Eighteen Months

Dearest Campbell,

I can hardly say the words... you are eighteen months old! One and a half years! I know I say this every time I write to you, but I can not believe how fast the time is flying. I truly can't. It makes my heart swell and my eyes tear up all at the same time.

The past few months have been busy! You had an extra long visit from Nanny and she loved on you every minute she was here. You traveled to Florida for Passover, Austin to celebrate Poppy, Atlanta to cheer on the Michigan basketball team, and in two weeks you'll be going up north to visit Nanny at "camp"! You are a jet setter.

As the sun has started to shine more, you have loved being outside. You love to run up the street with your chalk and make marks along the sidewalk, you love playing at the park and in the sandbox, you love bubbles and swinging and playing in the water. Oh how you love the water. You could stay in the pool all day if we let you! You still love everything trucks and cars, but in the last few months, you have found a new obsession -- buses. You love school buses, city buses, tourist buses, all buses! It's adorable how you say, "buuuuusssss!" every time you see one. You are still an avid reader, and regularly grab books and plop yourself on our laps and say, "read." Your favorite books right now are Little Pookie books and any book with cars and trucks, of course! You love playing with stickers and climbing on everything you can. You are on the go all day long!

If I had to name one ultimate goal in raising you, it would be that you would grow up to be kind. Of course I want you to be smart, and handsome and athletic and brave, but above all else I want you to always be kind. And I can absolutely say that you already are such a sweet, gentle and loving little boy.You say please ("peas") and thank you ("hank ooo") often and occasionally say it unprompted. You share your toys very well with other kids, and are very sensitive to your own and others' feelings. Sometimes, you come up to me and quietly say, "snuggle?!" and bury your head in my shoulder. You have such a big heart for such a little boy. It's the most amazing thing to watch.

You are also still quite the talker. You talk a lot. You love to name objects and animals as you see them all day long. It's not unusual for me to hear you in the car saying, "bus! doggie! plane! car!" And I just smile. You are also still so curious. Everything you see you want to know what it is. You shout, "oooh wha dis!?!" and you don't stop until we explain whatever it is.

And in the eating department, well we have made some big progress! You still love all your regular foods (avocado, plain pasta, fruits, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) but you've also expanded your palette in the last few weeks. You now eat waffles for breakfast, you love bell peppers, and you eat mac and cheese -- hot!! You are also mastering the use of the fork, and boy are you proud when you get that fork in your mouth with some food on it. It's adorable.

While the last few months have been predictable, routine and really smooth overall, there have been a few challenges that we have faced as we do with every phase. You have entered a pretty intense fear stage where certain people (usually men with beards or hats) and certain things (vacuum cleaners, blow dryers, etc.) cause you to cry uncontrollably and bury your head into me. In the last few weeks, you have made huge progress though and I think you're starting to slowly overcome some of these fears. It's all very normal, but it's sad for me to watch.

You've also discovered that you have opinions and you like control, which means you have learned how to throw a tantrum. Sometimes you get very frustrated with me and just yell at the top of your lungs because that's the only way you know how to communicate with me that you are mad. Sometimes you flail yourself on the floor and I just have to walk away until you calm down enough for a hug. Luckily, you listen well and generally recover quickly from these moments, but it's not to say they are fun or easy.

The last challenge we are battling is kind of funny because it really just shows how smart you are. You see, you've realized that when you throw Mo out of the crib when it's time to go to bed, Mommy or Daddy will come in and give him back to you. So this nightly ritual has become a fun game for you. You only do it once or twice, but you do it every single night. Thankfully, once you fall asleep, you are still a rock star sleeper. These days you fall asleep around 8:00 pm and wake up around 7:00 am. You nap from 1:00-3:30 and sometimes 4:00!

Campbell, it's impossible for me to write down how much I love you. It's impossible to describe to you how full you have made my life. Our days together aren't always glamorous, and they aren't always exciting. But, Buddy, they are the best days of my life.

I love you to the moon and back, always and forever.

Love,
Mommy