19 Months

Cam is 19 months now and is walking, talking, counting (kind of), saying letters, dancing, and all kinds of stuff that delights us on a daily basis. He knows "Mickey," "Elmo," and "Tom!" (Thomas the Tank Engine) and can spot them from across the room. :-) It seems like every day he does something new that amazes us because it's something he sure couldn't do yesterday! We are loving this age. 

There are downsides, too, of course. He's currently on a "please" strike, just flat out refusing to use it even though he's been using it for months. He's also in that phase where he doesn't get it yet about being patient and when something he wants doesn't happen instantly (like when he sees me take melon or cheese out of the fridge and it needs to be cut before landing on his tray) there is whining and squeaking. But, this too shall pass and the positives definitely FAR outweigh the challenges.

He delights others as well. This week he was in child care twice, once at MOPS and once at church, and both times when I picked him up the workers in the child care room commented on how happy and easy going and "good" he was. They may say that to all the parents, but it sure is nice to hear :-)

Here is a recent anecdote:

Mister Cameron Goes to Costco

A few weeks ago, we went to Costco in the morning (in the morning before nap is when we usually run our errands). Before we left, I put shoes and socks on his feet and by the time we got there he was, of course, completely barefoot.

"Cameron Lauren!" I said, feigning scolding, "What did you take off of your feet?"

Cam grinned from ear to ear and replied, "SHOOSH!"

"Not just your shoes, silly boy, what else did you take off?"

"SHOCK!" He declared proudly.

So, I gathered his "shoosh" and "shock," which were strewn haphazardly about the backseat, put them on his feet, and off we went into Costco.

About five or ten minutes into our shopping, we were strolling by the aisle where they had their Christmas decorations displayed. Cam had been looking around the store, taking it all in and commenting on the occasional item of interest, but generally nonplussed by the usual array of Costco merchandise. That was until he saw the Christmas decor. His eyes got big,he drew in breath and squeaked (he does have a high-pitched little voice that elevates to a squeak when excited), "CHEESH!!! CHEESH!!! WAH!" (Trees, trees, wow!) "WAH!!! COO!" (Wow, cool!)

So, I strolled him on over in the cart and rolled him up and down as his dinner plate-sized eyes took it all in. I watched the wheels turn as he processed it. "CAH! MOOOOO!" He declared, pointing to the lighted reindeer that he clearly thought was a cow.

There was a lighted Mickey and Minnie climbing into a chimney. He hadn't seen those characters much at this point, so I told him their names "MEEK! MEEN!" He repeated excitedly.

We wheeled back down the aisle again with him pointing out the trees all the way, just in case I missed them, "CHEESH! WAH! WAAAAAH! COO!" And then we headed for the exit.

We walked away toward the check-out lines and while other displays we past grabbed his attention, he was clearly still thinking of the fascinating things he'd just seen because he said "MEEK! CAH! BAH!" And waved goodbye to Mickey and the cow, which I do promise to one day teach him is actually a reindeer.

Here are some recent pics: