Harper Cole is 19 months old now and just full of sooooo much energy! He keeps us laughing with all of his funny expressions, sayings, and actions. I am just blown away by how much he learns and soaks in things with each and every day. He will repeat just about anything you ask him to say (sometimes it’s right on target, sometimes it’s sorta close, and sometimes it’s just the way he wants to say it!). It’s funny how I know his little language and can usually figure out what he’s trying to get across! He’s adding more two and three word expressions into his vocabulary also…”there it goes”, “play, trains, fun”, “I’m sweet”, “I’m strong”, “train tracks”, “eat, yum”, and so on…

He’s growing like a weed, looking more like a two-year old than a 19 month old baby. He’s skinny as a rail though, so that makes life very interesting when it comes to getting a good fit with clothing! His hair is very blonde and he’s already had 3 haircuts in the back because it grows slowly on top and quickly in the back which = mullet. Ha! He’s very active…he loves to run, chase, swing, slide, ride toys, and just wiggle all around!

He’s into Thomas the Train, trains in general, Elmo, Backyardigans, Veggie Tales, Blue’s Clues, and so on….He LOVES books! (Hooray!!!) We read between 5 and 10 books a day and he relates what he learns to everyday life! For example, we’ve been reading a book to him that has a big clock in it and every time he sees a clock (on watches, walls, and even downtown), he says “clock”. His favorite books are: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”, “Go Dogs Go”, “Good Morning Trains”, “Where’s Spot?”, “Goodnight Moon”, and “What Does Baby Say?”. He knows most of his letter sounds and is starting to identify the letters. For example, he saw an “A” on Shane’s shirt the other day, pointed to it, and said the a sound. Counting isn’t going as quickly…he still just says the numbers 2, 6, 9, and 10. I’m sure the others will come with time!

He’s enjoying football season being here already! He says “go vols” (vuvols), “sack-em” (sacks), “football” (fuball), “Tennesse” (Tinsee), and “touchdown”. His playground and play area are finished in the backyard, so he loves to go “awside” and “pay” and have “fun”. We go to Kindermusik once a week and we go to storytime at the library once a week. We usually have at least one playdate a week with a friend. We’ve been really blessed to be surrounded by other awesome mommies and babies! I try to do crafty or hands-on activities with him each day. He loves to build with blocks, put together simple puzzles, color, paint (whew, that’s messy!), and just try to figure things out in general.

He has a pretty good memory when it comes to driving around town…he knows where ALL the train tracks are (imagine that!), where the turn-off is to go to the library (he says “books”), he says “bump” when we hit a bump, he says “clock” when we pass the big ones around town, he says “church” when we get close, and he says “out” when I park in a parking lot…haha! Funny guy!

He’s a very good baby, but he is entering that age where he’s trying us. “No” is a big part of the vocabulary, he does tense up and stomp his feet every once in awhile, he’s even tried to hit a time or two. I’m sure these are all a part of growing up, learning what he can and CAN’T get away with, and figuring things out. We try to discipline him in a Godly way, making each “episode” a learning experience. Whew!

We are so incredibly blessed to spend every moment with our sweet angel! He is SO much fun right now, this is an awesome age, and I thank God every single day for my sweet boy!