today you are 17 months old! let's just go ahead and say what we say every month...i can't believe how fast the time has gone! seriously, like, what did we even do this past month?? where on earth did the time go?? it boggles my mind.
i feel like you are in a stage of development right now where you learn things super fast and change a ton from week to week. it's so crazy how you just all the sudden pick things up, and we're like, "where did he learn that?!" you keep your dad and me on our toes pretty much all the time, and keep us laughing most of the day. you are so funny and smart, and i just absolutely love watching your personality develop. you are still the sweet, easy-going boy you've been from the beginning, and that is one of my favorite things about you. you are also a total ham, and have this goofy, hilarious side to you that i also adore. i wish i could just freeze time and keep you the way you are forever. :)
here are some things about you as a 17-month-old:
*you howl all the time, day and night. it is the funniest thing in the world. you picked it up from your brothers, who howl when an ambulance goes by or when they get really riled up by another day. as soon as i noticed you doing this, i started saying, "yes, that's what a werewolf says." so now we ask you, "finn, what does a werewolf say?" and you respond with "owwwwwww." SO funny.
*you're starting to talk more and more each day! you say mama, dada, grandma, nana, papa, duke and love bug. haha "love bug" is what i call dad, and one morning you and i were down in the kitchen, and dad was upstairs in our bedroom, so i yelled, "love bug." a few seconds later you yelled it. haha funniest thing ever!
*you wave from side to side instead of front to back and you wave at everyone and everything.
*you LOVE to jump! you figured out how to jump on the trampoline about a month ago, and i swear you could jump all day. just in the past week or two you figured out how to jump on solid ground, and you love to do that, too. it's so fun to watch.
*we've been trying to teach you the concept of "gentle," and you are getting better at it every week. about a month ago (maybe longer?) you started whacking us on the face, head, hitting your brothers, etc...i am sure it is just a phase, and i don't think you are intentionally being mean (okay, sometimes i think you are, haha) but with your baby brother on the way we figured we better hurry and teach you how to be soft and gentle. hopefully you'll have this mastered by next month. :)
*every morning, we bring you into our bed, where you drink your bottle and snuggle with us. a few weeks ago we decided to turn on "yo gabba gabba" after you were finished with your bottle, and surprisingly you like it! so now, when you are finished with your bottle you immediately reach for the remote controls, hand them to dad and say "uh," which means "please turn on yo gabba gabba." haha you'll watch for a few minutes at a time, sometimes more, and we love it because it means more sleepy time for us. ;)
*when you see us pull out our phones to take a picture of you, you pull the cheesiest face i've ever seen! haha it is so funny, and keeps us rolling on the ground.
*you've started climbing on everything, much to my dismay. tables, chairs, the barstool, our couches. i guess the only thing i don't like you climbing on are the tables. unfortunately, it's hard for you to differentiate what you can and can't climb on so i'm thinking this is going to be a long process of teaching you "no."
*you mimic almost everything we say and do, it cracks us up. for instance, the other day you were jumping on the trampoline with dad, and like a gross boy, dad spit over the edge. well, then you walked over and made a spitting sound over the edge! haha too funny. when we are done eating breakfast in the morning, i'll usually grab a paper towel and clean off the table. well, when i go to get you out of your highchair, you'll wipe off your tray. :) so cute. and i could go on with a million stories just like these. it is amazing what you pick up, and how much you learn. i guess we need to be careful about what we say/do in front of you! ;)
like i said, you are growing and changing and becoming this little human more and more every day. it is so weird to look at pictures of you from even just a few months ago, and see how much you have changed. you still have chubby little cheeks, but they aren't nearly as chubby as they were six months ago. you are no longer bald, your clothes are getting a little too small. you seriously are just turning into this boy, and it half breaks my heart, half makes my heart smile. it is definitely sad to see how fast this all happens, but at the same time i am so happy that you seem to be doing so well, and that you are such a happy little boy. i have been experiencing a wide range of emotions lately, and a lot of them stem from thoughts about what will change in our home when the baby comes. i have to keep reminding myself that giving you a baby brother is probably one of the best things we could ever do for you. i only hope that you'll like each other and form a bond early on that will carry you through all the years of your life. however, there are those negative voices in my head that worry that you won't feel loved or get the attention that you need and deserve. i know my love for you won't change, it will only continue to grow, but i don't know if you know that. i have heard that babies under 20 months don't go through the same "jealousy stage" that those over 20 months experience when a new sibling comes along. still, i am sure there is a learning curve, and i hope we can figure it out in record time. ;)
i love you more than you'll ever know, and i'm so happy you are mine.
love,
mom
