18 Months!

Dear Diego,

Can you really be 18 months old already? I watch you every day in amazement at what a fun little person you've become. You run, you hop, you jump, you slide, you cuddle, you laugh, you scream, you cry, you explore, you talk....boy do you talk! I can't even list all the words you say and you belt out a new one almost every day. You can name and request a few songs you like, not by the actual name of the song, but by the name you chose for it. You are very happy and social, and there is an occasional fit thrown, but they are often very very short. You love to play with "voovies" (DVD's) and you put them on your finger and spin them around. You love the phone and the "bebote" (remote) and will grab them at any moment they are within your reach (even off the counter). You like to get the paper in the morning with me. You love to ride in the shopping cart and when we drive up to the store you say "cart" "gdin" (get in). You tell me when you want out by saying "gdout" (get out). You are most often a very patient youngster and I really appreciate that!! You love to eat "kicken" (chicken nuggets), fries, fruit chewies (lolies), "bewies" (berries), "on" (oranges), "nana" (bananas), "bumbers" (cucumbers), "shishies" (Fishies), and anything with Momma's homemade jam on it, oh and of course "i ceam" (ice cream). Oh and your newfound favorite thing to eat is catsup! You love to watch "Noney" (Barney) and "T Tain" (Thomas the Train), when Momma lets you watch them! You love to read your books and bring them to Momma and Daddy to read to you. Daily you ask where "Yeeah" (Olivia), "Eca" (Erica), "Han" (Hank), "Jag" (Jagger), "Cott" (Scott), "Yawyew" (Sawyer), "Chachel" (Rachel) and "Weed" (Reed) are and everytime the doggie barks you say "hew" (Who's here?). You like to point out your body parts and are quick to point out Mommy and Daddy's too! You are no shy, and if someone talks to you that you don't like you say "bye bye." You will also steal food off anyone's plate if they have something you like! Each day you surprise us with a new word! You have a very hard time sitting still and love to play at the park on the play structures. You play very well at home by yourself, but also enjoy having someone to play with. Your favorite person to play with is "Yeeah" (Via) and she loves it just as much as you do! You have two molars coming in on the top and love to show off your teeth. You are beginning to enjoy brushing your teeth and ocasionally you will let me brush your teeth without a fight.

We have so much fun with you and enjoy watching you grow and learn every day!

Love, Mama

First Parade

Last Saturday, I took Diego to his first parade and we had a great time! We headed downtown Silverton with Auntie Erica, Uncle Bryan and cousin Jagger for the Homer Davenport Days parade. I was shocked how long Diego sat on the curb with Jag and it was so cute. He got really excited during the parade and laughed and pointed out things in the parade he knew. He even tried a little parade candy!

17 Months

Diego & Auntie Erica

Diego has just exploded with words this month! He will try to say just about anything and recognizes people, places and things. He is really into "cycles", which are motorcycles, bicycles and trucks. Not sure how the trucks fit in there, but to him they are in the same category. I'm excited to get him some sort of bicycle to try out sometime soon, I think he will really enjoy it, even if he has to be pushed for a while.

Recently I opened the book "I love you as Much" to read to him, which we often read at bedtime and naptime and just happened to ask him what one of the animals was, and he said "goat" and he was right! So, I went back to the first page of the book and he named every animal in the book. I was so proud! He is recognizing so many animals these days! He gets a little confused between the horse and the bear, but its all wonderful to me! He also loves the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and can name the first 5 fruits and even some of the foods from the day the caterpillar pigs out! He really enjoys playing with keys and cell phones and will reach out to anyone who has them, even strangers! He also really loves goldfish crackers, or as he calls them "shishies" and even grabbed a handful from cousin Carson's plate without asking. Carson actually thought Diego was leaning towards him for a hug and he dug right into his plate, it was hilarious!

I realized its now been 18 months since I've had a day job and wouldn't go back for anything. Staying home with Diego is the best thing our family could have decided on. Sure, some days, ok weeks, are hard, but every second is worth it. I told my friend Sarah once, after she told me about some trouble she was having at work, that I would take poopy diapers and sleepless nights over work drama, any day! And I meant it!!

16 Months

"I Play" is the first thing this boy says the minute he wakes up in the morning. It sounds a little more like "I pay" but its just the cutest thing I've ever heard. He is non-stop on the go all day, everyday and just so much fun! He is really enjoying testing his limits with Mom and Dad these days. He stands on chairs and shakes them while looking at us with a big smile. He tries to climb over the back of the couch. He tries to climb on just about anything he can.

Diego learned how to say "No" on the day he turned 16 months old. Right now, its pretty funny to hear him say no, but it's quickly losing its amusement. He is constantly learning new words and has a memory better than I could have ever imagined he would have at this age. He is always asking for my nephew Jagger and for Sawyer to play with. He will also say "motorcycle" and when you repeat it back to him, he says "Daddy!" He just knows daddy rides a motorcycle.
I made a few batches of fresh berry jam this month and Diego LOVES it! Each morning he asks for "min bears" (vitamin bears) and "bam" (jam). He actually asks for vitamins all day, and I have to remind him we have vitamins at breakfast. So cute! He will even ask for a "baba" and "kiki" (binky) when he's tired.

Diego has become a pro at opening doors in the house and if we're not careful to lock the door, he's out in the garage in a split second! Opening the doors is not my favorite of his new "tricks" I must say, especially since he likes to leave the bathroom while I'm in the shower. I've since put a child lock on the door, but it still was no fun!

We are LOVING our new backyard and we spend a lot of time out there playing. Diego knows which area of the yard to avoid (although he doesn't) because of "poo poo" (where the dog goes potty). He tries to go there every time we're outside!! He got a new outside play structure with a little slide and he's figured out how to go down all on his own, and he's SO proud!

Diego is now 16 months!

Goodbye Old House

Today we said goodbye to our old house. Even though we moved over two months ago and I'm in love with our new house, I'm a little sad to leave the old one behind. We're saying goodbye to the first house Eddie and I bought together, to the house Eddie proposed to me in and the house we brought our first born child home to. We bought our little house 6 1/2 years ago and were so proud to be the owner's. We spent some really happy years there and most importantly, we made it a home. We made some great friends with our neighbors there and hope to continue those friendships for years to come. Goodbye old house, we'll miss you.

We were quickly outgrowing our little house when we stumbled upon a great house coming up for sale, how convenient for us that it was The Kofoid family's house! A house we had spent a lot of time in and knew we really loved. We moved in two months ago, after our first offer on the old house died and the day after we moved in, we got our second and final offer on the old house. Two months and many, many frustrating hours later we finally signed loan docs today and we celebrated with dinner and fun at our house with the Kofoid's. All of us will sleep a little sounder tonight knowing we can finally move forward.

Here's to many happy years in our new house!

Little Climber

Diego has recently begun climbing on EVERYTHING! He started with the couch, which completely freaked Eddie and I out at first and we insisted on sitting right next to him each time he climbed up there...until we realized he can safely get back off the couch without help. So, now we're not quite as paranoid. Now he can also climb up onto the dining room chairs, and as I watched him a few days ago, he climbed right on to the table after Daddy's cell phone. At first I wasn't sure if I should let him climb on these chairs or not, but then decided its not such a big deal. So, Rachel suggested just turning the chairs around so he could still get up on them, just not onto the table, and that is working, so far.

Diego is very tall for his age, so he can also reach up to the counters and pull things off which means I have to keep them cleared at all times! He has also recently figured out he can get in the coat closet and shut himself in. He will stay in there for about 30 seconds and then sort of whine to come out, but now he just lets himself out. It took him a few days to figure out he could actually open the door from the inside too!

Fun in the Sand!

We took a day trip to the coast today, and were pleasantly surprised with the weather! Not super sunny, but some blue sky, only a little wind and not too cold.

This was Diego's second trip to the coast, but his first experience playing in the sand. He LOVED the sand, and kept putting it in his mouth and saying MMMMMMMM. He had a hard time walking in the dry sand at first, but quickly got the hang of it. He picked up lots of big rocks and threw them and even chewed on a few them, briefly until one of us could tell him "Yuck". He didn't have much interest in the water, so we pretty much just played in the sand. He was covered in sand by the time we left and even after we thought we had cleaned him of most of it, there was a big pile of it in the carseat when we got home! We had a great time at the coast today, and I can't wait to go again and stay the night!