Muuuuah!

London James is closely approaching 17 months old and I think this may be the most fun age so far. He is such a funny little boy. His days consist of playing, running, laughing, hugging, tackling the dogs, wrestling with dad and he LOVE LOVE LOVES drawing. He is so well behaved in public (for the most part), he loves his dogs, his grandma, and his babysitter. He is so well-adjusted and sweet. He gives kisses and hugs to everyone and everything. He is no longer freaking out around strangers and men. He will now happily give grandpa a high five and a wave and will wrestle with Uncle Sean (as long as mommy or daddy are fairly nearby)
He is growing tall but still not eating much. His chunky thighs are replaced with long lanky legs. He still has his big old belly and is still having issues with pooping. We are hoping that soon he'll start eating more and that may help with his pooping.
We were able to skype with my parents last weekend and London said "papa" when pointed to my dad. My parents were so happy to see him and it was awesome to see him be old enough to interact. He kept pointing at their faces and looking at me and smiling. I miss them all so much and hoping to see them soon. It's awesome to be able to skype with my sister in Pittsburgh so I can see Mason, Isla, and baby Jude.
London also has a new cousin named Willow. She is so cute and looks so much like him it's crazy. He loves to give her kisses but got overly excited last time he saw her and clocked her in the head...ooops.
I am getting a little sad as London grows so fast and becomes more independent. I do cherish those rocking chair moments when he is nestled on my chest and finally ready to cuddle. He does stop playing and run and give m
e hugs every once in a while so I guess he's not quite too cool yet. haha...I can't wait until spring break and I get him for a whole week. Just 1 more month and then the summer countdown begins :-)

16 Months..."My daaaa!"

We've noticed that with each new month, London immediately acquires new skills and behaviors. It's like he wakes up on the 5th of each month a new man. This month he has added the word "my" to every phrase. He says "my da car" (my dad's care) and "my dog"..."my milk...and where my milk?" He can understand many commands and it's pretty cool. He can tell us what he wants by walking to the pantry and pointing and saying "my daaaaa" which we assume means "I want" We can tell him to go get a book and then ask hi to turn to "the page with the door" and he can find that page...amazing! He gets so proud when he is successful too. He also is quite the little artist. He has an easel and tons of tub crayons. He has decorated our tub, his tub, a few walls and tons of papers. He's pretty good. He learned to take off the tops of the markers so we're in a bit of trouble with that one. We keep them in an unreachable spot currently.
He has an obsession with milk and not such a good appetite. We're hoping he is just going through a phase.
Lately London has been having meltdowns in stores if he can't have something he wants. Last weekend at Garden Ridge I gave London a car book to hold his attention while we looked for a new toy organizer (picture below) He held onto the book tightly. When it was time to go we put the book back. By the time I got to the door he was having a full blown tantrum screaming and crying. We got to the car and as I was strapping him in he looked at me and said "my car" and a huge tear ran down his cheek. I grabbed him and walked back in and bought him the book. I wrote him a message on the inside and dated it. We had a similar incident with a bag of pretzels, ball, and pillow. We did not buy the pillow but gave in to the ball and got him an elmo balloon yesterday. We are not planning on keeping this up and Kary always says he'd never be the dad that would just hand stuff over to keep him quiet...haha....it's a matter of survival.
I love weekends with my boys and London had his buddy Dexter over last weekend and they had a great time. London is still not the nicest friend to Dexter but we're working on it. The age gap is getting closer so they are starting to play together. It was cool to hear Dexter talk so much and see where London will be in about 10 months. I can't wait for summer and spring break is coming up soon. I am so lucky to have a career that allows me to spend every summer with my London. It makes all the crap I deal with throughout the year worth it.