Month 17

Dear Corbin,

You are 17 months old today. This month, you seemed to truly become a toddler. There was a day this month where I put you down for your morning nap, and when I picked you up two hours later you felt like you had grown in your sleep. Fortunately, we rediscovered a whole 12-18 month wardrobe thanks to a small, localized flood in the basement, so your wardrobe is still keeping up with your growing.

You have two more teeth coming in on the top, and possibly even two more on the bottom. You never did like the teething rings that I got for you, but you're perfectly happy to chew on the screen door while watching Dad mow the lawn, or on a wash cloth when I'm trying to wash your face, or on my shoulder when I'm holding you. You're also happy to chew on food. Dad has started following a rule of feeding you at least two times for each one time that he eats, and you seem perfectly happy with this arrangement. You also started brushing your own teeth this month. Grandma and Grandpa Lam got you a toothbrush shaped like a penguin and you liked it so much you even started brushing with the plain old boring toothbrush that I got you a long time ago.

You continue to demonstrate a strong understanding when we talk to you, but so far the only real word you say consistantly is "eyes." Grandma Lam thinks you also say, "Hi" and I believe her, because I swear the other day I heard you repeat me when I said, "Hi, Arrow." Oh, and you say, "hot." You have started really enjoying it when we sing to you. I have been trying to teach you, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and you play along a little bit, but mostly you just enjoy the song. When I stop singing, you sign, Please, which has become your default sign for both More and Please and Yes.

We survived the 4th of July for one more year. We had a very baby-friendly grill out, which meant everyone left at 8pm. You went to sleep just fine, and slept through the fireworks which kept me up until 2am. That's the only day of the year when I wish we lived anywhere else but our neighborhood. Our neighbors light off so many fireworks, there's enough smoke to make you think the whole block was burning down.

You spent some time in Madison twice this month. The second time, you got to ride in your brand new front-facing car seat. You grew too tall for your infant seat, but the first time we put you in the new seat, you looked so small again! You seemed to like being able to see more, but you weren't as comfortable when you wanted to nap in it. We'll have to get you one of those little neck pillows or something, since we've got at least two more road trips planned this year.

We had some happy news from the Spencers this month--you're going to have another cousin! Erin is due in December, and they're having a boy this time. We're going to send them most of your wardrobe, because nothing says family quite like photos of two cousins wearing the same clothes in two different years. If you suddenly start getting birthday presents of really expensive clothing, I guess we'll know why!

I'm looking forward to next month. I'll be done with this show, so I'll have a chance to catch up on some chores and projects. Plus, Grandma and Grandpa Lam are going camping for a week, so we'll have a long weekend at the Cottage with them, and then I'll have you all to myself for the next week. I will finally get to do all of the fun things that they do with you, like go to the zoo and to the playground. I'm sure you will make me totally exhausted by the end of the week, but I plan on having a lot of fun and you should, too.

Love,
Mom





So much for that eating with a spoon thing: