Just when we thought you couldn't get any cooler, you proved us wrong. You started walking this month and it has been such an amazing thing to see! I would say your first real steps came on Mother's Day which totally delighted me. From that day on you got a little more brave each day. It only took you a couple of weeks to master the art of walking and now you are moving everywhere alone. Daddy calls it a "white knuckler" when you walk. This is partly because we hold our breath a lot of the time while you wobble and also because you clench your fists and hold them tightly to your chest while you shuffle along. You finally have a reason to wear shoes! You have went shoeless for pretty much 14 months!
You have become very independent lately. You want down to roam at all times. You don't like to be carried much anymore. You want to be down to explore! You are a hit everywhere we go. When we are out at restaurants you always announce whenever anyone is wearing a hat. You don't just say hat once. You say it at least 50 times. You say EVERYTHING at least 50 times. I think you get that from me! Daddy says I like to repeat myself. You are the first to let everyone know food is HOT. You also can clearly let everyone know without any doubt when you are ALL DONE.
You generalize things and it makes me giggle. You walk by watermelons and say "ball, ball, ball". You think anything that goes on your head is a hat. When I put on my headphones or my glasses you say, "hat, hat, hat". You have started to make some animal noises. You make a mean snake sound. I think it is my favorite.
You are just hilarious. Every single day daddy says, "I just get a kick out of this guy". You have your own little teasing, hilarious personality. Today we spent the afternoon crawling around in mud and playing with the water hose. Daddy sprayed you down and you giggled with each drop of water. The cold really shocked you but you seemed to enjoy every minute. I don't know if I have ever seen your dad so happy. There is no other place he would rather be than playing with you. You woke up the other morning and "DAT" was the first word out of your mouth. You moved through every room looking for him. Tonight we sat down to read books. It was poker night so dad was out. You sat down for books and immediately started with "DAT, DAT, DAT". You two are amazingly close.
I am off with you for nearly three months. I am BEYOND thrilled to spend this time with you. I've already had a couple of days off with you this summer and they have been some of the best ever. Daddy is off on vacation over the next week. We can't wait to take you to the zoo and do some fun firsts. We could not love you more!
