There’s this thing where parents post their thoughts about their children in the form of a letter directly to the child. It is indulgent, and it is annoying to everyone who reads it. Fortunately, you can’t read, so it won’t hurt our reputation with you.
Yesterday you turned 18 months old. You are becoming so much fun right now. For the past couple months, your ability to understand new things and your curiosity have grown by leaps and bounds.
Here are some of your words:
Diddy (kitty): You don’t say this one much anymore, but it was your first word back in December of 2011.
Tuw-tuw (turtle): You first said this in reference to a green turtle puzzle piece, and I assumed that you would start calling all puzzle pieces “turtle.” But like your mommy said, you figured out really quickly what a turtle is, and you call them out wherever you see them, on your mommy’s necklace, in a picture, or in live form.
Da (dog): You’ve taken a liking to dogs—when a big dog licks you, you cover your face and freak out for a bit, but then you reveal that you really like it. You point them out whenever they’re on TV.
Boo (“book” without the “k”): You bring us books to read all the time when we’re sitting in the living room, one after another. Your favorites usually have tabs and flaps, but pictures of babies and familiar objects are good, too.
Buh (bird): I was walking you around outside St. Catherine when you started going crazy about a bird that was on the lawn.
Bye-bye: You’re very good at saying goodbye—sometimes you wave and say goodbye to everyone in a restaurant when we’re leaving.
Bee-bee (baby): We were in the doctor’s office when you heard a baby crying in the hallway. You started frantically saying, “Baby, baby!” and needed to go out there to see what was going on.
Buh-buh: This can be either blueberry or belly button, depending on the situation. You love pulling up your shirt and showing your belly button.
Bah-bah (backpack): You say this one when we’re picking you up in the afternoon—you go to your cubby hole and point up at your backpack.
Ba (ball): You enjoy throwing balls, and when you’re in the garage you’re usually asking for all the balls (basketballs, soccer ball, and volleyball) to come down from their holder.
Na-na (banana): This has become mama in recent months for some reason.
A-poo (apple)
Tee (keys, or teeth (when you’re getting your teeth brushed))
Chee (cheese)
Wuh-wa (water): You love swimming in the water, and you’re pretty good during bath time, too.
Bye-puh (diaper): You say lots of D words, but you refuse to start this one with the right sound. I think it’s because you used to have a kid in your class named Viphav (sounds more like bye-pawv), and you would walk around saying his name all the time.
Pee pee: Urination is endlessly fascinating, naturally.
Doo (shoes)
Chi-che (chicken): You started with a wire chicken figure on the fridge, and you know it also refers to the food, though you’re not a big fan of it right now.
Eye: You’re not averse to sticking your fingers in other people’s eyes when you’re telling them about it.
Ah-dee (again): Whenever I’m tossing you around in a way you enjoy, you say, “Again, again!”
Choo-choo: This is your new favorite. You have lots of Thomas the Train stuff, including pajamas and books, where you constantly point out the choo choo. And you have to say “bye choo choo” whenever one is going away.
Mama
Dada
Evwe (Everett): This one is very new, in the last couple days.
You also do animal sounds for cow, pig, horse, dog (panting), cat, duck, sheep, and frog. Your still have a little bit of a waddle to your walk, and when you walk quickly one arm stays pretty still while the other one swings wildly.
Mealtime has gotten to be a little more of a challenge, as you push aside lots of foods that you used to love, like carrots and chicken. You’ve gotten better about not throwing food and cups on the floor, but that behavior does still make an appearance every now and again.
People tell us that you’re a very happy child, and we have to agree. You always smile and laugh when you’re running toward us, and being chased around the house is always fun. You still have your three big go-to faces, Monster Face, Sweetie Face, and Fish Face. You enjoy dancing to music, and you always nod your head to a good beat.
You love the water, whether it’s swimming in a pool or wading in the Gulf of Mexico. You don’t seem to mind bath time too much, either. One of our favorite things to see when the light turns on as you learn something new. You’ve started repeating after us (or giving your best attempt) when we name objects. You are getting pretty good at solving simple puzzles, stacking blocks, and placing shapes into corresponding holes. You also throw pretty well.
We love watching you (usually from the window of the daycare) when you don't know we're watching you--we're trying to figure out what kind of boy you're turning out to be. And we couldn't be happier.
Love,
Mamma and Dada
