My baby is eighteen months old!

If I had time to dwell on guilty feelings, I have to admit, that I occasionally feel guilty that I haven't been able to post more about D's development on this blog. It has been such a joy to watch him learn to walk, run, and talk all in what feels like an absolute blink. He is, in fact, a warp speed type of guy. Specifically, at this point, D will repeat almost every word said to him and can name most of the common house parts and animals. He loves doors, cats, doors, AIRPLANES!, balloons (ah-DOOL!). His pronunciation and ability to mimic is fairly remarkable at this point. He is singing versions of the ABCs, batman theme song, and the Yellow Submarine all of which I am committed to committing to Memorex. He is also starting to "count" items..."one, two, three, five, nine". D is, for the most part, fearless, although some very loud noises have sent him flying back to my arms. He is all too willing to stand his ground in the on going tug of wars with Mizz. He wants to do whatever his big brother is doing, just on his own terms. Actually, D pretty much wants to do everything on his own terms. He HATES diaper changes and is a serious challenge to deal with (and don't forget, I am a professional!). He LOVES throwing food on the floor while simultaneously saying no! no! no! no! with a big grin on his face. On the plus side, he eats a way more varied diet than Mizz does, but then again, so do most land animals. Actually, D won't go near any vegetables in solid form, but will still eat pureed forms of them. Left to his own devices though, D would probably opt to survive on crackers and milk. Cracker was one of his first words after Mama and sometimes I am not sure whether my face or a cracker makes him light up more. I can't quite bring myself to stop feeding him bottles (just one or two a day!). I savor that snuggle time and his voice is so sweet when he first asks for a "ba-ba?" It melts me. So unless, the pediatrician throws a fit at our next appointment, D may be carting a ba-ba to kindergarten.

Which reminds me that I have begun a somewhat serious inquiry in the different kindergarten options for Mizz for next fall. I need to get my act in gear and schedule some visits though. I have some serious misgivings about Portland's public schools and have to keep consoling myself with the notion that Dave and I also have a very large influence over how and what he learns.

Halloween Highlights

Yes, my non costume is extremely lame. Mizz opted for being a train engineer instead of Spiderman or Mater from the cars movie (two costumes I had picked up super cheap). He was actually in his glory. While last year, Mizz still was working on the mechanics of treat or treating, this year he had it down pat. Well, mostly down pat. My favorite interactions included: 1) When asked if he was a train driver, Mizz looking a little taken aback, responded "No, I just pretending!" 2) Mizz bouncing up a path right to the scariest mask I've ever seen. He stood there looking for a LONG time, SILENT, and then carefully took one of the treats that the masked man was offering. When we asked him about it, he said that he knew it was pretend because he saw the real man's hands. Nothing gets past Mizz. 3) Mizz grilling some guy about his light set up. How does it turn on? What type of batteries does it take? Etc. He is going to be a serious tech geek. In fact, it is really tough to say whether it was the candy or the light displays that were more enthralling to Mizz.