18 months!

My buddy is 18 months. I hope you're sitting in a comfortable chair, because we have a lot of photos documenting this adorable kid. And you're only seeing a small fraction.

He's trying to give up his nap already, but he's not quite ready. He'll go a few days without one and then just crash.

He talks all of the time, which most people don't realize because he's shy. Most of it's babble, but he has a few words. Of course there's "dog", which really applies to every animal and sometimes cars. He can wave and say "die die", which he does whenever he wants to go outside or explore by himself. He can also say "doll" (ball), "shoe" and "daaaaaaa!" (dad). Plus we taught him to sign "more", though he's transformed it to mean "please". It's really helpful and has cut down on some of his frustration.

He absolutely loves to play catch. And he's good at it too, he can throw pretty far and catch the ball.

He has a really cute way of running. He kind of revs up, like he's going to take off in flight.

He always has something in his hands. Random objects, like the stick and doorknob pictured here. Every time we go outside, he finds a stick right away. Then he usually upgrades for a longer or thicker stick throughout the walk. Other current favorites are pens, markers, crayons, legos, cups, remotes, and screwdrivers.

He is very affectionate. He loves to give hugs and kisses and will do so upon request. One of my favorite things is to have him wrap his arms around my neck. It makes me feel like a mom.

He loves to fly.

 

He has a very charming smile for the camera.

He loves to dance. This consists mostly of twirling and stamping his feet, but he'll dance any time music is on and he likes to perform for Albee, usually while singing.

He always finds hills and will run up and down them repeatedly. He's getting good too, he can hit a pretty high speed before he tumbles over. I tried teaching him to roll down a hill, but he didn't care for that.

He almost always has something specific in mind that he wants to do. He'll take my hand and lead me to a certain toy, or push me down on the floor so he can climb on me, or hand me a book so we can read together. He is very busy.

I just love this kid.

No really, look how cute he is.