Time Flies

***1.5 years *** 18 months *** 78 weeks *** 546 days *** 13,104 hours *** 786,240 minutes *** 47,174,400 seconds***

On Monday, this became Baby J's age. He was born on a Monday and fittingly turned 18 months young this past Monday, the 18th. He has become the center of our lives, the joy in our hearts, the thoughts in our minds, the smiles on our faces, and the laughter in our world. Being his Mommy is a dream come true, literally. He is my answer to a desperate tearful cry to God and I cannot help but thank God for him on a daily basis as "Every good and perfect gift is from above...James 1:17".


Baby J,
Here are some things you have been up to these days:
1. You made your 2nd trip to Chicago on your 18 month birthday. This may become an annual family trip.
2. All things that fly, you call "bees". And when it flies away you say, "Bye, bee!"
3. Instead of saying 'MawNana' as Kaleb and Kameron call her, you call her "Nanny". She says you can call her whatever you want. Time will tell if the name 'Nanny' sticks.
4. When it is time for a nap or bedtime, you ask to go to bed. You say "night-night", ask for your "nannie" (which is also you paci), and climb into the chair to be rocked.
5. You love Elmo. We watch him nearly every day.
6. It seems you will love the water. You like to swim and don't mind water in your face. You kick your legs and paddle your arms when Mommy encourages you to swim.
7. You have a farmer's tan: the back of your neck, arms, and legs are tanned. The rest of you, not so much!
8. Your hair gets blonder as the weeks of summer pass, just like your Daddy's when he was little.
9. Complete strangers regularly tell us how cute you are. (duh!)
10. When we mimic you, you laugh hysterically.
11. You repeat words you hear us say. Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds!
12. You are beginning to deliberately test limits. If you're told not to go somewhere you will look at who gave you instruction while taking tiny baby steps toward the place you're not to be going to.
13. You call white dogs "Max" because our neighbor's have a little white dog whose name is Max.
14. After a drink of soda, you shook your head "no" and scrunched up your face. You were not a fan.
15. M&M's are your new favorite treat. When you have them your eyes light up, eyebrows raise, and you say "mmmm" while usually signing "more" then "please".
16. Potty training for you is on Mommy's radar. You recognize when you poot, poo-poo, and sometimes pee-pee.
17. At the zoo, you loved the fish. We took you to Petco and you loved the fish there too. We may look into getting you a Beta.
18. Your new favorite song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". At the end of the song you starting vigorously signing for "more".
Thank you, Baby J, for making our lives so much more enjoyable, laughable, and full of adventure! You're an amazing toddler and are perfect for us! We love you incredibly! Even when you pose for pictures doing this!