Eighteen Months

Sweet Luke,

I can't believe you are a year-and-a-half old! Time is going way too quickly. Sometimes, I want to just freeze time so that I can play with my sweet little toddler at 18 months for just one more day. But, I know that it only gets better from here. You are Mommy's buddy-boy.

You are now 27 pounds and 32 inches tall, 50% in both. But, you must be extra smart, because your head is in the 95th percentile. Way to go, Luke!

You love to eat, and we are proud of how well you eat. You love to eat all fresh fruits offered to you, except the "sugariest" one, watermelon. You usually don't like french fries, which have only been offered to you a few times anyway. We are fine with that food diversion, though. :) You also don't like noodles, including mac-n-cheese. Strange kid! Sometimes, I'm so surprised at how much you can eat. You're a bottomless pit!

You now sleep from about 7:30-7:30, which is lovely. We are enjoying our quiet evenings before your little brother gets here. I think you must know that I need extra rest right now during the day, because you nap anywhere from 2 and a half to 3 hours. You play hard, so you need that rest! You are starting to fall asleep on your own now, especially at night. This is a habit we wanted you to start earlier, but we just couldn't resist rocking you to sleep. Now, we usually rock you for awhile, just because you're used to that routine and like your snuggle time with Mommy or Daddy.

You have quite the personality. We have decided that you have an innate ability to know what is supposed to be funny. You laugh anytime we do, and you always try to make us laugh. When you really get tickled, you laugh so hard that you have to catch your breath, which we love. It's contagious. Since we went to California, you have been putting your hand over your mouth when you laugh...you got that from your NawNaw, and it cracks us up. You love having dance parties and will often point at the stereo and start "raising the roof" to get us to turn on the music. I think you're a lot like your Daddy: funny, social, musical, sweet-natured, playful, not afraid to take risks, and a little outdoorsman. You're a little shy with new people at first, but it doesn't take long at all for you to warm up to others. You are also a little flirt, and you will just grin, show off your dimples and look at others (specifically girls) from the corner of your eyes. What a charmer.

You love bubbles. When we are on the way to the Little Gym, you get so excited and say, "Bobbles! Bobbles! Bobbles!" the whole way because you know you'll get to play with bubbles there. Bapa even bought you a bubble machine in California to play with. You were in heaven. You are also fascinated with any type of transportation, especially buses and trains. Lately, you have been noticing every train track we pass, and it gets you so excited. Also, you've been showing an interest in animals, too - particularly lions, tigers and snakes (you know, all the tame ones!). And, of course, you LOVE to read books! One of your favorite games lately is "I'm gonna get you!", and you do your cute wobbly run in anticipation of being "gotten". You also love to sit in our laps and sing songs and rhymes. Lately, you will push anything and everything you can around the house...chairs, trash cans, boxes...anything. We have had to teach you that Macie's water is not a toy to play with; I can't count how many times we've cleaned spilled water on the floor. Also, you will go in our closets and pull out a pair of shoes for you to put on. It's precious to see how tiny you look in our big shoes. One of the highlights of your week is going to the Little Gym. It is so much fun to play with you there and teach you new things. You are already a pretty darn good front-roller! You are such a toddler now, and you get more and more fun by the day.

You are starting to talk more and more. I don't know if I can remember all the words you say, but here are some of our favorites:
"yaya" = water
"Momma"
"Daddy"
"bo-ee" = baby
"bawl" = ball
"mo" = more
"shoos" = shoes
"bus"
"bobbles" = bubbles
"bat" = bath
"momo" = Elmo
"Bapa, Nawnaw" = Grandpa & Grandma Petty
"Papa, Momo" = Grandpa & Grandma Melton
"cuck" = truck, tractor, car, etc.
"snat" = snack
"pock" = park
"CeeCee" = Macie
"ight" = light
"uh oh!"
"mamen" = amen

You are also signing several words, which makes me wish that I knew more words to teach you. You sign: fish, bird, duck, lion, airplane, more, thank you, please, all done, down, eat, I'm sorry, among others. The best one recently has been that you sign "change". You now know when you have a dirty diaper, and you'll let us know. One step closer to potty training! You also notice the moon whenever it's out, and it stresses you out if you see a light that is not on. "Uh oh! Uh oh!". You can point to most of your body parts, and you're starting to learn more and more animal sounds. You still have so much to learn, and it's so much fun to teach you new things.

We can not wait to see you as a big brother. You and mommy got to watch baby Caed for a few hours a couple of weeks ago, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well you did. You loved to help give him his pacifier and bottle, and you were fascinated and confused when Mommy used your changing table to change him. You even shared your wagon with him when we went for a walk and did great. A few times, you got one of your stuffed animals and gave Caed a kiss with it. What a sweetie. You are so gentle and loving, and I already know that you are going to love your baby brother, Jack. Right now, when I ask where the baby is, you either lift up my shirt and find my belly button or point to your own belly. Oh well, you'll get it soon enough. While we can't wait to meet Jack, we are also kind of hoping these next few months will go slowly, because we know that it will be the last time when it's just the three of us.

The last few months, we have started a little bit of discipline with you, which has already worked. We will warn you, then put you in your room if you keep disobeying. If you are touching something you know you shouldn't, you get a light squeeze or swat on your hand, which we HATE to do, even though it seems to not even phase you most of the time. You are quick to sign to me that you are sorry, though, which is incredibly sweet. Even if you're just a little cranky, you'll suddenly stop fussing, sign "I'm sorry", and your mood changes immediately. I pray that you will always be teachable and quick to apologize.

We pray for your daily, sweet boy, and we are excited to see the little boy and young man that God will grow you to be. You are a blessing straight from Him, the Giver of ALL good things, and we are so thankful for you. You are more fun and more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. There are so many people who are crazy about you...you are one blessed little boy.

I love you, Snigglefritz!

Mommy