18 Months

Finner will be 18 months on Thursday. I can't believe how big he's getting. The little baby who I used to be able to hold on my arm between my hand and my elbow is HUGE. He gets stuff, like picking out his night night book and taking laundry to the couch to fold.

No significant talking yet. Please remember that I'm an over-achieving perfectionist so I won't feel secure about Finn talking until he says a complete sentence. He does say "bye bye" and a myriad of other partial words. He uses around 30 signs and some of them he uses together. It's awesome to be walking down the street and have him stop, point up and sign bird, then realize that he's seen some bird way far up on a building and he's telling us about it.

He has a great sense of humor. We call him the Toddler Comedian. He pretends to feed you then jerks the food into HIS mouth. He pretends to be tired and falls down. He is the most dramatic kid I've ever met. Then again, isn't drama a natural part of childhood?

He loves to cook. I mean LOVES to cook. His latest find is a medium sized pumpkin we got for free from a neighbor. He carries it around the house. He puts it in his pan. He "cooks" it in the waffle iron. He insists on watching me make bread. He knows that the stove and oven are HOT. I'm wondering how long until we can get this kid into cooking school and will we be buying him a set of knives for his 16th birthday?

He's getting more and more toddler-esque. He throws his little body onto the ground in the most dramatic way when he doesn't get what he wants. He shakes his head "no". He's particular and rigid. He has strong, strong opinions about what he will and won't do. Since he can't communicate clearly a typical exchange goes like this:

Mommy: Do you want this? (holding up a whisk)

Finn: shakes head no

Mommy: This? (holding up spatula)

Finn: shakes head no

Mommy: This? (holding up tongs)

Finn: starts to shake head no, pauses for a moment and stares at the tongs, then shakes head no

Mommy: I know, this? (holding up plastic whisk)

Finn: shakes head no

Mommy: This? (holding up wooden spoon, the last item in the drawer)

Finn: Ehhhhh! aka YES!

M. and I are working on being as present as we can during his more difficult times. We hold him while he cries and we've been implementing some basic Happiest Toddler on the Block techniques, which seem to work.

Overall, Finn is a smart, sweet, great kid, and our complete and utter joy. We have hard days but they pale in comparison to the good days and how blessed we feel to have this child in our lives. Happy 18 months my baby baby boy honey bunny funny chicken bo finner little buddy. We're so happy to be your mama and mommy.