18 months

My sweet, sweet boy is 18 months old. 18 months! When did that happen?

When I was messaging a photographer about doing his 18 month shoot, she asked the simple question, "Well, what's he in to right now?"

Well let's see. His favorite activities include biting the tips off of any and all markers, eating and spilling his snack at an astonishing rate, running around like a monkey on crack, climbing furniture, turning on the taps in the bathroom, grabbing pots and pans and creating "music", screaming for no apparent reason, attempting to carry things that are far too heavy and getting frustrated when that doesn't work, and pinching my inner thighs.

Things I want to remember about you, dear sweet boy, at 18 months. Judging how fast the past few months have flown by, soon I'll be writing a post about your second birthday, third birthday, and seventh.

1. You love your soother. You'd gladly use it all day long, except you have a mean mom who takes it away all the time.

2. You still take a morning nap at daycare and an afternoon nap, yet still go to bed at 7 p.m. Keep it up, buddy!

3. When going to sleep, we have a pretty good routine. Bath and toothbrush chewing, a cup of warm milk and cuddles in the rocking chair.

4. You insist that we sing the ABCs at least three times when we are snuggling in the rocking chair. We have the alphabet on the wall in your room, and you point to the wall and move your hand back from side to side. If I try to sing a different song, you'll sign even faster and add the sign for please. It's always the ABCs, nothing else is ever allowed. Even today, I was changing your diaper in the living room and you started pointing and moving your arm side to side when I was singing "Jesus Loves Me" even though there was no alphabet to be seen.

5. At 18 months, you really don't say much. You can say "mama" but you really don't. You can say yuck" but it comes out "guck". You say this weird sounding "yah" for yes, but most of the time, you sign. Please, thank you, yes, up, bubye, more, blows kisses are all signs you use often. You also touch pointer finger tips with someone when you want to say "I love you."

6. You love your daddy. Sure, you love mommy too, but daddy is definitely your favourite!

7. You are a good eater. Your favourite foods include rice krispies, grilled cheese sandwiches and meat - steak and roast and pretty much anything. You love to feed Sophie by throwing handfuls of your food off your tray.

8. You are freakishly good at feeding yourself. You insist on using spoons and forks. I can't remember the last time we've ever spoon fed you anything. It's been months and months!

9. You've developed a habit of playing with your hair. I think it started as self-soothing when you were falling asleep, but now you do it throughout the day too. You will play with the back but you prefer to play with the hair on your crown. You only like you do this though, if I try, you get mad and push my hand away.

10. You LOVE to bug your brother. Pair this with the fact that you are kind of a bully and it is hilarious to watch. Gavin will be playing so nicely with his toys and you will run up and grab one of his toys and as fast as you can, run to the baby gate and throw his toy down the stairs. I can't wait to see what kind of fun you two will have together!

11. As much as you bug them, you love your siblings. You love giving hugs and kisses and will sit and cuddle Chelsea (Gavin usually doesn't let you close enough ;) If one of them is crying, chances are you will start too. Chelsea feels really connected to you and if you are crying, 90% of the time, she'll start crying too just because she can't handle when you are sad.

12. You are so busy. I wish that was an exaggeration, but you really don't sit still long. I yearn for the day when you will actually sit and watch a 20 minute cartoon so that I can have some peace! You are always on the go, usually making a mess. You like to randomly open drawers and cupboards and empty the contents out on the floor, then walk away. I'm thinking this is fun for you, but not so much for mama.

13. You have 11 teeth, with the 12th just cutting through. You got 7 teeth in the month of December. It was rough... rough, but we survived!

14. You are fascinated with the goings on in the kitchen. You love watching me cook and are usually found with your face pressed against the oven, watching whatever bake. You make cooking pretty difficult, as I have to hold you on my hip and do most things one-handed, but it's so neat to see you handing me the right utensils and the oven mitts when needed.

15. You like being outside, which is a relief. Gavin despises being outside, so I'm glad that you are following in Chelsea's footprints. The other day, you even grabbed a shovel and helped me shovel the driveway. It was terribly cute.

16. Bath time isn't your favourite, when you are by yourself. Throw a sibling or two in the water and you are in heaven. Not that you really play with them, but you enjoy tipping their toys into the water and listening to them scream. You also think it's funny to crawl all over them and it's nice to have a few extra hands to catch you when you fall.

17. I have a feeling you are going to be like me with your intense dislike for socks. Chelsea and I both hate wearing socks, while Chris and Gavin could wear them 24/7. If we don't have your Robeez booties on, you are always trying to pull off your socks and getting frustrated when they stay on. I hear you buddy and in the summer, you can go barefoot all you want!

18. You are already fascinated with the potty and know that "yuck" goes in the potty. You will grab at your diaper and say, "yuck, yuck" and go into the bathroom and take out your potty seat so I have some high hopes that soon you'll be on your way to being potty trained. It helps that you have older siblings who allow you to sit on a stool in the bathroom while they do their business. You are a fast learner and always want to be doing what the big kids do!

 Eli Robert, I love you so much. Thanks for being you, dude. You are such a perfect fit into our family.