Tater 17 months

My little Tater Salad is 17 months. What a big boy!

He still changes so much by the day.

This is such a fun time of year (December) with him really enjoying things like the Christmas lights, the Christmas tree, the icicle house lights. I love Christmas, & I have enjoyed watching Liv the last few years with her presents & doing fun family things, but it is so much fun to watch a little little one enjoy these things. It all seems to amaze him like it's magical. We have done so many fun things this holiday season (mostly thanks to Grammy & Poppy!)

1. Tate will recognize a lot of things & say their names unprompted: "mow" for "meow" like a cat. He will do that when we look at a book or puzzle with a kitty on it. It is SO cool to see him really catch on & understand things I have gone over with him a million times, & see the results! I feel so proud :)

He says "EEee-eee" for monkey. That's probably one of my fave words he says. He says "sissy" a lot! He loves his sissy :)  He says "uh-oh" when he drops something or knocks something over. He will say "socks" or "shoes" when we put them on, "fishy" & point to it when we are in the kitchen & I walk past it to put him in his high chair, "light" & point to the lights, "doggie" in books or at HoneyBun's ornament on the tree. My mom made me a cute ornament when I was in NY that has a picture of Buns in a cute little painted doghouse. I love it & it's so special since I no longer have her   :(

Anyhow, Tate says many more things that I've listed before, these are just the ones where he recognizes the object when he says it. BUT......The most important one of all that I've been waiting SOOOOOO patiently for is MAMA!!!!! We were picking up Liv from cheer & were waiting out in the car for a little bit & I kept saying it & he repeated it like 6 times! Now he will say it & I get so excited & he smiles like he's proud. It melts my heart! He DID say mama before, but honestly now in hindsight, I think he was trying to say "more." It's official now though! :)

2. Tater can do a somersault. Daddy taught him that one. Mom's afraid he'll break his little neck. It is quite cute to watch though.

3. He can go down the stairs now. He more uses one foot to push & just slides down on the other one & his belly. It's pretty cute to watch. Dad taught him that one too. I guess I just don't want him to grow up too fast ;)

4. He still does his little "walk in circles" trick. It is hilarious because he moves his eyes & head towards the way he is turning & smiles. He is the most beautiful little thing I've ever seen.

5. He loves to piggyback ride on Daddy's back.

6. He is quite good at cleaning up. I sing the song & ask him to please put the toys away & he does it! Most of the time. He's just being stubborn when he won't. I KNOW he gets what I'm saying :)

7.Oh yes! 2 things he says that I forgot to mention, & he doesn't actually quite say them, but I know what he's saying are: "Mee-mee" & puts his cute chubby little fingers together for "more please." I think he kinda combined those two words; & we say "There he is!" when we play peek-a-boo (which he LOVES). He can't say it, but he jibber-jabber talks in the same tone we use. It sounds like "Theyeeyay." It is darling.

8. Favorite foods lately: peanut butter sandwiches (this is new), cheese (colby jack now instead of the string cheese), he does well with beans usually for his veggies. Veggies are def not his fave though. He loves his usual grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, & mandarin oranges. He loves the honey vanilla greek yogurt I bought him.  

   

 9. Favorite toys: still loves books. His fave was "Little Blue Truck" but lately he loves this shapes & colors book that my mom gave him. He still like "Goodnight Moon" & "Sleepy Baby" before bed, but not religiously like before. He loves his nail bench Bennett gave him. He loves to take them out & put them all in a bowl or whatever is handy. He loves to sort things in one pile or bowl, then dump them out, the do it all agiain...He loves to play with lids, putting them on & off. This is probably his favorite obsession.

10. He loves to brush his teeth. He doesn't love it when you do it for him, but he mostly just bites on the toothbrush. He will still try to spit like Bobby taught him. It's pretty cute.

11. Fits best in 2T clothes, a size 6 in shoes is most comfortable, & still size 4 diapers.