18 Months

Dearest Perron,

Where has the time gone?  How could 18 months of our life fly past so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday you were a tiny newborn in my arms and now you are a vibrant, rambunctious toddler running through  my house.  I have meant to capture you at every month like i did for your first year, but life has gotten in the way.  Working and raising a baby and trying to still be a decent wife, friend and human being takes a lot of time!  So I am going to take this half way mark to your second year as an opportunity to  reflect on where all you have been these past six months.

You started walking right around fourteen months and by fifteen months you were completely mobile and ON THE GO.  You have yet to slow down.  You took your first real steps on the night of the Alabama vs Duke football game.  Isn't that the way it should be in the south...major milestones marked by college football events.  :)  We were over at our good friends the Taylor's house and Ethan must have inspired you because you just started to take steps.  We were so proud of you and surprised that you got on the move at such a young age.

You can now climb proficiently pretty much anywhere you want to go.  You have a Little Tykes slide and you love to climb up the ladder, stand on the top and raise your hands in the air.  Quite the little daredevil.  You can also climb up and down the step to your playroom and to our room very easily.  You still need to hold on with one hand, but you can easily maneuver up and down.

Speaking of your playroom, you loving being in there and playing with all your toys.  You are such a good independent player.  You can entertain yourself for quite a while looking at books and playing with your toys.  You developed a fascination with all things Elmo about three months ago.  You LOVE him, which we find ironic since you have never watched even a second of Sesame Street.  The love affair all began with your Elmo bathtub spout cover and just grew from there.  You love Elmo books, pictures, toys, basically anything Elmo.  Santa brought you a Hokey Pokey Elmo and Grammy and Grampy got you an Elmo camera for Christmas and they are two of your favorite toys.  Daddy and I have all of the songs and sayings memorized.

Speaking of Christmas, we had a great holiday.  You loved Christmas even though you did not truly understand the concept.  What you did understand was that you were getting tons of presents and attention and you TOTALLY loved that.  We got to stay in Birmingham and spend christmas with mommy's side of the family.  It was really nice, especially since Aunt Diana and Uncle Trae got to come up to celebrate with us.  You got showered with gifts.  You got a bit riding pony and a wagon from santa.  You love bouncing on your pony.  You will squeal and bounce up and down and then stop and pet its mane and give it a hug.  You are such a sweet boy!

You can imitate several phrases now.  When we tell you to ride 'em cowboy or to ride the pony you do this uneven hopping thing like you are riding on a horse.  It is hysterical.  You can pretend to wash your hands when people ask you to.  You rub your belly in a circular motion whenever you like something or someone tells you something is yummy to your tummy.  You also will pretend like you are swimming in the bathtub, but there is a small catch.  Instead of laying in the water and swimming you stand up and paddle the air like you are swimming.  HILARIOUS!  We definitely have gotten some of these little tricks on the camera.

You are not really talking yet, but you are getting some help with that.  You started speech therapy last month and we really like your therapist Ms. Meredith.  We are hopeful that we can get you going soon.  Right now you can say da-da and ga-ga with much proficiency, but that is about it.  I am dying for the day when you will regularly call me mama.  You have started saying it a little bit here and there, so hopefully you will start soon.  The therapist says you should say anywhere from 18-20 words at this point, so we have a little catching up to do.  We know you will get there soon though!

You continue to be quite the busy boy.  You go to classes at the Zoo, Gymboree, Kindermusik, and story time.  Ms. Meaghan takes such good care of you and makes sure that you are happy and entertained during the day.  You are such a sweet boy and whenever we take you anywhere you are constantly waving at people and smiling your cute little smile.  You definitely are a charmer...watch out ladies.

You are still on the small size, but mommy pulled out the first pair of pants you ever wore and let's just say it was eye opening.  You wear size 12 to 18 month clothing.  We have just had to move your shirt size up because you were starting to look like you were wearing crop tops.  The pants are pretty big in the waist, but you need them for the length.  That is because you are in the 40th percentile for height and only the 8th percentile for weight.  Mommy took you to your 18 months appointment and you weighed 22 lbs and 2 ozs and were 32 inches tall.  You went from the 5th percentile in weight to the 8th and from the 20th percentile in height to the 40th percentile.

Your daddy and I are constantly saying we don't know how we produced something as precious and as beautiful as you are.  You truly are the light of our lives.  You have a beautiful, sweet spirit and an absolute joy to raise and be around.  We love you more than life itself!

Love

Mommy and Daddy