17 months

A prevailing thought these days about mothering a young one:

I can not savor it enough.

No matter how much I relish the moments with my baby boy Sly, my first born, the one that gets my full focus for most of the day, he still is growing up too quickly.  I suppose he is growing up right on time actually, but it feels too quick most days for my soft mama-heart.  He'll be 17 months old tomorrow.  So before Sly hits that one-and-half-year mark, here's a little update on the toddler he's becoming.

We've got a runner, people.  And a climber.  Climbing in and out of chairs, reaching for things off the counter tops, and running down the driveway are all amongst Sly's favorite doings.  I call him "The Great Collector" because he loves to fill baskets and buckets with his treasures, or Mama and Papa's treasure he is claiming for his own.  Markers, books, water bottles, tinctures, and leaves are some of his favorite collectables.  I opened up a kitchen cabinet last night to find a few pieces of kindling he had stashed in there.  It's really cool to see him mimic our work with all this collecting.  He especially loves bringing wood into the house for making fires.  I let him carry small pieces and, happily, we've had no splitters yet!

Just struttin' around in his BOGS with no pants on at the Women's Herbal Conference

Sly's quite the talker these days.  A lot of what he says is still indecipherable, but he has some very clear words now, too.  Here are the words he says consistently:

Papa or Pa-paj

Mama or Ma-My

Steve (Stevie, the dog)

Dog & WooWoo (woof)

No!

Socks

Hot 

Tuck (Truck)

Boos (Boots/Monkey Boots)

Poop

Baby
Shoes
Dis (This)

There a lots of other words that he repeats after hearing us talk and he understands most of what we say.  He follows simple directions: "Bring the book to Mama", "Go get your black shoes", "Let's walk up the hill".  And there is LOTS of laughing!  His personality is coming out so strong and he's learning what he can do just to get a reaction from people (like poking Papa's belly button, putting a scarf on his head, or chasing the dog).  

Perhaps my 2 favorite developments are: he gives kisses and he dances to music.  Even if I'm just singing the boy raises his arms and wiggles his fingers - this is his dance move.  He kisses Mama, Papa, Stevie, his stuffed Lion, his friends, and he brings us things to kiss, too.  

Our days are so fun right now!  Exhausting? Oh, Yes!  Demanding?  Certainly.  And so, so sweet.  I can't savor it enough, but I'll try.  This boy is growing before my eyes.