to your "jams" from music class all the time. they are magic. if you are crying and we put them on, you are automatically happy. your favorite songs are "trot old joe" and "two little kitty cats"

you love to take rides in daddy's car

you are all about the on/off function of lights.. you love to switch them yourselves

when daddy is at work, you bring the phone and say "daaaaaaa?" and put your arms out like "can we call him?"





you are a molar machine. they are taking their sweet time and torturing you. the top two are fully in and the two bottom ones are so close! i promise you won't be getting teeth forever, buddy.

you love storytime at barnes&noble. we love meeting our sweet friends there, especially austin. you love the train tables and the little stage they read on.

you freeze. you will be running and i say "freeze!" you stop "frozen" and smile. then we say "ready, set, go!" and you take off running. this comes in handy! thank you little gym.

speaking of, you still love little gym. you can almost do a front roll on your own. you have such sweet friends there.. but i am falling a little out of love. all i can say is germ central. i just want to bleach the whole place.

music class is the highlight of our week. you hug all your friends.. max, avery, gianni.. and you love miss jenny. 

you have been waking up by 7 every morning. ugh. we think it's the molars.. come back 8am!

you love kicking and throwing the ball. it makes you laugh so hard.

you know to hold our hand to cross the street. melts our hearts to hold your sweet hands.

we call you "captain destruction" somedays.. your latest victim.. your lamp!

I came home today from work to find you fully accessorizing.. hat, gloves and slippers.. such a stylish boy!



job prediction at 18 months: a singing engineer :-) or maybe something else..



no, no, no.. no way!

here are some official 18 month photos..



here you are at birth, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months :-)



and finally, your little year and half birthday party! i love a party... and some cake. truth be told, i love half birthdays. i secretly remember mine each year... so of course, i am going to celebrate my children's! it will be our little tradition! your ana made it just in time to help us celebrate!



so here's to a boy who is joyful and clever. happy day. happy year. happy always and forever.
(sandra boynton)

sweet robert charles, you are pure sunshine. as you grow, our love for you exponentially grows with you. we are so honored to be your parents. love you to the moon and back, sweet boy.

and happy valentine's to my sweet hubby :-) we had a great night out celebrating! love you!