Keeping up with the Joneses: To Tyler, at 18 Months

Tyler,

I love you with all of my heart! You are the sweetest little thing.

You are such a GOOD little boy! I have always felt uncomfortable when people called Timmy or you good babies because I don't think that other babies are bad. I believe that they are mostly just uncomfortable which makes them difficult, for good reason, and I was blessed to have content, easy going, not cholicy babies. Basically I don't like babies being classified as good or bad. However, you are definitely a GOOD toddler! Don't get me wrong, you have your moments. You get tired or hungry or want something that Timmy or Stella have and you throw a fit and roar like a dinosaur. It looks a little like this:

However, you share, you wait your turn, you ask permission with a point and a grunt, you follow directions, and you listen! At one and a half! I can ask you to throw trash away or bring me a cup or go upstairs for a diaper or sit down for your shoes or kiss Daddy good night, and you follow those directions! Usually with a pep in your step and a smile on your face too! You are so sweet!

You are sleeping better, but you still wake up a lot of nights. I don't come into your room though, you fuss until you get comfortable or find your bottle and you go back to sleep on your own. Sleeping in is a new phenomena for you, just in the last two weekends. Before that you would wake up at 6:50 if I was ready for you or not! Sometimes during the week you still function as my back up alarm! On the weekends if I ignore you for a while you will sometimes go back to sleep for an hour or so. This past weekend you actually slept until 10:30. After all this time of being an early riser seven days a week, I am very excited about this! In the morning I don't come into your room without a fresh bottle for you. If I come in empty handed, you scream bloody murder until you finally get your bottle. You let Daddy get away with changing your diaper without it though, I guess you're taking it easy on him since having him get you up is not the norm.

You really love your bottle still. You only have it at bed time and first thing in the morning. But you definitely expect it. Baby Timmy gave his bottle up right at his first birthday, trying to avoid bed time. It didn't work for him, but it was very convenient for me. Daddy has been wanting to get you off your bottle for a while now, I'm going to give you a little longer... it's the only "baby" thing left!

You are adding new tricks to your repertoire all the time. You learn things from your brother so quickly. In the mornings on our commute he has his coffee, I mean chocolate milk, and after he sucks it down he tells me he's done and hands me his cup. Suddenly I have two "Done."'s to listen for! You used to like to hold on to your empty bottle and chew on it, but you've learned from Timmy and you pass it up now! You also enjoy the Bible School music we've been listening to in the car. After each song you request, "More?" this is not something that you learned from Timmy, but baby Timmy used to do it too. Now Timmy and I smile and assure you another song will come on in just a moment.

You also know how to play T-ball. The last time I wrote about it, you were just waving your bat around and making accidental contact with the T and knocking the ball off. Now you know exactly what you are doing. You set up the ball and swing the bat and the ball goes 5-6' each time. I'm amazed. You find a bat in the living room and bring Daddy the ball to pitch to you now too. Thanks to Dad's good aim you've even hit a few pitches!

We discovered at Timmy's last game of the season that you've figured out fielding too. That little mind of yours is paying so much attention! Coach Dad had to constantly remind the 4-6 year olds to be in the ready position but you heard him loud and clear. You T'd the ball up for Aunt Becky, walked a few feet away, turned around, and got into ready! (You didn't have much confidence in Becky's ability to hit though!) After a few rounds you backed up for her.

You are suddenly fully interested in watching TV, cartoons anyways. You got to experience life as an only child the other weekend while Timmy spent the night with Brayden, and Sunday morning you sat and watched two Mickey Mouse Club Houses all on your own while I cleaned the basement. When I came upstairs you pointed to the TV and said "Ohhh Oooooelllls" We both know you were calling for Toodles. Timmy has also taught you well: cartoon time = snuggle time. I have been enjoying snuggle breaks with you both all week, now that you will sit still for TV!

Some tricks I don't know where you get them... While you and Timmy were eating dinner the other night, you built a tower out of your bananas. I was still making drinks or something at the time, so when I turned to the table and saw your tower I was completely surprised. Time to break out the blocks for you!

I finally got video of you feeding yourself too, though you've been using a fork for a few months now.

You love your big brother so much, and not just because he teaches you. He plays with you in the car and on the couch and in the tub and on the bed.

You take turns instigating new games, and return to games you both enjoy. Yesterday Timmy asked for a secret hide out, so I threw the blanket across the chair and your guys' fort. You didn't like this at all, because you like to scale the outside of the fort and climb over the top. Once Timmy showed you the way under the blanket and around, you both got a kick out of it.