19 Months

My favorites -
I love when I look at you and smile, you always look back and give me the biggest smile and start laughing. You just love me, and I just love you.
I love how you say thank you to everything. You even thanked me for buckling you into your car seat the other day.

You just upgraded to a big boy bed... meaning, we took one side of your crib off and replaced it with a little 3 inch railing. You absolutely love it! It's so cute. The last two nights (since you've had the bed like this) you beg to go to bed and you run into it, climb in and giggle as you curl up to go night night. It's so sweet. The only problem... you fell out of it twice last night. I checked on you at 11pm last night and you were asleep on the floor, so I put you back in bed. Then, at 4am you woke up crying, I ran in there and you were sitting on the floor confused and crying. It was so sad. But, there's this 3 inch ledge that you must be climbing over in your sleep to get out. We don't have any idea how you kept getting out in your sleep. In the morning you were in bed just saying "Owie" until we came in and got you.

You're big on saying "owie" probably because you know we'll coddle you if you're hurt, and you love the hugs and love... which we give you anyway, of course. :)

You're a big kisser. You sometimes get so kissy that you'll hold a kiss for quite awhile. You love hugs, you pat our backs when you're hugging us.

You love music and cartoons. You love to dance, you'll copy any dance moves you see. My favorite is your booty dance, you get down low and shake it. haha.

You're going to be a big brother in 6 months! We're hoping you gain a little more independence by then, you're still very attached to mommy, you just love me and want me to hold you all the time (except, of course, when you want to play).

Your curly hair is growing back out.

You love running and playing with other kids. You're getting very territorial and do not like sharing your toys. You know how to keep a toy away from another kid by dodging their grabs.

When we drop daddy off at school, you burst into tears crying, "Dadda!" It's so sad, you get over it pretty quickly though.

You're still a picky eater. You hate pbj sandwiches. You love chicken nuggets and fries. You love grapes. You love froot loops.

You laugh during prayers. You fold your arms, bow your head, then giggle. You last about 30 seconds and then you're goofing off.

You mimic every sound you hear, from any person, child, baby, or animal. If we taught you an animal sound like, "meow" and you hear a cat then you perfect it and say, "wow" because that's closer to what you heard. You mimic cries, laughs, yells, grunts, coughs, squeals, etc.

When you want a cartoon you say "tee" and point to your teeth. I'm not sure if you think the tv is the same name as teeth? It's pretty cute though.

You're pretty obedient, unless you think it's really funny. You hit, and that's funny to you, so that's probably most of your time outs. But, if I ask you to put a toy away, you're quick to go pick it up and put it away.

You bring me your shoes and beg for your coat if we act like we're about to leave, you do not want to get left behind.

You run away from me all.the.time. Getting shoes on, you run away so I have to chase you (sounds contradictory to the last post, but they are both very true). If we going out to the car, you run down the walk so I have to catch you to get you in. If it's time to get dressed, you run to the opposite side of the apartment and hide... you eventually wander back in if I don't chase you. You're a very good boy... you just like to have fun while being obedient. :)

You're a goof. You make faces at us and at yourself in the mirror.

You like having your teeth brushed. But sometimes say, "owie" the whole time.

You love drinks. You love milk and juice (we water both down because you drink so much). This makes you have tons of full wet diapers throughout the day. The only way I can get you to not drink so much is put water in your bottle, then you only take a drink if you're thirsty, not for a treat.

Aunt Mette's family came here last week and you kept wanting to hold Austin (8 months old).

You love to smile and laugh, you love to be a part of the conversation and insert your thoughts, you love conversations and laugh when I have one with only you.

You say, "ya" all the time. I finally taught it to you after you were so stuck on "no!" even when you wanted something. Now, you understand "ya" is how you tell me that you actually want it.

You bring crackers to me if you want them. You know how to get things or where to look for items you want.

Your favorite toys are the cars you drive everywhere (little ones you hold), and blocks that you can stack or put on your fingers. You still love books and could read them all day.

Your latest obsession is with animal noises. You kept showing the family in front of us at church the lion and growling on Sunday. You're very good at the animals and want me to teach you new animals... but I don't know what a gazelle says or dung beetle... so you just get confused when those magnets come up in your animal book. Sometimes we hear you in the middle of the night or in the morning in bed making monkey noises. Your blanket has monkeys on it, so it's the first thing you see. Auntie Maren made you that blanket.

We love you to pieces our dear Dylan. You are the light of our lives and bring so much joy into our family. You make us happier than we ever imagined. We can only hope to do the same for you. We love you forever and a day. Mwah.

Can You Whisper?

Yesterday.

We were reading a book where Mr. Brown can make all kinds of sounds. One page is about how he can whisper whisper.

So, I'm whispering to you and I ask, "Dylan, can you whisper whisper whisper?"

You immediately fold your arms and bow your head for prayer, then you peek up at me to see if you're doing it right. It was soooo sweet!

I love you.