New Mercies Every Morning: 18 months

B -

Here we go again - time for another update. Why are you growing up so fast? Huh? You just need to stop and slow down for a second, okay? Please, for your mommy?

You hit the 18 month mark last Sunday. We were visiting family in Pittsburgh and I didn't have the time to write out anything beforehand so here I am, over a week later, telling you about where you are at 18 months old!

I don't really even know where to begin! This has been a crazy, full 3 months! And you've changed so, so much! You are definitely a toddler now - no longer a baby. We've called you "baby" as a pet name since you were born and are now have to train ourselves to refer to you as "little boy" since you are no longer a baby and really won't be the baby anymore once January comes and your little brother arrives.

You don't stop. Period. You are constantly on the go and busy, busy, busy. You "work" so hard at anything you do. I don't think you even walk anywhere anymore - you have this little run/waddle/walk that gets you from place to place. Our house is filled with the pitter-patter of your fat feet. And I mean fat. I had to get you larger sandals to make it through the rest of the warmer temps because you'd already outgrown the ones you had!

You are saying a TON of words. I feel like you learn a new word almost daily. I think you can say and know well over 30 words. Some of them are incredibly random that I can't believe you know how to say a certain thing! Many of your words, though, need some interpretation. Your daddy and I know what you are saying, but to the untrained ear - it might be a bit confusing. Like, you can say "bubble", "Bible", "puzzle", and "pretzel", but when you say them, they all sound alike. Context, my son, it's all about context.

We've been having you sit in church with us (you usually last until the sermon) and you've caught on to the concept of praying. You ask to pray all the time. It's the most precious thing I've ever seen. You ask to pray at meals. You want to pray at bedtime. And in church, you'll hear the pastor talk about praying, turn to one of us, and say, "Pray??", while folding your little chubby hands and giving this odd but reverent face. Precious.

You aren't interested at all in animal sounds - you used to make a sound for an owl, snake and lion. But, I think your speech is developing so rapidly right now that animal sounds aren't on your radar. You are starting to do motions to songs more - you even will try to sing along to "Row, row, row your boat".

Coloring is a new favorite activity. You go nuts when you see crayons and start shouting, "Gai-go, gai-go, gai-go", which is how you say "color". You've even associated it with sidewalk chalk and other writing utensils. You are still into books, to some extent. However, you are so busy, that usually you end up climbing off my lap and playing with another toy and I'm left reading the book aloud to no one. That's ok though. At least you like to read occasionally.

I've started having more of a routine since Daddy has gone back to school. We are working on Psalm 100 (with motions of course) at breakfast, and while you eat your lunch, I'm reading "Winnie-the-Pooh" aloud to you. I'm aware that you aren't really understanding what I'm doing, but I wanted to seize the opportunity of having an only child and start your "schooling" process.

Having you understand more of what we are say is a blessing and a curse at times. You can get frustrated at times when you are trying to communicate to us and we fail to understand what you mean and vice versa. With that comes some unwanted behavior and that has led us to start incorporating a time-out chair. We tried your crib, but in your state of crazed state of mind, you figured out how to climb out of your crib (or more like fall out) so we had to resort to the stand-by of a chair in the corner. It's working so far. We've even had success in telling you to change your behavior or a time-out chair is the next step. Oh, my son, how your dad and I pray so hard for wisdom and patience as we venture into this new territory of disciplining!

It was a long summer as Dallas experienced record-breaking heat with 41 consecutive days of 100 degrees or more and with a total of 70+ days of 100 degree weather. It's been miserable to say the least. For a little boy who used to love the outdoors, you quickly learned that going outside was "hot". We would even ask you if you wanted to go out, and you'd get this very serious look on your face and say, "Hot." Amen, son. The heat made it difficult to let loose some extra energy that little boys have and with a pregnant mom (and a dad who either was in class or worked most of the summer), we seemed at our wits end at times being cooped up in the house. We were able to spend a week in Indianapolis in July and we just returned from a 10 day trip to Pittsburgh (where we saw rain for the first time in 4 months!).

Oh, my sweet, sweet boy. How I love you and can't believe that you are actually mine. People say your eyes and nose look like me - that thrills my soul! Even though there are moments when your toddler'ness gets the best of me, I love you with everything that's within me!

Yeah for being 18 months old!!

Reading Big Red Barn with me - with your ankles crossed, of course!