Keeping up...

Dear little Gavin (aka Bubbaloo, G-Bob, Bubba, Monkey):

Everytime you do something new or come up with a new expression, I tell myself I'm going to record it in your baby book, but I never do. Instead, your developments end up in random posts and videos on the blog or on Facebook. Maybe someday, we'll get the blog printed into a book, or we'll organize all the videos nicely on dvds, but until then, I will keep procrastinating.

So anyway, here's a little synopsis of who you are at almost 20-months-old:

Ever since you became mobile, we've noticed what a very funny, focused, mechanical, inquisitive, and determined little boy you are. You love to be tickled, wrestled, chased, and tossed in the air. You're extremely curious and you always want to do things for yourself and figure out how things work. While I wish you would be just a little more cuddly sometimes, I love how independent you are. You love to keep busy and go places, but when it's time to settle down, you're very gentle and sweet. I love it that, after your nightly bath, you're excited to snuggle up on my lap with your sippy cup and bear while we read Good Night Moon and hum lullabyes. I cannot describe in words how much I love that time we have together in the evening. :) In the morning, you smile and greet me when I walk into your room, then you put your bear down and say "bye-bye bear, see ya", and reach up for me and say "out?". It's so adorable. :)

You're also consistently sleeping 11-12 hrs straight at night now, and taking a good-sized nap every afternoon. This milestone in itself makes Daddy and I so incredibly proud. This is the same baby who, if you remember your earlier days, would wake up every 2.5 hrs at night and wouldn't nap for more than 20 minutes during the day. We just couldn't figure out how two people who LOVE to sleep, made a baby who hated it so much. We're SO glad you're beyond that! It seems like so long ago that you were that small, but the sleepless nights are still pretty fresh in our minds...in case you're wondering why you don't have a sibling yet. :)

Anyway, as I did last month, here are some of your latest words and phrases:

Things: firetruck, basketball hoop (bassabah goop), football, bubbles, crayon, flower, drum, guitar, phone, egg, sticker, water, light, door, pillow, spin, door, step, stop sign, ding dong (doorbell), book, hat, plane, spoon, fork, plate, knife
Sounds: ding-dong, ruff-ruff, beep
Body parts: ears, eyes, nose, toes, foot, hair, teeth
People: Damma (Gramma), Poppa (Grampa), May (Aunt Meg), Deh (Uncle Derek), Teesee (Krissy), and we're working on getting Uncle Ryan's name down.
Animals: hippo, elephant (ephan), zebra (zzzzzzee), giraffe (graph), chick, seahorse, turtle
Shapes: trapazoid (tappa-so), octagon (ockagon), pentagon(penta-on), hexagon (heckagon)
Songs: you like to fill in the words for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and One Two Buckle My Shoe, and you request that I read the Skip to My Lou book by saying "Sip To"
Phrases: Blue's Clues (booze cooze), oh June (your favorite Little Einsteins character), light on, light off, outside cold (ahsigh code!), baby night-night, I close (you close any door that is open), uh-oh fall down, achoo!, alphabet song (affa song), sit!, wow, whoa, umm, no, no, no (while gently shoving me or Daddy away), pease, pease, pease (if you want us to help you with something), more, all done, slow down (so dun)

I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting, since you seem to come up with a few new words everyday. We love to hear your sweet little voice telling us what you want and what you're thinking. Every night, after you're in bed, your dad and I laugh about something funny or cute you did. We're having so much fun with you, and can't wait to see what you'll do next.

Love, Mommy & Daddy