20 months

Baby Doodle turned 20 months old on Saturday (the 1st) while we were in DC. He becomes more of a joy to spend time with the older he gets. His communication skills are unbelievable and the delivery -- his sweet baby voice -- is irresistable. He is especially adorable when he says, "I love you" to Mr. Doodlebug and me without our having said it first. He also says, "bless you" whenever anyone sneezes and "thanks" whenever you hand him something or do something for him. These three phrases are pretty cute, but it's when he says three syllable words and three to four word sentences that make him sound so adorable (delicious, brocolli, elephant, hippopotomus (that one is five)).

He often puts his sentences together long after we've seen something new and exciting. For example, many nights after Thanksgiving I was rocking him in his room right before bed time and he said, "clowns wave bye. guys hit drums, trumpets, hats." At the Thanksgiving parade he was quite taken with the clowns and waved to them as they waved to the crowds. He also loved all the marching bands, especially the drummers and trumpeters. Some of the band members wore funny hats with feathers on top. His memory is great and he articulates his memories so well it's easy to understand what is going on in his mind.

He answers questions, and not just with a yes (which he doesn't ever say) or a no (which he says a lot). Last night he was saying, "more more more." "More what?" I asked him. He replied, "more cheese." I love that it's not a guessing game any more. He tells me what it is that he wants which makes both of our lives more smooth. Yesterday when it was snowing I asked him what he wanted to do when he woke up from his nap. He replied, "go outside snow."

He knows many shapes: circle, oval, triangle (very cute when he says it), square, rectangle (also cute), kite (for diamond), octagon, star, heart. He knows all the colors that come in an eight pack of crayons, plus white and pink.

He's taken to saying "time" after various things. On the way to his swimming class yesterday he said, "pool time." After we eat dinner he says, "bath time." After his bath he says, "story time" and after that he says "toothbrush time." I don't use these phrases, I think Mr. Doodlebug who gives him his baths does say bath time. He has generalized "bath time" for anything we do with any regularity. Remarkably, he says, "nap time" after we eat lunch, and then goes down easily in his crib for a good 2-3 hours. I'm very grateful for his good sleeping habits.

Mr. Doodlebug would be upset if I didn't mention that he throws a ball pretty acurately. He has "a good arm." He's into taking turns. He says, baby Doodle's turn, mommy's turn, daddy's turn etc. . . He tells me when the light has turned green when we're in the car. The other day he blew us away when he started counting the stairs as we walked down them: "one, two, three" then I chimed in when he hesitated on the next step and said, "four, five." Then he joined me in counting the sixth step, then on his own without a sound from me he said, "seven, eight." I had to finish with the ninth stair. He hadn't said any number past three for a few months.

He likes to tickle my belly, ask for hugs and to touch noses. He asks for his friends every day. When we get to spend time with his friends he loves it. He's growing up. I can't believe how mature and big he is already -- I can picture my mother saying, "he'll always be your baby." I love spending time with him. I love to see him smile and laugh and run around with excitement. I also love to look at him sound asleep resting peacefully in his bed. I look forward to getting him out of his crib in the mornings. He's such a good boy.