Wednesday, March 23, 2011

seventeen months

Dear Joshua,

Happy birthday, baby!  Today you're seventeen months old. 

The number of words in your vocabulary has grown exponentially this month. It's really amazing how many words you'll actually attempt to say now.  You'll try almost anything and most you don't get anywhere near the right way, but we can tell you're trying to say them.  The funniest thing you say is "banana."  We finally got it on video the other night after multiple attempts.  You say it the exact same every time so we know it's your word for banana, but it's just plain hilarious.

video coming soon

We went to the beach this past weekend to watch Aunt Whitney run a half-marathon and Nanna came with us. You pretty much said, "Nanna" non-stop the whole time.



You tummy is still chubby and your clothes are still 24 months but sometimes you can wear a 2T shirt and sometimes your pants are too long so we roll them up.  You like it when Daddy measures your height on the wall behind the door.  Your hair is still lighter than I thought it would be.  It's a light shade of brown and your eyes are dark, dark brown and beautiful.  Your chubby cheeks are irresistable.

I'm not sure how much you weigh; Daddy would be better suited to tell us that.  He's been the last one to take you to the doctor a time or two since I've had to work.  He took you just yesterday since we thought you had another ear infection but it turned out to be just a cold/virus.  You've been really congested and had watery eyes and a low fever.  Not to mention the fact that you're cutting more teeth so it's hard to tell when you're sick or when you're just experiencing normal toddler growing pains.  But we'll know your actual physical growth numbers next month after your well-check.

And while I'm thinking about it, I want to make a note for myself to stop clapping for you so much.  One night this week when I went in your room to give you the next dose of Tylenol I picked you up asleep and I roused you a bit and asked if you would take some medicine.  Once you seemed willing, I gave you the medicine dropper and still with your eyes closed you lifted your head off my shoulder and clapped for yourself enthusiastically and then promptly laid your head right back down.  It gave me a good chuckle in the middle of the night. Apparently, we clap for you a lot.

Josh, I don't really understand why but you are still a finicky eater. Sometimes you eat all fruits and dairy products willingly and other times you pretty much refuse to eat.  I've kind of given up the battle and will just let you eat what you will eat when you will eat it.  Some days you may eat a couple of green beans, half a slice of cheese pizza and a banana.  Other days you'll eat a few goldfish and just drink your milk.  What's a mama to do?

When we're riding in the car and the sun gets in yours eyes you get madder than Mark Zuckerberg when he first got his iPhone.


You fuss and cry and rub at your eyes constantly until we turn or get out or whatever takes the sun away.  You're not really a high maintenance kid. Except for those certain times when you are.

One of your favorite things lately has been taking a bath.  It's helped that your sister decided she wanted to start taking showers at night instead of baths with you.  Now you get the tub all to yourself and you have a blast!  You love taking your spoons in the tub and you love splashing.  You especially love when the water is still running and you get to play under the faucet.  We're going to have great fun chasing you all over the pool this summer!

Each day I see more and more of the little boy in you coming out.  You've begun to love school buses, dump trucks, fire trucks, and any vehicle that's either loud, has a siren, or is just big.  You ask for more when you see an airplane fly overhead and you eagerly go out to wait for the babysitter's kids to get off the bus each day. 

If I get you out of the car in our driveway and then I turn my back to grab other things, usually you are gone in a flash and I find you already digging in the sandbox out back.  You LOVE to be outside and I am grateful that the weather is warming up quickly around here so that we can spend more time together out there.  You ask to ride on my bike plenty and you love following Jules through the neighborhood with the wind blowing your hair.  One of your biggest recent accomplisments was learning how to climb the ladder at our swingset and go through the tunnel and down the slide all by yourself.

Actually, I realized this month what a truly tactile person you are.  You touch and stroke and feel everything.  When I'm holding you, you love to hold on to my bra straps.  You've shown lots of interest in those baby books that let you feel different objects.  You still have your beloved Baba and I think you love the textures on it.  Sometimes out in public I have to keep you from putting your hand down in my shirt because you like to feel my skin.  When we're eating dinner you're either kicking Daddy from your high chair or your rubbing your bare feet on my legs. 



Somtimes Daddy and I call you Mr. Floppy or Floppy McFloperson because you literally flop all around whenever someone is holding you.  You throw your body in different directions and you head butt us all the time.  Sometimes it's like a mini-temper tantrum in our arms/laps but other times you're just doing it to be silly.  It's definitely silly.



Jules remains your favorite person in the whole wide world.  Anything she does you want to do as well.  Somewhere along the way you started calling her sissy although no one prompted it.  I definitely wouldn't because I've always hated that expression, but now you've gotten me saying it all the time in reference to Jules.  Anyway, anything Jules gets, you want as well.  If she has stickers, you want stickers.  If she has m&ms, you want m&ms.  It's hard to make you understand sometimes why you can't always be exactly like sissy.  I know this won't last forever though, so I'm enjoying watching you imiate her while you still do.

Because when your seventeen years old I don't think you'll want to imitate your sister anymore.  We'll see.

I love you, Joshua.  More than you know.

Love,
Mama


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