18 Months Old!

It's hardly believable, is it? It wasn't all that long ago that we were here...

And it seems like only yesterday that we were doing this...

But now, our "little" Luke is 18 months old! He is officially beyond the baby stage and is now [please wait while I gulp and hold back tears] becoming a little boy. Before I know it he'll be as big as the Cub Scouts that just came to our door asking for donations to the food pantry.

*Sniffle* Let's just talk about today, shall we? : )

Based on highly unofficial household measurements (tape-measure with a wiggly boy and the ever-so-scientific "weight while I hold Luke minus weight when I'm not holding him" method), Luke is 34-1/4" long (90-95th percentile) and 28 pounds (75th percentile). As you can tell, he is a good eater - a picky eater, but he what he does like, he eats heartily. He LOVES fruit - grapes in particular - and alternates between hefty portions of hot dog, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and Michaelina's salisbury steak. He likes Cheetos, too. Please don't report me to CPS. ;)

Anyway, here are some snapshots from today. After waking up (which I videoed and tried to upload here, but I'm not having great success), we got in the car to go to Honey and Grand's. I love the look on his face here. "Really, Mom? Do you need a picture of me in my carseat?"

Kicking it with his toys at H&G's.

Enjoying the best part of dinner: apples and grapes!

Hanging with Elmo before his bath...

Bathtime playtime doing what he does best: chew. (I have several partially-eaten board books to support this assertion.)

Demonstrating awesome sorting skills as he places his toys out of the tub, one by one...

Enjoying running water. He looooooves it. Not sure why, but, hey, we do what we can!

Finally, in our jammies. "Bedtime already? Awwww man!"

I know that I'm probably documenting this excessively, or some might say that. I know I definitely rolled my eyes when I got huge online photo albums from my friends with kids before I had one of my own. What I didn't understand then I'm fully aware of now: in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and all if its stresses, it's days like today that stop me in my tracks and overwhelm me with gratitude. Thank God for this sweet (albeit mischievous and fearless), perfect, precious little boy!

Happy 18 months, Luke! Your Mom, Dad, and family could not love you more!