One and a half

Dex is 18 months old! He is only 24.1 lbs which makes him in the 25th percentile but in the 95th percentile for height and head size. We took away his bottle Nov. 18th! Yikes! it was rough but we did it cold turkey. He is getting all of his back molars and eye teeth. he can get a little sassy but he is super smart. he copies whatever we say and has a great vocabulary. he likes to play chase and wrestle. he is such a boy! He gets to go into nursery now and we are excited! We love our little guy

Update (mostly for us so we can remember years from now)

I wanted to write all of the little things Dexter does so that Adam and I can remember all of those details that make our little guy so so special!
Dexter can say about 15 words or more. a few of those are momma, dada, nana, poppa, up, pow, come in, no no, bye, hi, baby, uh oh, tada, tickle, achoo, etc. He talks a mile a minute and is very verbal. We hope he talks that much when he is saying real words.
He tickles and kisses everything.. the floor, the door, the wall... lol including himself and others. He also blows kisses!
At his 15 month appointment he weighed in at 24 lbs. He is in the 40 % for weight, 70% for height and 97 % for head size. Yes he has a big ole head, to house his big brain! He is a genius!!!!
He still insists on only sleeping in his bed and sleeps about 11-12 hours a night. He is down to one nap a day. It's usually around 2 hours. He is turning into a copy cat and copies a TON of what he sees. He likes to climb and stand on stuff, just like his daddy! If he will make him an inch taller he will stand on it! He has mastered coming down stairs by himself. He starts by turning around and scooting on his tummy, and he usually starts super early so he is sliding on his tummy for a while before he gets to the stairs :) He usually hides and squats to poop. Kind of gross I know but that's our son for ya! He loves to be outside and still makes a mad dash for the door anytime it's open. He loves to play. He always has. He loves to be chased and will chase you right back! He laughs at everything. literally everything! Even when we tell him no no! He is a snuggle bug too! thank goodness.
He winks! Well its obviously him blinking but he does it in response to us winking!
He knows and does 7 ish signs. Please, more, milk, want, eat, cookie, and all done.
Dex is a home body. He is happiest with momma and dada around in his own house.
Suckers are our secret weapon. He's a sucker for a sucker! lol
He has 8 teeth and is getting one of his eye teeth. He always swings his right arm. We call it his pirate arm. He also does what we call the hulk. It's where he tenses his body and face and squeezes his hands into fists. It is SOO cute.
He ALWAYS wants to help do the dishes. If the dish washer is open he wants to be in it!
He LOVES to sit in sinks! It doesn't matter what sink either. He especially likes the bathroom sink.
Dexter throws his own diapers away... but he also throws everything else away too; toys, keys, toothbrushes, etc. We are working on that!
He likes stuffed animals. He snuggles a bear and rabbit in his crib.
He runs everywhere! AND he is in to everything!
He is a bit of a gagger. He gags until he tastes whatever it is in his mouth and realizes he likes it. He loves spaghettios and mac & cheese. He hates grapes, peas, and some meats.
He is getting a little bit sassy so we have started using time out. I KNOW! time out at 17 months!? He throws little tantrums and if he ever hits, it's time out!
He has days where he only wants daddy or only wants momma.
He is in love with the plunger. If he can get it in the toilet he is in heaven! sick right!?
Dex is going to be spider man this Halloween. Daddy will be Batman and Momma hasn't found a costume yet but hopefully it will be a super hero too.
He dances to music and loves to watch blue's clue and yo gabba gabba
Dexter loves to type on my laptop. and stand on it, As well as standing up by the t.v. or in a kitchen drawer or climbing in and under or on chairs.
Dexter is getting so big so fast. I had heard how fast they grow up but I never imagined it would go so quickly. He is such a joy to be around and so smart. He is perfect and we wouldn't have him any other way! Thank you Dexter for changing our lives. You are the best part of us! We adore you!

bragging

I can't stop myself from bragging about my amazing baby! I thought I'd write this down so I can remember these things when he is older and of course to brag!
Things Dexter does:
shake his finger and say no no no
does the motions to the itsy bitsy spider
does the motions to patty cake
climbs up on anything to get higher, and then looks to see who is looking
he gives actual kisses ( not just an open and waiting mouth)
he carries around and snuggles stuffed animals... he also gives them kisses
he runs
he can get down off the couch by himself
he "reads" books
when he wants you to feed him he brings you the food he wants
he walks backwards
he knocks on doors
he signs please, more, and all done
when he wants a bottle (no we haven't taken it away completely yet) he waits by the fridge
he twists on and off water bottle lids
he is super friendly
he likes to cuddle
he snuggles his stuffed animal to go to sleep
he laughs easily and often
he likes the plunger :/
he waves hello and goodbye
he makes a mad dash if the door is open
he snuggles us when he is tired
he can open my phone and "talks" on it
he brushes his hair
he dances to music
he's getting better at sharing :)
he talks ALL the time
he loves animals, especially dogs but he's usually very nice to them
ok I will stop but my child really is the most amazing little guy ever created. he is the best!

365 glorious days

Dexter has blessed our lives for 365 days! This year has flown by! We can't believe how fast our little man is growing up. He is the happiest baby. He is soo friendly and personable. He smiles and laughs easily and often.He started walking the day after his birthday party. He is a genius! He does the motions to the isty bisty spider and patty cake.he can say hi and attempts to say spider, and skate as well as the dreaded NO. lol He mimics what you say and now we have to pay a little more attention to what we say. He is into everything! He LOVES to be outside and play in the hose! If the door opens he literally throws whats in his hands down with reckless abandon and heads for the door. He tries to drink out of the hose lol. He still only wants to sleep in his crib but every now and then we get lucky and he's tired enough to fall asleep in our arms. He plays all day long and likes to watch t.v. He loves dogs mostly but any kind of real life animal. We have had to cut his hair 3 times now, he has so much and it is curly like all get out! He has 8 teeth and we sure wish those morals would stop threatening and just pop through already! He loves to play and be chased. He plays in the dirt... such a boy! He loves his grandpa bob and jim, he insists they hold him when they are around. He also has a special liking for valerie to hold him! Both grandma's spoil the snot out of him! He is obsessed with pinwheels and momma's laptop. He snuggles stuffed animals and gives them kisses. When we give him a hymn book at church he flips through it and "sings"
He is an utter joy to be around and we couldn't ask for a more perfect child! He is literally perfection personified !

9 is a magic number!

Our little man is 9 months! He's been out in the world the same amount of time it took to grow him! He is changing so much and is getting so big! I took him to his well baby check up. He is 19.9 lbs which is in the 50 percentile and then something like 27 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 90th percentile for height. The dr. said we should get a toddler car seat!! He has ONE bottom tooth and is chewing the finish off the inside of his crib! lol our little beaver! he does a low down crawl. Not just the army crawl but much more than a scoot. He has learned to pull himself up on ANYTHING and does! We have had a lot of bumped foreheads lately. If he pulls himself up and can't back down he whines a little until momma or daddy comes to the rescue. He brings us SUCH joy! He is happy, even when he is cranky because his little teeth are bugging him. He loves watching cartoons and goes on adventures around the kitchen island our down the hall to our room! Look out world Dex is on the loose!

Jennie

My sweet little Jennie is now waiting for us in our home in heaven. I will write more later, as it's so new that I am a mess. I thought I'd try a picture to envoke smiles instead of tears. I am going to miss her SO much