18 months

Our E-man.

There he is.

A little blurry from being in near constant motion with food bits around that sweet smile.

Very shortly he will be 18 months old.

Wow.

Right now his favorite activities are climbing, exploring and running around after his big bro'. The climbing and exploring have given his daddy and me some hair raising moments while the sounds of good-natured shouting and laughter as he and the Bubs play keep smiles on our faces.

Yo Gabba Gabba and any music with a beat keep him shimmying and shakin'. It's so stinkin' cute!

He jabbers away in a language that only he can completely understand but we all "uh-huh" and "oh, tell me about it" as if we're all having a conversation with him. He loves that.

His favorite item, by far, is his "binky". His binky is a blue, cable-knit baby blanket that I bought extremely reduced at a local Ross store before he was born. It's very soft and we have to sneak it away from him to throw it in the wash.

His newest skill is, by far, our favorite. He's learned to give hugs.

Oh, how those hugs smooth out the rough edges of our days!

Time flies and boys grow...

So sorry for my bloggy absence...it's been an interesting time at my house, lately. The Hubs is still recovering from his shoulder surgery. He has okay days....and then he has pretty rough days. Today was one of them. He's resting now and I'm prayerful that his season of painful days will be coming to an end soon.

When my Dad reminded the Bubs earlier that tomorrow would be his last vacation day before the school year started, he was both excited and shocked. I think it snuck up on him....I know the feeling!

E-man gets taller everyday. He's able to get his hands on things that I'd previously thought were out of his reach. We all have to take extra care not to leave our drinks around or any of the t.v. remotes as he has a distinct fondness for snatching both!

My how time flies...and how little boys grow!

The Frustration Phase

There he is. Our little E-man. His latest faves are lids, straws and containers (hence the straw and lid fascination pictured above). I never thought my plastic storage containers would be such a source of entertainment! He's running now, almost able to turn door knobs and likes Yo Gabba Gabba. His newest phase, as far as development goes, centers around frustration.

Yep. Frustration.

He tries so hard to communicate with us. Pointing, clapping and even dancing are all in his tiny bag of tricks when it comes to his efforts to tell us what he wants or needs. Sometimes though, these just don't work. He knows what he wants to say but he can't say it because he's a little over a year old and his vocabulary isn't keeping pace with his desire to speak.

So what's a little guy to do when he has somethin' to say and he can't say it? He screams.

Lately, we've heard screams, squeels, groans and moans emanate from his tiny mouth...and for two confused and worn out parents, it feels like he does it almost all day long!

I'm not worried, though. The Bubs went through this same stage and then one day, to our delight, he was able to express himself with more than groans of pure frustration. Hallelujah!

So I know that E-man will get there...in his own time.