18 months

I can't believe it. I am repeating myself but where does the time fly off to? How is it that in a year, my bug has gone from this: 

 

to this:

 

What's new since the last update?

• 1 more canine, the bottom one on his right. The one on the left is lagging but should be out soon too.
• "talking" explosion. He is repeating everything we say, which means we have to be extra careful about what we say around him.
• he is fascinated with "ca" (car) and "cuck" (truck). He says "ca" and "cuck" all the time. If somebody drives outside, he says it.
• he loves saying bye-bye and blowing kisses. He stole the hearts of numerous little old ladies at Costco yesterday. Every time we stopped for a sample, he'd say bye bye and blow them a kiss.
• he is also saying thank you and signs please. He signs sorry but means please, that subtle difference of hand open or closed hasn't gotten into him yet :)
• his hair, oh my goodness, his hair! He got a haircut last month, but looking at his photos now, you couldn't tell. I love it though. We think we might wait forever to get his next cut.
• he's so cuddly and giggly. I'll have to try and get a video of him. If you lie down on the floor, he'll throw himself on you, rub his face in your face and giggle wildly. If you are on your belly, he'll climb on your back and ride horsey.
• he's gotten very proprietary about his stuff. We had a few kids over on Cinco de Mayo and he would get upset if they took any of his favorite toys. He may or may not have made somebody cry and cried himself. We need to work on the sharing aspect now.

What's not new?

• he still loves to dance! there was something on the radio yesterday and he started bouncing his cloth diapered butt up and down.
• he still won't sleep with somebody else in bed with him. Which made for interesting times when my in-laws were visiting. We gave them the guestroom/Oli's room and brought him into our bed. He wanted to play fro 11:30 - 2:30 in the middle of the night. Next night, grandparents were moved to our room, Oli went back to his room and we slept on the floor in the study. We all got much better sleep that way for the rest of the week.
• we've found one sweet thing he really likes. Reese's peanut butter cups, as you can see from the videos I posted. Cookies, cake, cupcakes, he doesn't care for at all. Peanut butter cup? I can get hi to give me kisses, say thank you, say please, behave, as long as I am holding one of those bad boys in my hand.
• he's still a good eater *knock on wood*. He discovered ketchup last month too and it might be the most interesting thing to him ever. He'll stick food in it just to lick it off. And he loves himself some burgers :)

Oli, my love, my handsome young man, slow down just a wee bit so your mommy's creaky knees can keep up with you. You charm everyone in your path with your dimpled smile and your beautiful eyes. I just want to hold you tight and never let go. I want to ensure you only have smiles and laughter in your life and none of the ugly this world holds. Someday, you'll walk away on your own, but till then, I hope your dad and I can make you see all the beauty this world and its people hold. I hope we can teach you to be kind, and generous, and empathetic. I know these are all big words for a little boy like you but we need to remind ourselves that you are a sponge, taking in everything we say and do and so, we have to be what we want you to be as you grow up. Thank you for being in our lives and making us be better people. Also, way to be advanced and get your first kiss at the tender age of almost 18 months (May 3rd, 2012). I was hoping for middle school maybe ;-)

You've stolen our hearts and you steal our breaths everyday with something new you do or say. We love you, our little booger, our little monkeyboy, our little Oliver!