Camden - 18 Months

My Camden Boy is 18 months old.  A year and a half.

I keep asking myself how this even happened, but with the craziness that has been the past few months - it really is no surprise that it snuck up on me.  Time sucks.  I am loving this stage of his little life, just like I've loved all the rest before it.  He has moments of starting to test my patience, but he is still a sweet, funny, and wild little tornado child.  So much so, that my mom has started calling him Camnado.

It's been awhile since I laid out the latest happenings of my man cub, so without further ado:

- He doesn't walk.  He runs.  Everywhere.

- Climbs on everything.

- Loves to play with balls and his baby golf clubs. These toys quickly become weapons. 

- Favorite songs are "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys and "Starships" by Nikki Manaj (not even kidding), "Hot Dog" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and of course, the Bubble Guppies theme song.

- Loves to blow kisses and give real ones, too.

- Gives the best little man hugs and if you are lucky, he will pat your back, too.  A few times I've been crouched down/bent over picking up something and he's come up behind me and given me a backside hug and pat.

- LOVES his daddy.

- Does not tolerate wearing shoes and/or socks while in the car and tries to pull his socks off with his teeth.  Usually unsuccessfully.

- Had his last shrimp swim lesson and will start kipper class at the end of the month.

- Is quite the little chatterbox.  We can't understand 90% of the things he says, but he sure tries.

- Says mama, mommy, dada, daddy, ball, baby, dog, gaga (Grammy), papa (Grampa), Ray-Ray (Rachel), ouch, nana (banana), hi, bye-bye, and Xbox.  That last one, I'm not as proud of.

- Thinks any fruit or vegetable is a banana (nana) and refers to it as such.

- Loves his puppies and tries to say "Sonny" but it comes out "Shu-she."

- Signs "more" and "please."

- Has 12 teeth.

- His favorite books are Barnyard Dance, Is Your Mama a Llama, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  The scary thing is that he can pick these three out of a stack when asked. The scarier thing is that I can recite each of these books by heart.

- Recently started jumping.  Or maybe it's hopping?  Seeing a toddler jump/hop is hysterical, by the way.

- Still wants his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And yours, too.  And many, many, many snacks.

- Uses a spoon and fork to feed himself.  We're still working on minimizing the mess that comes with self-spoon feeding.

- Can point to his head, nose, tummy, and toes, and thinks "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a hoot.

- Has started making diaper changes really, really difficult.  Legs are kicking, a pelvis is thrusting, and there is just generally a lot of squirming going on.  If I had four feet I'd be able to pin his shoulders and his legs.

- Can mean mug like nobody's business.  He gets that from his mama.

- Loves crackers.  Any kind of crackers, really - but his favorites seem to be Ritz, Honey Maid Graham, and Annie's Honey Bunnies. Whatever you do, don't try to give him Annie's Cheddar Bunnies.  Apparently those are not so much his favorite and he will let you know that you've eff'd up.

- Double fists when eating crackers.  Always.

- Smiles and laughs at himself when he lets out a burp or toot.

- Loves to "help" vacuum, sweep, dust, carry things, and put things away.

I could go on and on about this little busy guy.  He lights up our life and we are so grateful to get to be his parents.  I see his smile and hear his laugh and everything seems right in the world.

Until next time.

Take Luck,
LP