Dear Eliot: 18 Months

Dear Eliot,


You are already a year and a half old!  I know I wrote this last month, but this second year is going by even faster than your first.  For a long while, I was thinking that you were just a year and a couple of months old, but now you are just as close to TWO years as one!

I know everyone talks about the joyful pains of watching your children grow older, but it is really hitting me today.  Everything about you is boy boy boy and not too much baby.

Your language is developing very well.  You communicate well what you want and are saying about 30 words (or more).  Here are the words that you say without coaching (I'm not including words that you repeat back to us every now and then).  And I know I'm forgetting some!

Animals:  dog, cat, kitty, bird, duck, bug, fish, bear, gr (tiger).  People:  mama, dada, buh-buh (baby).  Food:  juice, chips, nana (banana), baba (bottle), nom-a-nom (when you want to eat, drink, or have your paci).  Objects:  ball, book, boat, stick, tris (train), tree, keys, gar (guitar) car, phone, rock (sometimes rocks are balls, though).  Directions:  this, that, these, hello (into a phone), uh-uh (no).  Sounds:  "oo-ah-ah" for monkey, hiss for a snake, "vroom" for cars, "choo choo" for trains, "bah-ooo" for elephants, "moo" for cows, siren sounds for police cars, "roar" for lions, tigers, bears, and dinosaurs.

You're eating pretty OK!  You aren't what I would call "picky," but more like "moody," which I guess we all feel like certain foods at different times.  Sometimes you won't eat Cheerios, but you will eat plain beans by the handful.  And you will always eat raspberries--in fact, we picked some up at the grocery store and before we could get them in the cart, you had thrown your paci out, all prepped to chow down.  Every morning for breakfast, you have a whole bowl of apple oatmeal and a green smoothie that your dad makes you.  For lunch and dinner, you generally have what we're eating.  It is easy getting fruits in you (you love tart!), and veggies are more difficult.  If we put them in whole grains, though, you eat them all up.  You love whole grains, especially brown rice, barley, couscous, and quinoa!  You have 16 teeth--four in the front on top and bottom as well as one set of molars.  Your canines are a little late and then there will be your two-year molars, but you always seem to get your teeth a little late.  Know what?  You are (for the most part) a baby vegetarian.  We don't eat much meat (maybe once a week) and when we offer it to you, you generally don't want it.  I think that is pretty hip of you, Eliot.  Way to make ethical decisions about your food and health!

Eating grapes off the vine in the backyard with Dada.

Yes, that is vegetarian spaghetti

It is really funny how much you like "boy" things.  From basketball to trucks to digging in the dirt, you love to play like a boy.  Whenever the trash truck comes, you crawl up on the couch real fast so you can see it.  There are so many times that we are in the car and you see a train before I do.  You excitedly point out the window and shout, "Tris!  Tris!"  It sounds little like "this," so I get confused for a second and then I realize what you are telling me.  You even remember where train tracks are around town and look for them when we drive by.  You're doing great with your toy trains too; you can put the tracks together all by yourself, which I think is pretty amazing. 

You love to create.  In addition to making train tracks, you build with blocks.  You get so angry if a pen is around and I don't let you have it.  You love to draw and color.  Sometimes when you draw something, you jump up and shout for us to look at what you made.  Even if they're just lines and squiggles right now, I think your drawings are awesome.

You understand so much more than I realize.  The other day, you brought me the TV remote, pointed to the TV, and said "cars" over and over.  We had just watched the movie Cars the night before, so I was pretty sure you wanted to watch the movie.  I put it on for you and we snuggled up to watch it together.  Then when I was baking bread in the kitchen, you kept trying to plug the bread machine in the outlet for me.  You understand how so many things work!  You unlock our cell phones to play games.  You're always turning my computer off.  And I can't tell you how much we fight over the DVD player....  You have learned that if you press eject, then the TV switches over to the DVD player.  You think this is hilarious.  Quite often, there is a movie in there for you (today it was Cars again) and you end up playing it for yourself.

I love sitting back and watching you.  You play so well by yourself and love to explore the backyard, and I love to watch you wander and then chase the dogs with a stick as they run around and wrestle.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about your age is watching your budding social skills.  When we meet new people (or even come around familiar people), you are shy at first.  Within ten minutes, you get comfortable and socialize great.  When we go to play groups, you always seem to find the hostess's dishwasher--we don't have one.  You love following older kids around and chasing younger babies.  When you see a newborn or infant, you often take them toys and try to place them in their hands.  And when a big kid is around, you want to do everything they are.  You love your cousins, but seem to especially look up to your cousin Matthew.  During a recent visit, Matthew went off to the bathroom to wash his hands.  On the way, he was singing some little song he made up.  I joked that it was a matter of time before you copied him.  Sure enough, you went running down the hall, trying to sing the same song.  You will probably always be Matthew's biggest fan.

Eliot, your napping schedule was all to bits!  It took some arguing, but you and I have got you down to one nap a day (opposed to two) in a way that makes us all happy.

This past month, we traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a little vacation and to visit your great grandpa Myers.  We really enjoyed splashing in the pools, floating in the lazy rivers, digging in the sand, and tap dancing in the ocean's waves.  You were really scared of the waves at first and it took a lot of convincing just to get you to play in the water as it came up on shore.  Eventually, though, we had you laughing and sticking your tongue out as waves crashed on you.  I'm so proud of how far you come so quickly!  We also took you on a large ferris wheel called SkyWheel.  It was super high up and kind of scary!  You weren't afraid at all.  You casually looked out the window and then wanted to climb all around in our cart.

Eliot, everything with you is new, fun, exciting, and eventful.  You make our lives more full every minute.  I might not be a globetrodder.  My life might appear simple, but it is our life.  To me, an up-close view of your laughing face is more beautiful and awakening than all of the mountaintops I have ever climbed.