18 months

Dearest Colton,

You are now my 18-month old baby.  There's a chance that I'll refer to you as a "baby" for another 18 months or years or so.  You are growing up so fast - and, while I know that's a sign of good health and par for the course, it's happening a bit faster than I'd like.

You run most places as opposed to walking and you're pretty darn fast, too!

You aren't talking much - and we aren't the least bit concerned about that.  Your brother wasn't talking at this age either and I panicked.  Now I think it might just be a family trait.  Either that or Jackson does all the talking for you.?.?.

You love the outdoors!  I have to sneak Senji outside sometimes because if you see me opening the back door you want to join her.

You are an awesome sleeper and go to bed at night without any problems and you wake up and chill by yourself in your crib each morning.  You are in the process of dropping your morning nap and I don't think we have many more of them in our future. 

You are starting to become pickier with food and are now turning down vegetables - unless they're hidden in your food.  While I know you should be feeding yourself, we have to give you a bath after any meal that we let you try independently...so I still help you with a lot of our dinners.

You love your big brother and will let him wrestle with you for a pretty long stretch of time before you get fed up.  We all know when you're fed up as you express yourself easily.  You've been known to throw yourself to the floor and yell.  We step over you and go elsewhere but you just get up, find us, and begin the routine all over again!  Stinker!

You like it when we read to you & you will get a book and then start backing towards us from like 5 feet out in an effort to get in the most comfy reading position on our lap.  It's adorable and we eat up that time together!

You went to the doctor for your check up this week and all is well.  You weigh 30 pounds are you're 2 feet 9 inches tall.  For comparison's sake, Jax weighed 25 pounds and was 2 feet 10 inches tall.  Those measurements put you in 2T clothing and size 5 diapers.

I had to take a few pictures of you during your checkup -

You're thriving!  You're healthy!  You're adorable!  You're our perfect baby!