20 months old, a new coat, and a few other shots

Today Lawson is 20 months old! So hard to believe... He is turning into a "little boy" right before our eyes. His communication skills are blossoming and we, (poor Russ), are paying for my raising as he talks NON-STOP. It is neat, however, that we are able to understand exactly what he is saying most of the time, where others, including his teachers, don't always know what he is saying. There is a level of satisfaction that goes with being able to accurately communicate with your child whose speech is truly "his"... no one else speaks that language, however we can understand him. I like it. : ) The last time we were traveling home, he talked and talked and talked some more and we joked about his "vocabulary", wondering how many words he knew, how many he was supposed to know, etc. and we began to make a list. That night we came up with 93 words and thought of more as time passed... he is definitely a talker!

At 20 months, he is also doing lots of other neat things. He is still enjoying going to school with his friends and his behavior has become much more pleasant, which I believe is due to the continual development of his communication skills. He is declining in the eating area which is supposed to be normal, but a few of his faves are grilled cheese, french fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, bananas, roast with potatoes and carrots, shredded cheese, mandarin oranges, apple sauce, yogurt, potato chips, pickles, cole slaw, cinnamon rolls, rice and beans, fruit snacks, country ham, corn on the cob, green beans, butterbeans, corn, peas, and a few other things. He loves his milk and apple juice and has gotten brave with sweet tea and coke when given the opportunity. I am afraid he is going to like chocolate - the milk shakes from Chick-fil-a are a hit and he also liked the chocolate cake I made on Monday night at 9:00! : )

As to playing, he is becoming more of a "player". For a little while, he seemed to become bored with playing, but since Christmas he is really enjoying his new toys and is having a lot of fun! We are enjoying playing with him and watching his creativity with the tent, blocks, and other new toys. He loves his bath time, esp the new bath boat that cousin Nolan gave him for Christmas... it's great! I am also pleased that he likes books, he enjoys being read to and then also reading to himself. We have a few favorites, but overall he is content to sit down with any book, talking and turning the pages as if he was reading. He certainly likes all animals, airplanes, big trucks, tractors, and choo-choos and never misses a beat if we see one when we are out and about... he blows our minds quite frequently! The school bus is a new hit in the mornings, but for now it is a "big truck". The last mentionable area is his singing and dancing... it is hilarious! He absolutely loves music and dancing and will cut a rug whenever and wherever the music is and the notion strikes him - Gander Mountain hosted last night's official dance floor! I hope to upload a video if I can figure it out... if we are at home, he has to have a microphone, which is actually one of his blocks, when he is singing and dancing! So cute and too funny.

And as to the new coat... we were shopping last night for a few things Russ was needing and were at Gander Mountain when I saw this cute little coat. It was a 3T so I was slightly disappointed, but we decided to try it on just to see how it fit... it was just right and even better, he LOVES it and doesn't want to take it off! It's just like daddy's! We have a nice puffy red coat that he strongly dislikes. The fits are so intense that we were to the point of not even making him wear it. This is the dream coat... for the first two days anyways. I hope he will continue to want to wear it!

Here is a picture of him today on his 20 month birthday in his new green coat! : ) Playing in daddy's boots... what a handsome boy.




The remainder of the pictures are just cute shots from the past week. He has discovered his new John Deere dump truck has multiple purposes.

He can ride it...

Or he can push it...

And lastly the tent. He loves it and it brings him so much fun and joy! We play and play and play. He sits his chair inside to watch a movie, he eats in the tent, he hides in the tent, and the list goes on and on. Most importantly, he has fun in the tent!

Looking forward to more great memories, Lawson Bragg!