Cute things T.J. does lately

• Says “bumpa” for Temple every time we drive past our church building

• Loves eating green vegetables: canned green beans are his favorite, but also likes broccoli etc.
• Obsessed with playing in the car. He could play for hours in the car I think. (He just climbs around the chairs and pushes the buttons on the radio/around the steering wheel.)
• Is starting to say a lot of words. People he says: “Mama or mommy, Ga-ga (which is da-da), Ma-ma for Grandma, Bam-pa for Grandpa, Mee mee for Amy, Nannah for Hannah, Ay for Heidi, and a bunch more just not as frequently)
• Words he says: “no no no” (he has been saying this a lot lately really randomly) He makes most of the animal noises that I know to teach him, “yock” for rock, “sss” for Cheese, “Pepp-o” for pepper, “App-o” for Apple, “bay-bee!” for baby, and really so many that I can’t name them all. He is really talking a lot though. Oh, when Steve and I say “I love ___” he will fill in the blank with “you!” or “Ga-ga!” or “Mama” (which is either mama or grandma). It’s cute.
• He is such a big eater. He eats almost everything we give him (except lettuce, bell peppers, and maybe 1 or 2 other things). He loves food. Especially “teet!” (treats).
• He likes to climb. Recently learned he can push the kitchen chairs to reach the microwave and fridge. Great.
• He likes to help me when I’m cleaning, he wants to push the vacuum, push the broom, and help put clothes in the dryer.
• He follows me EVERYWHERE. Even if Steve is home, when I sneak off to the bathroom or something for 1 minute, he comes searching for me.
• He just got weaned from his binky! (“Bee-bee”) he was sad for a few days but is over it now.
• He loves books. Yesterday I found him in the corner of his room in between his book shelf and dresser, and he sat there and looked at his books for almost 20 minutes, which is a long time for him! He loves us to read him books. Favorite books right now: “Elmo”(he has about 4 Elmo books we shift through) “Happy baby” (different baby facial expressions, he just says “ap-py!”), The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss. He has recently made us start reading the same book to him 3 or 4 times before he wants to move on to a new book.
• He loves Elmo, Winnie the Pooh “pooh!” and Tigger (tih-tih).
• Likes to jump off of things (steps, stools, couches, etc).
• Runs everywhere…but still working on his balance.
• Loves to play outside and with other kids!
• Claps for himself and says "yay!" when he does something he thinks is good.
  

This is mostly for me to be able to remember someday what life is like with a (nearly) 18 month old toddler! There are so many other things he does that I am missing, but I love life with this little guy in our family! (yes, he climbed to this position on the bike).