Eighteen Months.

It is true that I said before that I may not do anymore monthly updates but I can't resist.

Eighteen months have come and gone so quickly. We are now the parents of a toddler, a boy in the making instead of a chubby cheeked babe.

Henry is so hard to describe. A bundle of energy. Busy is an understatement. He is full of personality that is rapidly developing. I only love him more as time goes on.

He loves going to ECFE and is one of the busier kids in class. He climbs, he runs, he plays with it all.

He is independent now in the way he enters and leaves the house. He walks out the door holding onto the side and enters the same way.

He climbs onto chairs and furniture.

His word repertoire expands daily and he calls each of us by name now. Mama, Dada, Ta-La, Ma.

He plays with his toy cars on the floor and goes "Vroom, Vroom" and each time I see and hear that, I grin.

He laughs. At himself, at his brother and sister and at Jeff and I. It is a laugh only he can do and it makes you think that it must be the funniest thing ever to get such a loud and strong giggle.

Speaking of his brother and sister, he loves watching the bus arrive to pick them up for school and loves waiting for the bus to come drop them off. Both kids get off the bus smiling at him and he can barely contain his joy. Their joy for each other is the definition of love.

Henry's also started going down the sassy road. With his developing personality comes stubborness and frustration. The more we say no, the more he goes for it.

He sings. Maybe not the right words but the tunes of ABC's, You Are My Sunshine and the Choo-Choo Song.

He dances.

He loves life, as I think most eighteen month olds do. I wish that I could bottle up all the joy and curiousity in him and save it for down the road.

His favorite word is No.

Henry do you want some milk? No.

Henry should we go outside? No.

He doesn't quite know how to say yes yet in words but does it with his eyes and body.

I mentioned before he starts the day by slipping on his Crocs, which it's now getting too cold to wear outside. He loves to go Bye-Bye and sometimes will stand at the gate and say, "Go. Go. Go." over and over. It's a good thing I like to be on the go.

He is beautiful and silly and wonderful and I would not trade one moment of my life with him for anything.

Like I've said before using quotes from Pablo Casals and Anna Quindlen, he is a marvel and he is teaching us all how to live differently.

Happy 18 months sweet boy.