20 Months

My boy is 20 months today.  I think I will stop dealing in months once he turns two.  In fact, I'm already starting to think of him as an "almost two-year old."  He looks like one all of a sudden.  He's starting to talk like one all of a sudden, but he still snuggles into me and puts his head on my shoulder.  He's precious...and trouble.  And you know what?  Not once, but TWICE today I have told James how precious and sweet he is and how much I love him, and BOTH TIMES he has run up to me and had runny poo-poo pouring out of his diaper.  Once it even poured down both legs and onto his feet.  Picture that.  I'm having a fight with diapers lately.

But I digress.  I don't really want to tell you about my fight with diapers, but I do want to record all that James is doing right now.  A written record really is the only way to remember.  James is now the age that Ella was when we moved here, and it is sometimes hard to remember what life was like with her then.  I can remember if I take a moment to think back, but it's hard to find those moments these days.  I did remember yesterday that Ella sang her first full song by herself around this age:  Jesus Loves Me, of course.  That has been the song we rocked both our babies to sleep to every night, and I can remember the nights when Ella started singing with me instead of just lying silently in my arms.  She was a sweet baby girl.  But on to James' accomplishments...

• He's added a bazillion words to his stockpile in the past month.  Now we are able to understand the following:  Dog, Bye, Ma, Da, Ella, Hello, car, ball, balloon, book, cup, all gone, no, nose, eye, mouth, banana, night-night, moon, hush, star, Debbo, T (Tuh) two (Once he even said "Hi-wee.")... Probably more will come to me later, and of course he has his own way of saying some things, but it would take too long to write everything out phonetically.
• He calls me, Ma.  "Ma-aaaa"  to be exact.  He says it like the good Southern boy he is, and I hear this hollered all day long from all corners of the house.  There's a part of me that finds the constant hollering of my name a little bit stress-inducing, and there's also a part of me that finds it the sweetest sound in the world.
• His favorite book for the past couple of months has been Goodnight Moon.  He loves this book so much.  He even reads it by himself.  He loves to say "hush" with the old lady, and our whole family can recite this book cover to cover.  
• He still loves to go outside.  He loves to go out in the morning and wave "bye" to Daddy.  He loves to go out with me when I take out the trash. 
• He's gotten a little bit clingy around new people and in new, enclosed places.  He cries and grabs on to my leg.  
• He says, "Mmm" repeatedly when he's eating something he likes.
• He can play a good game of catch with Ella.
• He still really likes balloons.
• He's a great laugher and a sweet giggler.
• He gives precious, slobbery kisses.
• He loves watching Backyardigans.  He sings along with all the songs in the episodes we have.  He also likes to sing the theme song to The Pink Panther.
• He can also likes to sing Fields of Gold with Celtic Woman.  Yes, he really does.  He chimes in on the "goad" part.
• He loves to dance with his sister.  If I turn on the music he and Ella will go to town for a good 15-20 minutes.  His favorite are songs from The Andy Griffith Show.
• He likes to play Hide and Seek.

If you made it through that list good for you!  If you didn't, that's okay.  I really just wrote it down for me.  I want to remember.