Soyboy is 18 months!

My Big-boy, my Soy-boy, my Bubbagum, has hit a “Mormon Milestone” we refer to as “Nursery Age.” No more torturous 3 hours at church trying to sit still and hang out with the remnants of backpack space Lily has allotted to his entertainment. He can now go into nursery where there are little boys (the amount of little boys in his nursery triggers me to wonder if ANY girls were born during 2010?), cars galore, songs, coloring, snacks, and beloved nursery leaders.

Cereal and some CHEESE?

When Lily left to nursery there was a brief moment where my heart collapsed, she rolled her toddler eyes, and she took off with out a backwards glance. She knew I’d come back and she had more important things to take care of. When I came to pick her up, she’d glance up and acknowledge me, then bury herself back in her task without so much as a, “Hi Mommy!” She’s a little more prone to give me hugs when I come to collect her now that she’s older, but I think it’s more out of politeness than necessity.

Sawyer on the other hand looks at me as if to say, “Why Mommy? Don’t you love me? I love you so much! I can’t live without you. Don’t you want to wrap your arms around me and let me play on your lap for eternity? I’m going to hug you and cry as hard as I can just so you know that I’m still your baby and need you!” And I buckle, I hem, I haw, my heart collapses, and then my legs follow suite, collapsing under me, and there I am on the floor, with my baby snug in my lap until the teachers politely ask me to leave. Whereon I drudge myself out, wondering if I’m scarring my sweet boy for life as he screams at me in abandonment (and everyone assures me that he calms down less than a minute later). When I come to pick him up there is a joyful relief that floods his face and he has so much time that we lost to immediately make up for.

We all drew on our own funny mustaches one night because we're so silly!

They are so different, but fun in their own ways!

I have to say, thus far 9-20 months has been my favorite with both kids. I love to see the immerging personalities, what they are interested in, and what makes them happy. Sawyer is deep in the thralls of my favorite age and the minute he wakes up in the morning I am just as happy to see him as he is to see me.

Sawyer somehow always manages to find these vampire teeth and bring them to me to put in his mouth. No binky for this baby boy, just some nice eye teeth!

I was expecting for him to be a little more quiet, being a boy, but he is as chatty as his sister. He doesn’t speak in sentences, but he speaks, and he is persistent but not whiny in his requests. He very clearly says “DON’T” or “STOP” in a very authoritive voice to Lily (“Eeyeee”) whenever she crosses a line with him. He also loves the show Curious George. I’ve conceded to letting them watch one show in the morning while I get ready, and Curious George is sweet, clean, and fun for both of them. As soon as his diaper is changed and teeth brushed he immediately hops down and runs towards the computer yelling, “Show! Show! Show!”

Last week while Lily and I were making a snowman Sawyer managed to lodge himself in a dirty ditch under the deck. He sat there calmly yelling "Ellpuh!" until I turned to see him covered from head to toe in dirt and happy as a lark.

I’ve been trying to train him not to scream and cry when he needs help, and he caught on rather quickly that it makes mommy happy when he doesn’t whine but asks. I’ve had to remind myself to make it an urgent priority when I hear him yelling, “ELLPuh! ELLPuh!” to go see what is going on. Usually I find him hanging on for dear life off of our counter-height table, or trying to climb off the bay windowsill. As much as I’ve tried to control the climbing situation, he is really just trying to follow Lily around as much as possible.

Note: If you bring a Little Tykes car into the house and clean it up in the bathtub, then pull it out without draining it all the way, expect to use about 8-10 towels to clean up the water. Just saying.

This little boy also LOVES cars. When I threw out my back before Christmastime my friend volunteered to babysit him. She has two step-daughters and very little baby toys in her house. At one point she heard him calling excitedly for help and found him on his hands and knees trying desperately to get under the couch for something. Unsure what he had seen down there, she too got down on her hands and knees and looked beneath the couch, and there in the dark recessed corner of her living room existed the sole toy car in the house. How that car came to dwell there she’ll never know, but somehow Sawyer’s honed in on the one toy that would bring him hours of entertainment.

He’s also our little comedian and already has quite the sense of humor. Every morning while I’m making the bed he comes running in and immediately turns Keith’s alarm clock up on it’s side. Then he laughs like he is the most clever boy that ever lived. Then he turns it upside down, and back up on it’s side. It’s a routine now, and quite an important and funny one for this little man. He is constantly figuring out ways to make Lily and I laugh and is always eager for a giggle himself. I love his light little heart and how he finds so much joy in the world around him. I hope that is something I can nurture in him as he grows older!