20 Months Old!

Dear Marcus,

Three days ago you hit 20 months. TWENTY MONTHS! My mind is still trying to process this little fact. Some days seem to crawl by, but the weeks and months just slip right between my fingers.

You, my dear, are *all* boy. There is no mistaking that. Puddles and dirt be damned. You will find them, you will play in them, and you will undoubtedly come away very dirty and very happy. 

I would be lying if I said this past month was easy. It was not. We (you) battled a cold that lingered for two weeks. Said cold left you cranky, irritable, and often the both of us were at each others wits end by noon every day. That cold also left you sleeping in our bed most nights, and a bad habit quickly formed. We had to revert back to the Ferber method to get you sleeping in your crib again, a transition that was neither fun nor full of sleep. 

Though our month was kind of bumpy, we certainly had copious amounts of fun, laughter, discovery, and excitement. 

We are always on the go, and the only time we stop is when you're sleeping.

Unofficial stats
Height:  36 inches (95th percentile)
Weight:  32 pounds (95th percentile)
Clothing: size 2T - this month we seem to be having some sensory issues with clothes, all of them - getting a diaper changed and clothes on is often a daunting task
Shoes: size 6/7
Diapers: size 5

Other highlights from this month include:
Words
Your vocabulary continues to expand. However, you will say a word one time, and then never repeat it again. I think you do this just to prove to me you can use your words, you just choose not to - which can be very frustrating for the both of us.
Words added to your list include:
Amy, beep, boom, bubble, eye, hat, hey yee oh (here you go), hot, Mickey Mouse, mine, moo, more, oh boy, pants, pee-eh-oo (peek-a-boo), please (you said it once, for the love of manners, please say it again!), pup (ie. puppy), truck, wee, woof
Your favorite words continues to be "no," "uh oh," and "hey yee oh" (that one is my particular favorite).
You love pointing to different objects and having me tell you what the object is. Often, it sounds as if you're pointing and saying, "And this?"

Food
Usually you'll try the things I make for lunch and dinner, but you're pretty set in your macaroni and cheese ways. You enjoy snacking on red, yellow, and orange peppers, blueberries, and granola bars. Usually you have 3-4 sippy cups of milk during the day, mostly with meals. Otherwise, you drink water, and lots of it. We still haven't given you any fruit juices, and don't have any plans of introducing them to you.

Sleep
You were such a great sleeper until the cold that never ended. We're still working on nights, but *usually* you're in bed by 7:45 and sleep until 6/6:30. Your nap happens late morning/early afternoon, and is anywhere from 1.5-3 hours long.

Play
We are outside all.the.time. Our sprinklers go off every morning, leaving a puddle right outside our front door. You scout out that puddle and jump and splash in it every morning. I honestly don't know what we would do if we lived where it was cold and snowy (mommy doesn't do cold and snowy). It's a safe bet we'd both go insane.
Stacking with building blocks has become quite the highlight. Every night we build towers and knock them down (that part is the most fun - obviously). Placing the blocks into one of your several dump trucks and pushing the trucks around is also a pretty big deal. Hide and seek, and chasing or being chased also provide endless fun and laughter. You're such a ticklish little thing, and I take great delight in tickling you as often as I can - your giggle is infectious, and it's a sound I can't get enough of.
If I had to guess, you love our nightly routine after dinner: the tv and any other technological device are turned off/set aside, and we play hide and seek, chase each other around, and have dance parties.

Each night before bed we go through our routine of bath time, play time, reading books and singing songs. Before we place you in your bed we ask you for a kiss good-night. No matter where we are in your room you will happily toddle over to us and plant your sweet kiss. Each night my heart simply wants to burst. 

There is so much more I know I'm forgetting. But, the one thing that will never be looked over is how much you are loved (lack of sleep and all). My days would be so cloudy if I didn't have you as my sunshine.

I love you to the moon and back, twice. 
~Mommy