seventeen months

my dearest cayden,

i have no idea where to begin. this month? this month has been incredible. and trying too. to say that you've found your independence might be a slight understatement, but that's ok. we'll consider some of the fits that you're throwing just a way to test us. and most of the time, if we ignore them, you stop. which is awesome. is this an early sign of your terrible twos? or maybe you'll just have the terrible one-and-a-halves? and year two will be truly divine. we'll just have to wait and see.

your vocabulary has pretty much exploded this month. you love "talking" all the time. usually jibber-jabber still, but the more real words you throw in, the more your daddy and i look at each other in shock. earlier this month everything was, "mine." and you couldn't simply just say it; you whined it. and pointed at everything yelling, "mine." we still have no idea where you learned that word... but after repeatedly telling you to just say "please" instead, you quit that habit pretty quickly. you love trucks at the moment (tuk!). you question when we forget to put your shoes on (chooz?). you can't go anywhere without your bear (which admittedly, sounds more like beer, but we understand what you're saying)...

you run like the wind. and when something trips you up, instead of crying about it, you now pick yourself up and keep on your way. you love climbing right now. whether it be the stairs, a ladder, a slide or up into mine or daddy's car. you get to the top of anything and look back at us with this huge, proud grin on your face.

you're still not much of a fan of having your hair rinsed in the bathtub, and for the life of me, we can't figure out how to make you understand how this could be avoided. but mostly you love bath time. and bubbles? omg, you love bubbles in your bath. (and yes, you still love eating them.)

you dance like a fool. arms are your newest addition; pumping them both up and down. it's hilarious and we laugh out loud every time you start busting a move.

we obviously both think you're brilliant. you still love balls! (ball! ball!) and you can kick a soccer ball like no other one year old i've ever seen. you continually surprise with things you learn on your own. oh, and mickey mouse clubhouse? is officially the ONLY thing you watch on tv. and you love toodles (doodle!).

we can't wait to see what this next month brings. and i'm pretty sure we're going to have a small one-and-a-half year old celebration next month.

i could eat you to pieces, i love you so...
mama