Chasing Thirty Toes ... : James @ 1 1/2

I did a great job during James's first year of keeping up with his monthly development, milestones, pictures, etc. But that's where it ended. I meant to catch up on all of that at 18 months. He's 20 months now, but that's ok. I'll try to catch up on everything my little 1 1/2 year old is up to. I remember writing a little letter to my girls at 18 months and telling them all about themselves and the world around them. Bear with me since this will be the past 6-8 months worth of thoughts, experiences, etc. Here goes ...

My sweet James boy,

You are so SO funny these days. I really cannot imagine having any cuter or funnier little boy. You love life and everything around you. You forms bonds easily, and love all of our relatives. You might have a favorite one day, but then you choose a new favorite and spread the love. And at home, you talk about all our relatives without prompting. You say ee, bobbie, dodo, baboo, sawan, gamommy, gadaddy, etc. (You all know who you are!) As for us, you say mommy and daddy easily (and repeatedly!) and call your siblings "na-lyn", "ba-bell", and "eh-yit." And if anyone comes over, you sometimes lead them around and introduce each one of us like that "dats mommy, dats eh-yit," etc. You are quite the social butterly! And Sadie. Can't forget Sadie. You have discovered your dog, and you love to chase her around yelling "Say-dee" quite clearly.

As for your other words, I had a list going at 18 months old of what you were saying. But that is kind of outdated because now you say just about everything. Such a little repeater. I better watch out. But your first few words were dog (gog), paci, all gone (ga gone), milk (muk), diaper (bi-per), snack (nack), bath (baf), please (peez), thank you (day ku), and bite bite bite anytime he sees you with something he wants!! And my favorites ... love you (wuv u) and bless you (bess u). You also loves to say animal noises and his favorites are moo, meow, ruff ruff, hiss, tweet, and the monkey sound like ooh ooh ee ee with the arm movements.

Speaking of, you are a little monkey. You climb on EVERYTHING. I thought Annabel was bad, but you bring whole new meaning to the idea of child proofing. Unfortunately there is not much way to child proof from your climbing. It is difficult to keep you from climbing on to the chairs and on top of the table or in the girls' bathroom sink. We kind of have to have those things! You were climbing out of the highchair though, so you got a new booster seat at Christmas ... about 5 months younger than the girls were when we graduated them out of their high chairs. Luckily, no climbing out of the crib yet ... knock on wood.

You LOVE to read books! Anytime you spot anyone sitting down (which is rare here), you grab a book and run right over. You have about a dozen of your go to books, but I think your favorite are "Brown Bear" and "Guess how much I love you" with the little bunny rabbits.

Your favorite TV shows are Curious George and Bubble Guppies. You love to say Bubble Guppies, and it is hilarious to watch you try to sing the little theme song. And we tend to watch a lot (too much) TV around here, so I guess it is good that you will sit and watch a couple of shows. Curious George was the first show you would really sit motionless and watch, and I think it is still your #1.

You love to play with your sisters' kitchen set and have started bringing me food and cups to eat and drink. Taking good care of your mommy! You also LOVE blocks, especially shape sorters or blocks you can stack ... and then knock over. And you had a thing for a while with little rubber ducks and loved to carry those around the house with you. You also like playing with sisters' toys, especially their necklaces, shoes, and I've even taken a picture or two of you wearing their dress up clothes. But you love to be just like them, so it is no surprise that you like all their pink stuff! And boy, are you a dumper. You like to dump all the blocks, toys, play food, or whatever onto the floor ... or hold it above your head and dump it onto yourself. Silly boy!

Sometimes you like to take a break from all that reading, playing, dumping, etc. to just stand in the big playroom window and watch the squirrels in the front yard. You will just stare and get so excited when they start running around and around the trees playing chase or jumping from branch to branch. I just love to look at nature and things like that through your eyes. Between that and your love for every dog you see, I think you are going to be a nature and animal lover just like me!

And you do not miss a meal. Sometimes you get up and head straight for the pantry or table and make it pretty clear that you are ready to eat! You are not too picky usually, other than you do not like hamburger meat. But you love fruit. You would eat your own weight in blueberries or strawberries if I would let you. And you love "nanas." The funniest was watching you with corn on the cob recently. You ate it ALL off the cob, wanted another one, ate most of it, and then carried the cob around with you for the next hour or so, nibbling on it. But without a doubt, your favorite thing to eat is TOMATOES! I have never seen a child like tomatoes like you do. You ate them straight out of your aunt's garden all summer. And we have to keep them hidden in the house or your scream "may-toe" until we give you some, and you eat all of the ones on our plates too. Little tomato hog. But the sweetest part of any meal time is when you clasp your little hands to say the blessing with all of us.

Other than when Miss Lindsey gets here in the morning or when mommy and daddy get home, bath time might be your favorite time of day. You love to take baths, bubble baths, and even showers with your sisters, but you also still love taking baths in your own little inflatable tub. You get so excited when I say "bath" and run to the bathroom and try to strip off your own clothes.

You are such a sweet little thing at naptime or bedtime. All you need are your two favorite lovies (which you call "puppy" and "doggy" and LOVE) and your paci, and you are a content little dude. If all my kids slept as well as you, I'd be in heaven. You will wave night night, blow kisses or give hugs to everyone at bedtime without complaint, and we head back to your room to rock for a few minutes in your chair. It is my "James time" in usually a very hectic day, and I treasure it. We sometimes read a few books. But we always turn out the light, rock and sing a few songs. You tell me to sing "kinkle kinkle," and you sing it along with me. You also love Jesus Loves Me, You Are My Sunshine, and your latest request has been Itsy Bitsy Spider so you can do the hand motions along with me. But regardless of the song, you clap and say "yay" when we finish singing. SO sweet. And you are the BEST sleeper ... usually 7:30 til 7:00 or so on the morning without a peep. (I can probably count on my two hands the number of nights since you were 6 months old that you woke up during and needed me during the night.) And at naps, you just lay right down after lunch and usually sleep for 2 1/2-3 hours. Perfect!

Perhaps the sweetest thing is watching you with your little brother. From the first day we brought him home from the hospital, you have been so proud of him. I remember those first days when someone would come to visit and you would grab their hand and pull them over to point and show them your new baby brother. You LOVE him! The way to get you to sit still is to ask if you want to hold him. You will immediately climb on the couch and hold out your arms. And you do not want to let go. Sometimes I have to pry poor Elliot out of your arms. I don't know where it came from, but you say "Hey, goo goo" to him dozens of times a day, it seems like. I joke and say that Elliot's nickname will be "goo goo" because you call him that so much. But it is so sweet to watch you kneel down to his height to talk to him face to face, and to watch him smile back at his big brother. You like to hold his hand, touch his face (we are still working on that one), and bring him his paci (or sometimes offer him yours). I cannot wait to watch the two of your grow up together, even though I'm sure I will do a lot of refereeing along the way.

We have the perfect arrangement right now ... you and little brother stay home on M/W/F with Miss Lindsey (your favorite!!!) and go to Mothers Day Out to see your friends on T/Th. That has been so great for mommy to not have to drag you out every day. And you get to read lots of books, do crafts, and climb all over and snuggle with Miss Lindsey all day long.

I wish I could freeze time with you right now. Even though you can be a little stinker ... like when you won't keep your pants on and insist on taking your off and running around bottomless ... or when you are climbing on top of everything and risking a trip to the ER on a daily basis (which I cannot believe we have made it this far without) ... or when you throw your food or plate on the floor ... you are the most wonderful, charming, sweet little boy a mommy could ask for. You give the BEST hugs and kisses. And your little face with that big ol' smile and those huge round brown eyes can make everything else in the world just disappear. Did I mention the hair?! You have the best little boy hair. You have already had 3 or 4 haircuts ... I lost track. But I love love love to play with your hair. And oh, that laugh. That high pitched little giggle squeal is the most precious sound. It is so contagious, and you make me just want to sit and laugh with you all day long.

I love every minute with you. I hope this year (now that I'm not pregnant), I can spend even more time with you and take you to do more fun things. You have such a curious mind and adventurous spirit, that I can tell experiencing new things with you will be so much fun. And watching your love for everyone and everything just makes a mommy's heart melt. We certainly have a cool thing going with our mommy/son bond. You have my heart, and I'm pretty sure I rank up top with you, too. Thank you, son, for making me laugh at all the right times and always being there to greet with with a huge smile and a big hug. Just like your favorite book says, I love you all the way up to the moon, and back.

Mommy

And here are some of my favorite pics of my adorable James from the last few months.