Happy 17 Months, Jack!

sweet boy, you are 17 months old! you are 100% boy & we love it! i am so proud of you & all you are learning to do lately. you really are the smartest kid i know. (and i'm totally not biased!)

you are such a great eater now. Praise the Lord. you will pretty much try anything i put on your tray for you to eat. your very favorite food right now is mandarin oranges. you just gobble them up! you also love grapes, apples, cereal bars, rice cakes, bread, chicken tenders, pizza, turkey, provolone cheese, granola bars, creamed spinach, pancakes, spaghetti, ravioli & so much more. i'm still having trouble getting those veggies in you. i've tried to prepare them so many different ways but you just aren't loving it. typical kid i guess. you still LOVE to have something to drink all the time. so i give you V8 fusion, which a veggie fruit drink. gotta sneak those veggies in somehow! you also love apple juice & chocolate milk.

bath/shower time is still probably your favorite time of day. you just love the water & have so much fun splashing & playing with cups or your bath toys! your favorite toy is any type of ball. you just love it. i bet we have 20 balls lying around this house. your other favorite thing to do is spin bowls. you get out my tupperware bowls & just spin them all over the kitchen floor. its hilarious, we have no idea where you learned this. you have a little obsession for closing & opening doors & cabinets. you can't stand for something to be left open & you definitely get that from me! you love to be outside. when we take you outdoors you just want to walk all over the place. you are definitely exerting more independence these days.

we have noticed something else about you this month. you are quite the little hoarder. we find random things in the most random places. you just take anything you can get your hands on & put it "up" or wherever you think it goes. here are a few examples i have found lately: you put my deodorant in the pack n play, blocks in Jovie's diaper bag & car seat, (full) coke cans in dresser drawers & your toy box, shoes in the cabinet with the pots & pans, clean diapers in the dirty clothes hamper, your cups in the bathroom cabinets or under the couch. there are really so many other quirky things you do but those are the constants. needless to say, its hard for me to declutter or clean up around here b/c you are constantly misplacing things!

you are learning to do so much lately. you can point to your nose, tongue, feet, hands & head. you can wave "bye bye" & "hello". you are constantly talking. most of it is jibber jabber or your little version of singing. its so sweet! but you can say "up", "uh oh", "baby", "hey", "momma" (but only when you are fussy) and your word for everything is "dada". its pretty cute! any time you see an animal, lola, Jovie or another baby you say "oohhh" similar to "aaww". its so sweet. you just love animals & babies. you are also pretty smart, as i mentioned earlier. you are figuring out certain words when we say them. if you hear us say "lovie", "sock monkey", "cup", "juice", "milk", "bite", "night night", "sissy", "bye bye", "no no", "come with me", "clap your hands", "lola" "bring it to mommy or bring it to dada" then you respond. i'm sure there are many more but i can't think of all of them right now. we are definitely spelling certain words out right now so that you don't pick up on it! you don't take a paci anymore (you quit that at 10 months) but you are definitely attached to your lovie. it goes everywhere with us. you also really love your sock monkey & teddy bear. they always sleep with you.

you are a very affectionate little boy. you will give kisses to anyone & anything. (you just kissed my knee & my computer as i'm typing this!) you love to kiss Jovie over & over again. you also kiss on lola (yuck!), daddy & me all the time. we love it. you LOVE your grandparents & we are so thrilled about that. you get so excited to see Lolli & Poppa and Mamie & Granddad. you have such a special relationship with each of them & they definitely spoil you to death. but we are ok with that! you also LOVE your aunts & uncles. you have really taken to them lately. we just wish Aunt Jenna lived closer so that you could be closer to her. family is so important to us so we are thrilled that you love them so much.

we are excited about the weather warming up & the impending summer. we know you are going to really enjoy this season. we have some fun things planned & we can't wait to do them with you. i'm excited for our vacation to Florida, Uncle Tripp's wedding, swimming, the zoo, the park, playdates with friends (you really need some interaction with kids your age) and so much much more. we're going to have a great time! (but i'm most excited about this fall & christmas season with you!)

Jack, you are such blessing to our family. you are fun, spirited, independent, strong-willed, sensitive & funny little boy. you are definitely testing the limits more & more these days. you have received a few spankings lately but you are learning. you have such a tender heart. we couldn't be more proud of you & who you are becoming. we know Jesus has such big plans for your life. we love you SO much & are so honored to be your parents. what a joy you are to my heart. i absolutely love being your mommy! now, please stop growing so fast!

happy 17 months my love, you have my heart!