HP Ritchie {18 Months Young}

Since my last “month-by-month” Harrison post (about 3 months ago), I’ve been keeping a list of memories/milestones in my phone with the intentions of compiling them all into my big “Harrison is 18 months old post” here on the blog. At this stage in the game, it feels like he is changing on a daily basis, and I knew that if I didn’t write things down along the way, that they were bound to fall thru the cracks. Harrison turned 18 months old the day after Christmas, and just as I was (finally) getting ready to put this post together…tragedy struck. My phone decided to take a wild ride through the washing machine, taking my list and everything else along with it. I’ve spent the past few days trying to reconstruct my long list, and while there are undoubtedly some things that were left off, I think that this post will paint a pretty accurate picture of little Harrison as his feisty 18 month self. (On a side note – I've written this entire post once already.  It was long…it was good…then it disappeared. I think there are little technology trolls out there trying to make me lose my mind!!)

Go Go Go: Harrison at 18 months is a constant flurry of activity. He is go, go, go from the minute he wakes up in the morning until we lay him down at night.  He loves to run, throw balls, spin in circles until he’s dizzy, escape up the stairs unnoticed, jump on things he shouldn’t, be chased by his daddy and play “bas-keh-ba” (basketball).  Giggles come easily, messes follow wherever he goes and his personality is shining brighter than ever.  

Trucks Trucks and more Trucks: As you can probably guess by the intro…our little guy LOVES trucks. Actually, trucks, cars, tractors…anything with wheels!  He constantly "vrooms" his arsenal of trucks around the house and is wearing out the pages of his many truck books (which we read more than mom and dad would ever choose to!)   Thanks to them, he can correctly identify a firetruck (and make the siren sound), dump truck, school bus, bulldozer...even a cement mixer!  Our favorite, though, is when we hear an excited "WHOA!  A PICK-UP" coming from the back seat as we drive through town! 

Rub-a-dub-dub: Bath time is one of Harrison’s favorite parts of the day. As a matter of fact, you can’t even say the b-a-t-h word in his presence without him making a bee-line for the stairs. Lately there has been lots of splashing, swimming on his belly, kicking his feet, blowing bubbles….and THANKFULLY….a whole lot less pooping! I can’t wait to get this little water baby back in the pool where he belongs!

Chatterbox: I don’t have a whole lot to compare him to, but I’m pretty sure that Harrison has a lot of words for an 18 month old (am I a proud, bragging mama or what?!) But really, the kid never stops and will try to repeat most everything. It seems like yesterday we were celebrating his first “real” words…and now we frequently catch ourselves giggling as he puts together simple sentences like “Ima meth” (I’m a mess) or yells “Go Packers, Go Go Go” whenever he sees a football game on tv. Feel free to skip a head to the next bullet point, but for my documentation purposes I feel like I need to include a list of his words/phrases at this point.

{Mama/Mommy, Dada/Daddy, puppy, baby (meaning both baby and our dog Maybe), hat/hot/heart (they all sound the same), uh-oh, car, beep, Pepper (my sister’s dog), Aggie (my sister), Aubrey (my neice), up, ball, bear, pick-up, muck (milk), all done, cookie (he had a cracker in the car one day and now asks me for a cookie every time I put him in his carseat!), cracker, pretty, no-no-no, night-night/goonight, click, bear, footie, boo (for both ghosts and cows!), Hawwy (Harry), biaper (diaper), hi, bye-bye, PopPop, nana, owww, a-meh (Amen), tee-tee-tee (1-2-3), two, whoa, where go?, kiwi, various animal sounds (kitty, puppy, sheep, duck, horse, bee, anything that roars), Elmo, tar (star), hockey, wawer (water) and a few more here and there!}

Playing favorites: I always thought that there would be no better sight than seeing Matt and our sweet little Charlotte playing together...but I must admit that this whole father-son thing is pretty awesome as well. Yes, Harrison still has a soft spot for his mama, but his eyes absoltuely light up when he sees his Matt. They can frequently be found chasing each other around the kitchen, shooting hoops, working on their golf game, or just snuggling while watching cartoons together.  My 2 guys are most definitely 2 peas in a pod and they make this mama feel blessed beyond words!

On his own 2 feet:  I realize that all kiddos go through a phase where they like to play with shoes, but Harrison's fascination with all things "footies" really takes things to a new level.  Most mornings his first words to me are "Issa footie" while grabbing his feet.  Need a distraction during a diaper changing melt-down?  Ask him where his footies are.  Forget to put socks on him?  No worries, he'll bring you a pair and sit on your lap until you put them on.  Right foot on the table during dinner?  You mean that's not normal?   

Yum yum yum:  Over the past few weeks, we've started tp see the picky/stubborn side of Harrison come through in the eating department.  One day he'll love something, and the next he's all "no no no," head shaking and pursed lips.  Stinker.  We're doing our best not to cater, but it's sometimes harder than I expected.  Lord knows by looking at the size of his belly, the boy ain't gonna starve!  At 18 months he's great with a fork, getting there with a spoon, but prefers to hold them in one hand while he eats sans utinsils with the other!

Just a little more:  In an attempt to prevent an already long post from becoming even longer, here's a quick run down on a few more things H has been up to!  He started a new daycare this week.  There are more kids his age, more structure, and an indoor gym for him to run around in like a maniac.  What's not to like?  He's not big on snuggles, but boy does he dole out the kisses (each accompanied by a big "mmmm-ahhh!")  I even caught him kissing a stuffed horse in the basement the other day!  Speaking of kisses, he met his future girlfriend back around Christmas (too bad she lives all the way in Alaska!).  He is proficient in sign language...well...one word anyway.  He can sign "more" with the best of them!  He thinks that computers, iPads and iPhones exist for the sole purpose of watching Elmo videos and will stop dead in his tracks if he spots the Wiggles on tv.

We are loving this age so incredibly much and wish that we could bottle up all of the cute things Harrison says and does on a daily basis! I can't even begin to put into words how much we love this little guy.  

Happy 18 months, Mr. Man!