Has It Really Been 18 Months?????

WOW! It is crazy how fast 18 months can fly by! Cole turned 18 months old on July 11th. I have to admit that I was more sad about this day than when he turned 1 year old. He is a boy...not a baby boy but a real and true messy and dirty and fun little boy! He amazes us each and every day with all that he can do and say. Cole is starting to say so many things and he is becoming more independent all of the time. He follows directions very well. He is great about cleaning up his toys and putting things in the trash (he also loves pulling things out of the trash which is something that we are constantly working on). One thing that I love is that he no longer dumps his plate on to the floor when he is done eating but he hands it to us and says "all done." When he is ready to get out of the bath tub he puts his toys in his bath bucket and stands up and says "all done." He has learned to say "no" and to say "yes." Those are 2 key words in communication ... you don't realize it but they are. It is so helpful to be able to narrow down what he wants. We say all of the time that we have more fun with him every day. He really is funny and is learning how to use his sense of humor to get what he wants. Cole loves swimming...and has way too much confidence in the water. He loves to jump in and have us catch him and he loves to kick his legs in the water. The frustrating thing is that he does not want us to hold him in the pool and he only wants to be in a float part of the time. This is an area where we are all trying to learn patience...especially Cole. I took Cole to the doctor last week for his 18 month check up and everything looked great! He weighs 27 lbs and is 32 inches tall. I love taking him in because he is so good that everyone makes a big deal about him. Ok, it does help that we take Cole to the clinic where Rhonald was a resident so they love us and have known us well for 4 years. Cole walked from the waiting room to the scale and jumped on it. Then he ran to the exam room when Carla, the nurse, said Dr. Thomas was waiting for him...which she wasn't but it worked. Then he sat so super still and was so quiet while Dr. Thomas and a medical student examined him. The student was impressed and said Cole was the first child he had gotten to examine because the rest of them cried so much. I was beaming with pride at my big boy! Needless to say we love our big boy so much and we are so blessed. I know I say that a lot but it is so true. There are not words that will ever describe how much we love him, each other and the life that we have been blessed with.