18 Months

Our little man Paul is 18 months old already.  How did this happen?  Why must the time fly?

Paul is a firecracker.  He's silly and messy and prone to incredible hulk like behaviors when he becomes angry.  His anger fuse is about an 8th of an inch long.  He eats food like there is no tomorrow and will eat anything and everything.   I don't know where he puts it, he only weighs 24 lbs 6 oz.  His favorite is to pick any red strawberry off the plants in the back yard and eat them whole and spit the stem out. He's a fruit and veggie lover.  He's also officially weaned at 18 months, a slow, gradual (several month long) process without crying, of which I am grateful for.

And apparently he'll eat a live fish. 

We said, "Paul wanna come kiss the fish?"

He responded with an open mouth and lunged in for a bite! hahaha!

 He also likes to bite the tips off of all the crayons.

His first real words were, "I'm Hungry"  HAHA!!!  Typical Paul.  He says this about a thousand times a day.  Also, he's finally saying more that we understand:
shoe
juice
bike
puppy
dog
woof woof
Want that (while pointing)
teeth
nose
eyes

He's mostly very good at pointing and grunting.  Though, he's getting better at repeating words when we say them.  When my parents were here he said Nana and Papa for the first time!

He understands everything and shakes his head no if he doesn't want to do something.

He mimics EVERYTHING Josiah does.  If Josiah is growling like a lion, spitting on the floor, running around like a maniac, asking for food, crying, screaming, wrestling, or anything, Paul is too.  They are quite the pair these days.  Along with that comes sibling rivalry.  They can fight like the best of them, already!!  They can also destroy the house in 10 minutes while I dry my hair.  It's very impressive.

Yes, they are both spitting.

Why do boys think this is so awesome?

He pesters his brother with joy. 

Paul is still only wearing 12-18 month clothes. He's not a very big guy but his personality makes up for it.  He has a mouth full of teeth and wispy blonde hair that is reminiscent of Justin's pictures as a toddler.

Dancing and singing.  Ohh does he love to show off his moves and voice for us.  He may actually have some talent one of these days.  He has a beat and can move to it, unlike Josiah, who couldn't tap to a beat if it was beating on his own chest. haha!

He loves to play by himself, playing with cars or using rags to clean something or put smaller objects in bowls or cups and pouring them in and out.  He also loves the sandbox, pouring sand in his hair and everywhere.  He loves the water and always runs under the hose getting wet when I'm out watering the plants.  Then, when he's wet, he will dig in the dirt and get good and dirty.  His favorite!!!

He's still not a fan of being out and about.  He much prefers just being at home and is kind of a grouch at church every week.  He only has about 2 other people he allows to hold him other than Justin or I.  He is very attached to us and is in the throws of the separation anxiety phase of toddlerhood.  He is also protective of his mother.  If anyone else gets in my lap, he is right there letting me know that it is NOT ok.

Paul is a lucky boy, he still sleeps in our bed at night. (don't judge!)  We are trying to transition him to the bed in Josiah's room, but it's not working so well.  Lately, Josiah has been waking up with night terrors 2-3 times and this really freaks Paul out.  It's just easier for him to be in our room.... though I'm not sure how this is going to work in a few months...  We need a bigger bed.  ha!

Paul is a loving boy, giving many random hugs and kisses to us throughout the day.  How can such sweetness comes from someone so little? Oh my heart could just explode with joy when he grabs my face with his hands and turns it directly in front of his as he plants a big slobbery kiss on my lips and follows it with a hug.  There is just nothing better in the world than that. Nothing.