Dear Evan-19 Months Old

Dear Evan-
Here we are another month has gone by and you are 19 months old now. I can't believe it. We have had a nice July. We have been staying in a house in Palm Springs while some construction was being completed at our own house. You love it here. There is everything you love and more. Our day starts with breakfast and the sprinklers going off. We then go and have a morning swim and play with rocks. After that we have our mid-morning snack of a fruit smoothie and some more play outside before it gets too hot. Naptime and then after we play inside for a while and then play in your small pool until the sun is lower and we can go into the larger pool.

There is so much you have done this month and are learning to do. You love to knock on doors now. If someone closes a door and is inside, you will go to the door and knock upon it twice. You don't understand why someone wouldn't open the door for you and will knock again until you receive a response. You are into playing hide n'seek now. You like for us to hide and you come and find us. You really want to be where everything is taking place or where the action is...you don't understand why Mommy is at the sink and wants to be up there too. You have started this thing where you will hand me something and label who the item belongs to. If you find my cell phone you will hold it and then hand it to me and say "mama". You are learning so many more hand gestures. You love to move your fingers and pat things and have people mimic you. Grandpa was here the last few days and he played this with you. You loved it. You want to eat everything we eat. If you see Mommy sneaking a cookie or Daddy drinking something you want to taste it. You respond to so many requests. I ask you just about anything now as you respond to so many things you always keep me on my toes of what you will do next. This week I handed you a towel and asked for you to wipe up the floor where you had spilled something. You did it!

These past two weeks have been a special time for us as a family. You have started some new habits. One is that when you are ready for bed you come to me and say "night-night". And you mean it. You do it for bedtime and naps. It is really amazing. You are sleeping much better at night now. It may be because there are no more noisy neighbors like at our house or that you have played so hard nothing will wake you. I think it is nice that no more teeth are giving you trouble for now. You have all of them except your two year molars.

You are so physical. You love to be upside down whether Daddy or I hang you that way or if you simply bend over and look at the world between your legs. You love the feeling of seeing everything differently. You know pretty much all of your body parts now. Your new ones are "elbow", "ankle" and "hair".

You have many new words. It is always difficult to remember them but I will do my best: elbow, lawnmower, tow truck, ice, you nod your head for "yes and for "no", noodle, leaves,Grandpa "Ba Pa", night night, yellow, blue, red...

You know the concept of color now and counting. You will point at similar things and make the same sound as you point to the same object next to it. I can ask you where the red truck is and you will point to one. Or the yellow bird, etc. I think you pretty much know yellow, blue, green and red.

You are in love with your Mama. You say my name so many times a day. You will repeat my name over and over until I look at you in the backseat of the car. When I look at you, you will just smile.

You are a joy and a wonderful boy. I love you very much.

Mama