18 months

Emerson,

You are 18 months old now and you are so fun.  First, you are adorable.  Sometimes you smile at me with those big brown eyes and my heart stops beating for a second.  But that has always happened, ever since you started smiling.  You also do the cutest things these days.

Here are some of my favorite thing you are doing lately... We have been teaching you to look for cars before we cross the street so anytime we plan to cross the street, you plant your feet in a wide stance firmly into the ground and you lean your whole torso over to one side to look at the street and you say, "car? car?"  repeatedly, until I just make you cross the street with me.  You also use new words ALL the time and are putting multiple words together.  You are at that fun stage where you are a sponge and often use words I didn't even know you knew.  You are also a ball of ENERGY.  You go, go, go.  You love rough housing.   Something funny that you have been doing is that after our dinner time prayer, every single day, when we say "amen" you enthusiastically shout "DO DA!!" with a big grin.  At first Dad and I thought it was funny; now we don't really encourage or discourage it.  Even though you know how to say "amen," you must think "do da" is a much more fitting way to end a prayer.  You are also experimenting more with pretend.  You pretend to put your stuffed animals to bed.  You pretend to eat pretend food.  A whole new way to play :)

When we drop you off at church, you stick your lip out and tears well up in your eyes, but you don't make a sound, as if you are fighting back crying.  You have done the lip thing since day one, too.  And I have always loved it.  I think it's adorable.  However, you are also learning some of your friends' names.  And after church, if I ask you what you did at church, you say "friends."  So I think you are having fun when you are there.

Some things that are not my favorite that you are doing these days are... hitting.  Yes, the past week or two, you have really taken to hitting.  We are having to crack down on discipline these days.  Some days I feel like that's all I do.  You especially like hitting and pestering Brody and you get the biggest belly laugh when you do it.  Obviously, we don't tolerate this and really are trying to teach you how to be nice.  You are also having a more difficult time sharing lately.  You are also getting tall enough and smart enough to get into many more things.  You definitely keep me going all day long!

Oh, you finally got your first haircut the other day!  Nana did it and you look so clean cut and so much like a big boy now!

Before.  Mini baby mullet.

During.

After!

After, front!

Helping Daddy Mow

And sometimes you fall asleep while you are eating lunch.  Apparently this is a hereditary thing as I've heard stories about Daddy falling asleep while eating when he was little.  It's kinda funny and cute.


Overall you are really fun and we are enjoying this stage.  You are a smart, funny boy and we are grateful to have you as our son.  Some days, I think Man, I can't wait to have two kids! Other days, I think How will I survive with two of these?  You are one of the biggest blessings God has ever given us and we thank God for you and pray for you every single day.  Love you. 

Your biggest fan,
Mommy