Simon is 20 Months Old! :)

Dear Simon,

Today you are 20 months old. I feel like I JUST wrote one of these too... seems like your second year is flying by!

This month has been the month of WORDS! The words they are just everywhere. You really say pretty much anything and everything these days and I can't even begin to tell you how helpful that has been for BOTH of us.

Your best and clearest ones have to do with your daily routine. You'll come downstairs in the morning and make a beeline for the refrigerator, where you will request "ohgur peez". (Yogurt, please) On a good day, you'll say, "Dah koo!" (thank you) on your way out to the living room to watch, "Mouse". Then you'll suck down a drinkable yogurt and promptly demand, "More!" or you'll be "a done" and go put it in the "rash". (trash)

You like to play "dunsairs" and get really angry if you can't. "Cars? Bus? Peez? Uhpuh door?" you'll beg at the top of the basement stairs. You LOVE the remote control cars you and Ben got for Christmas and you have also taken quite an interest in our box of wooden trains and train tracks. Between those things, you'll play happily for hours (or until Ben takes something from you).

When your big brother isn't around you wander around calling his name and then reminding yourself he is "a skoo". If he is around, you'll tell us he's "Oh-er dare" (over there) You also say a few other names this month, including, "Pappap", "Marc", "Taylor" and "Burnon" (Brandon)

You ask for your favorite books by name, though it takes a trained ear to understand "Ker Jor' (Curious George), "Boom" (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) and "Behbeh beh" (Baby Bear Baby Bear What Do You See).

Still ever my headstrong little guy, you pretty much go through life knowing exactly what you want and setting out to get it. So help us all and anyone within earshot if you can't have it. Yes, you are still tantrum prone, but it's not as bad as in recent months. You generally quickly recover and can be distracted. You also don't take any nonsense from Ben (or anyone, really) and will sound your shrieking alarm if he DARES commit any injustice toward you. Big brother can't get away with ANYTHING these days. ;)

You can do a lot of things for yourself and are still quite determined that you can do all the things Ben can do. For instance you desperately want to take a cup to the sink and get yourself a drink of water. And you can do this rather well... the problem is you can't resist the urge to then take said cup and pour it into another cup. This makes for a wet floor, a wet toddler and a frustrated mommy.

You're back to being a great eater most days, so I'm guessing you are growing. Actually, I KNOW you are growing, because most of your 18-month pants and overalls don't fit very well anymore and the shirts, while they fit in most places, are too short in the sleeves. You rapidly burned right through Ben's second-year winter wardrobe and I had to get you a few new things!

You are my cleaner upper... rarely can you leave a room without first turning off any lights (or making me turn them off if you can't reach) or toys that are on. You even turn off your noise machine whenever I get you out of your crib. When I wipe up the daily dinner messes off the kitchen floor, you are always right by my side pointing out spots I have missed. "Mess!" you say!
Sometimes you'll even grab a napkin and try to clean things up yourself.

You laugh... a LOT. Your belly laughs often fill the room and get us all laughing too. In fact, making you laugh is still one of Ben's favorite things to do!

And that, Little Dude, is the latest on you. We are visiting "Mouse" this month and I am so excited to see your eyes light up with all that there is to see! I think you are going to be quite a handful, but that you are also going to have a blast!

See you next month. Same Little Dude time, Same Little Dude Place.

Love,
Mommy