17 months

Well, honestly, Luke's growing and changing, BUT it's hard to document all the little things. He's mostly just funny now and does random things. I feel like I think of things to put on there and then when I sit down to write it, it all goes 'poof'. I'll do my best!

• I'm pretty sure he just went through a growth spurt. For one, he slept until after 7 for four days in a row which is a true miracle. Now, his 12 month shirts are way too short for him and don't quite go over his head unless you give them a good tug. He's in 16 month shirts, but he still fits fine in 12 month pants. The pants do have to be pretty generous on elastic, but they're not too tight to work. I have a feeling we'll still be in the bottom percentiles at his doctor's appointment at the end of this month, but that's the story of all of our lives.
• He's also still in size 3 diapers. I think he could move to 4's, but why push it? 
• He knows the sounds that a cow, cat, duck, sheep, and a dog. But he just grunts when you ask him what a dog says; he's consistent, but I'm not sure that's totally correct. He also calls most animals a cat. Except for owls and ducks, he knows what they are.
• He also things any mode of transportation is a car. When we go for a walk he will point out every single vehicle you see and say 'car!' So I think he literally says that word on average of 75 times a day. No lie.
• He does love boats, though. He does not confuse boats with anything else at all. He also loves to ride in boats with the wind in his hair. And he totally hates the life jacket, so we'll see how that works out next summer. For now, it wasn't pushed. He will literally squeel with delight and do his happy dance (stomping his feet) when you got for a boat ride. He LOVES it! I can't wait to stick him on a tube out behind the boat! I hope that rocks his world.
• He now loves to run. I asked him, "Do you like to run?" And he nodded his head. He must love it because he runs a lot. He runs more than he walks at this point.
• He also likes to kick balls. He'll run all around a gym kicking a ball. Maybe he'll enjoy soccer- we'll see.
• His favorite books now are ones where there are just pictures and he points to them and you tell him what he sees. We can do this for hours on end. I'm still waiting to see the payoff.
• He learned to use the slide all by himself. He can climb up the ladder and slide down feet first. The only problem is he's not that careful or balanced yet, so he's fallen off the top of the slide 3 times now. The slide has been temporarily removed. We'll revisit it in about a month or two when maybe he's learned to be more careful- or not. I'm just tired of picking up a crying baby off the floor right now.
• He just got another haircut. I think he's had 5 now.
• He's still an organizer. He closes doors, he moves things to where they belong, he puts things back- it's amazing. I don't consider myself a neat person, so maybe I can just count on him to pick things up for me. Awesome. He also doesn't like for his hands to be dirty. He asks for them to be brushed off regularly. He also doesn't like dirt between his toes. He will sit down and clean his toes about 5 times a day, maybe more. It's a little weird, but oh well.
• All in all, he's still a happy kid.  He's very entertaining on a daily basis. He is a kid who loves to say hi and bye to everyone he sees. He regularly leaves the grocery store and says, "bye", to everyone we pass. It's pretty funny. He is complemented all of the time about his wonderful personality and how laid back he is which is very true. We're pretty lucky to have such a fun, cute baby.

The pictures below are from his first day of Mother's Day Out which just happened to be a few days after his 17 month birthday. He's only been once, but he did great! He even took an hour and 15 minute nap which is nothing short of a miracle! His MDO is at our church, First Methodist. His teachers are Becky and Judy. There's 7 other babies in his class. I think he'll enjoy being there! I know I will....

Shaggy hair dude

Blurry but cute- loves his bear :)

Always reaching for a book

Loves to read

Sweet face

Best pic I got with his backpack. He moves too quickly and too much

Trying to lift his heavy backpack