18 months

Jack had his 18-month appointment yesterday, and all things considered, it went a lot better than his visit last week for the dreaded Hand Foot and Mouth. This time he only cried instead of screaming bloody murder, and he was able to cry and clap at the same time when we would say "Yay" because the doctor was finished with some aspect of the exam.

But holy tall kid batman. He's 34.75 inches tall, which is 95th percentile, and he's 26.5 pounds, which is 50th percentile. So as he has been his entire life, he's tall and skinny like his father.

He can say 35 words now and eats with silverware and hugs stuffed animals and can stack three blocks. He can climb and run and walk backwards and is sleeping through the night like clockwork.

I really can't complain now can I?

He is a joy to be around, well except for when he's biting me. Like tonight, when he was crawling all over me on the couch, bent down and took a chunk out of my back. Right through my shirt. I kid you not, he broke the skin.

But he's awesome. He laughs and makes me laugh all the time. He gives me kisses for no reason. He yells "MUM" when he sees me across the room. He says "Daddy" every 10 seconds throughout the day and loves to play a special game with Josh where he gets thrown around and spun around and dropped on the couch.

He begs to go outside by asking for his shoes "eesh! eesh!" and pointing wildly because he knows when we get the shoes on, it's time to leave. He sobs when we have to leave the park. He makes the sign for eat about every five minutes, and cries forlornly if we deny him a snack. When we give him a cracker for each hand, he smiles and says "ank."

When he goes to bed, he reaches out to me with his index finger pointed, like ET, as I shut the door to his room. He bellows "MOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEEEE" now instead of signing it frantically. He loves to read books and will sit quietly in the book corner, emitting a high-pitched "meeeeeee" when he see a cat in a book.

I can't imagine meeting anyone more interesting or who could possibly teach me as many new things as he has in the last 18 months. I see the world through his eyes now and walks are no longer about getting from one place to another; they are about trucks and ants and birds and trees and shadows on the sidewalk. Mornings aren't about grogginess and snooze buttons; they are about listening to him chatter in his crib and call out "Mom? Daddy? Dee dee dit dee mmmmmmmmm hi." Days aren't about work and stress; they are about teaching and playing and rolling on the floor.

Things are certainly going to change in a few months, but for now, I am enjoying it being Mommy and Daddy and Jack. I really love this kid.