Snippets...

Time has flown by in the past couple months.  Between the busyness of Popeye's work, my health, and the holiday season, I feel like too much time has passed without me documenting the changes that are happening in our family and our home.  My camera hardly left the safety of its Crumpler bag for the past month or so, and the nearly empty photo files from the winter months are evidence to prove that.  

Today I decided it was high time I got myself in gear and do something about my lackluster attempts at memorializing this time in our lives.  Even if it is just a couple photos and a blog post, it makes me feel better knowing that the little moments of today will not be forgotten...There is so much I want to remember about this time we are in.  I want to remember every good moment... every laugh... every smile.  I want to remember the little sparks and quirks that are coming out in Swee'Pea's personality... all the things he does and says that make him who he is.

He is only fifteen months old, but already I feel like I'm getting glimpses of who he will be when he is older.  He is smart.  Oh so smart.  He remembers how to do things I've shown him only once or twice how to do... he knows where his room is, and where to find the best toys.  He knows that "num nums" come from the pantry, and "milk" comes from a carton of soy milk we keep in the fridge.  He knows that Wii remotes control race cars and that keys unlock doors and start engines.

He is a chatterbox, and will talk to anyone who'll listen.  His voice is as sweet as an angel's, and his facial expressions while conversing are to die for.  His aunties swear that if he had a twin they'd have their own little alien language together, and I have to say I agree.  Many words he says are a jumble of sounds and grunts, but more often than not I can actually understand what he is saying.  He clearly says "thank you," "what's that," "num nums," "mama," "dada," "outside," "no," "here ya go," and a whole slew of other words.  My favorite expression of his would have to be "um..." It is quite adorable when he uses it, which is usually after you ask him a question and he needs time to think.  

His favorite place in the whole wide world is outside.  As soon as he gets up in the morning he races to the back door and tries to open it (which means deadbolts now must be locked at all times).  After breakfast I bundle him up, and he plays outside on his fort and in his truck for a good hour before he comes back in, snot faced and rosy cheeked.  I'm usually bundled up on the porch in a blanket and boots with a mug of steaming coffee.  But more and more I've learned to brave the cold and join him in his fun, racing around the backyard while pushing him in his truck, or investigating the streets of our neighborhood while walking to get the mail.  Last week we rode our bike to the grocery store, and he smiled the entire time the wind whipped through his hair while sitting in the bike trailer amongst the broccoli and pizza sauce.  

He is so interested in the world around him and what makes things work.  Every buckle he sees he sets out to open and close.  Every random toy or piece of trash he discovers must go into a box or a basket.  A few days ago he was mesmerized by his daddy and uncle working with some wiring in our master bedroom.  He sat low on his haunches, inspecting their work, and taking the opportunity whenever it presented itself to steal the electric screwdriver and make it run and run and run.  Every new finding is greeted with a fascinated "oh..." from his little lips, and his fascination with new things is heightened when Popeye or myself run to take away whatever naughty thing he has gotten into.  His latest discovery is the flusher on the toilets, which he has yet to quite master but has sneakily attempted to on more occasions than one.

Oh how incredibly amazing, this child of mine.  And how incredibly sweet is each and every day we have with him.