Is our sweet baby boy
really 18 months old? Oh my goodness. These past six months have absolutely FLOWN by!! I feel like for so long, I was thinking - "just make it to one year... let's just get to one year..." and after we made it, we've been going NON-STOP ever since! I feel like I keep thinking it's going to get easier, and with every passing stage, it gets even harder... but even more
FUN and even more worth it.
As many of you know, I'm not a 'baby' person. I'll be the first to admit it... and the first to say I thought I'd be the LAST person that had this problem. But it's true.... if I'm being honest, I have to admit that I do not miss the 'baby' phase at all. (Maybe it has to do with all that post-partum stuff...) I am all about the new-found interaction and independence that our sweet little Bug has developed.
I am loving that every day brings new fun and alongside that new challenges. It's a lot harder to be consistent in our parenting these days because B. is just so darned cute (I know, we're totally biased), but we're attempting to work on full obedience. I'd like to tell you that we're doing well, but we aren't. Our little man is just like his daddy in that he knows how to melt his momma's heart... thus, manipulating the situation. I am confident, now, that he knows what it means when I tell him to come here so we can put his shoes on. Or when I say sit down, don't climb up the stairs, don't touch that plug, that's Georgia's, don't put that mud in your hair, or no we can't play with that right now. Yet, when he doesn't do it, he acts like he has no clue that I'm even talking to him. That's why we're working on, "look at mommy when I'm talking". He's pretty good about that now, so I feel like we're making SOME progress. I just feel like we're hitting those moments where it's incredibly important to show him what it means to obey... we're just not sure how to best implement that yet. Any suggestions? :)
We're working on our words lately. We have a few words here and there, but I would not consider B a 'talker' at the moment. I know that the day is approaching when we're not going to be able to start the verbal vomit that will come out of his mouth, but right now, I try my hardest to get him to say words. Here's what we have so far (besides momma and dada...)
1. Dah (Dog)
2. Bah-Buuh (Bubbles)
3. Na-na (Nana)
4. Pa-pa (Pappa Ron)
5. Ba-da-da (Big Daddy)
6. Ma-ma (Mimi)
7. Mah-Moooh (Elmo)
8. Uh-Uh (Uh-Oh)
9. Baw (Ball)
I don't even know if those really count for 'words' but he definitely knows what he's saying when he says them, so my doc says that counts....
Okay, bear with me but I'm going to list our new happenings, for record's sake... so scroll down for the pictures if you want to miss our new activities! :)
*Brady has now started asking for 'more' when we're rocking him to sleep and singing. When we get toward the end of the song, he'll push up on us and sign more, give us a kiss and then lay his head back down. SOOO sweet. After two or three times, I realized he totally knew what he was doing so I eventually had to go ahead and lay him down.
*B's hugs have gotten 'real'. He used to just lay his head into you to give you a hug, but now he'll wrap his arms around you and you can feel him grab your arms. Sometimes, I even feel him rubbing my arms as if he's petting me like he does with Georgia. Ahhh..... A-Dorable.
*Darlene came over the other day and said, "where do you keep all your toys, I don't see very many..." and I said, B. really doesn't play with toys. I hadn't really thought about it before, but truthfully, he really wants to be doing what we're doing. He has a toy vaccuum and broom that he plays with - all the time. He likes to put dishes into the dishwasher, 'help' do the laundry, throw the ball for Georgia and take her on walks. He's a big helper, and always wants to be doing what we're doing. Actually, on Friday, when Darlene was over, she was measuring for our window treatments. She had a tape measure that B. desperately wanted. I happened to have a smaller one that I gave him to play with while she was measuring. We weren't paying attention to him for a few seconds and then looked over and he had the tape out of the tape measure up against the wall, as if he was measuring just like us. It was so cute.
*B. loves to eat crushed ice. (Just like his daddy). We give him one of those plastic travel coffee mugs, but a little ice in it and he is content for a long time to just eat his ice and look out the window.
*Brady is a super busy boy. He has started 'running' outside. It's too funny to watch him try to chase Georgia.
*He's finally started to eat Maccaroni and Cheese. I know this isn't any big deal, but it's just one more thing he'll eat and almost everyone has it.
*Now that Brady is allowed in the kitchen, sometimes he likes to pick out what he's going to have for lunch. I'll open the fridge for him and he likes to open the crisper drawer and pick out his fruit and vegetables. Sometimes he even points to which grapes he wants.
*We've started playing with playdough. Really what he does is open the 'jar' and take the dough out, close the jar and then open it and put it back in... he's such a boy! (oh, and georgia likes to eat it - so we have to watch pretty closely!)
*We really like to dress up lately. Whether it's to put on daddy's hats, his belts, my scarves or tie a t-shirt around his neck, Brady loves to get dressed up and then go look in the mirror. He thinks it's really funny.
I know this pic is blurry - but it just shows you B's busy, busy demeanor.
Digging for his ice...
Unloading the car...
Josh with his leftover coupons from Saturday's visit...
