18 months old

It's officially toddler time around here! William is a year and a half old (yesterday - I hate being late on the milestone entries).

We've got his 18-month checkup tomorrow. I have a feeling that he's had a growth spurt in terms of height recently and am anxious to hear his stats.

He's learning new words left and right, which are very sweet and very much his own interpretation. My parents are coming to spend the weekend with him this weekend while Esch and I are out of town for a wedding, and I wonder if they'll be able to decipher anything that he babbles on about!

He's finally nodding his head "yes" consistently which does not sound like a huge feat but is VERY exciting as we can get actual answers from him, or help to fix a teary situation involving a lost toy (What are you looking for? Your blue truck?) or what CD to turn on (Do you want to listen to "Baby Beluga?") Unfortunately he's also saying "no" at times, too (William, please eat the rest of your quesadilla...) but it's still new enough that it remains cute most of the time!

Apparently someone is ready for Summer! This was taken at roughly 7 a.m. this morning. He did this on his own - begged to go out on the porch (in his PJs - why not?) and immediately climbed into the pool. Several hours later, there was quite a collection of toys out there - from trucks to toy food to "Stuffed Georgia."

Our little gardener, working hard.

This past weekend was Mother's Day - which marked 2 years since we announced that we were expecting William (and 2 years since this blog was made public)... really can't believe that that much time has passed. We're having a wonderful time with our little guy. I dread the day that he will stop being our little baby - for now, he's still very happy to give out kisses, calls for us from his room when he's awake in the morning or after naps - and am trying to soak in all those moments. My favorite time of day is after Daddy has read W his books, and I go in to hold him on his rocking chair and talk to him about our day. He still snuggles into the nook of my arm and sometimes pats my hand while I whisper to him about what we did, and what we're going to do tomorrow. Esch and I often ask each other if he's "real."

William, you are just too good to be true.

And you're halfway through the year to two.