The Brimhalls: Beckett // 18 months

** July 27, 2015 **

18 things I want to remember about my 18 month old...

1) He is obsessed with stuffed animals and carries them around with him everywhere, cuddling them, kissing them, even sharing his snacks with them...

2) His favorite movie is Curious George and he watches it everyday. His other faves are Tarzan and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, but Curious George will hold his attention for the longest.

3) His favorite snack is either string cheese or (during these brutally hot summer months) otter pops. Whenever I say, "do you want an otter pop?" he starts laughing like a lunatic and runs over to the freezer, waiting for me to get him an otter pop.

4) He loves playing peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek...sometimes, I will be doing something in the kitchen and I will hear him giggling and look over to see his little head peeking up from behind the couch pillows...

5) He is officially down to only 1 2-hour nap a day and sleeps 12 hours through the night, 7-7. He HAS to sleep with a stuffed animal or blanky in hand, fan on, lights off, lullabies on, door closed.

6) He LOVES to be outside and go on walks. Every morning, he brings me his shoes, begging for me to put them on him. Then he brings each family member their pair of shoes. Then he throws a fit by the front door until we take him outside for a walk. Then he throws a massive fit when that walk eventually comes to an end. Then he repeats that 10x a day.

7) He loves to dance and his fave song is "Big Booty" by JLo. Whenever we are in his room, he'll point to the iPod dock and I'll turn on our dance music and he'll spin around the room until he gets dizzy. And he does this hilarious dance move where he squats up and down and swings his left arm only.

8) He has a love/hate relationship with most people in our family...he loves to hit and bite and pull hair...but then he's all about hugging and kissing and saying sorry afterwards. He'll pat our heads and say "nice, nice" after he does something naughty or hurts someone.

9) He has the world's most amazing bed head...and it always gives us a good laugh every morning.

10) He loves his big brother and is always following him around, trying to get his attention and copying everything he does. Anytime he gets in trouble from mom or dad, he runs to his big brother for comfort. And Madden loves it. Beckett isn't typically a hugger or a cuddler, so whenever he hugs or cuddles Madden, Madden is always so proud and is like, "Mom! Look! He likes me!" One time Madden said, "Mom, Beckett's like my pet...he follows me around and everywhere and just loves me!"

11) He is obsessed with taking the lid off of the ottoman and sitting in there...its where you can find him most mornings watching his cartoons...

12) He waves to everyone everywhere we go...animals, people, cars, trains...even his own shadow.

13) Two words that best describe him at this age are mischievous and stubborn. I constantly find him getting into things he shouldn't or doing things he shouldn't. He is climbing on things all the time and is already attempting to climb out of his crib in the morning...I'm sure its only a matter of time until he figures it out. A few days ago, he drank some liquid dishwashing soap from under the kitchen sink and was blowing straight up bubbles out of his mouth. He also loves to stick any and everything into light sockets. And anytime you tell him NO or stop him from doing something he wants to do, he just becomes more determined to do it. And if you STILL won't let him do it, he will face plant on the floor and throw a massive tantrum until he gets his way.

14) He has permanent sleepy eyes and everywhere we go people either say "oh, someone is sleepy!" or "did he just wake up?" even though he didn't. Its so funny, I seriously hear it on a daily basis. So usually, I just say "yep, he's tired, its nap time" instead of explaining to them, "no, he just always looks like that."

(ok, so he really did just wake up in this picture...with one eye crusted shut from pink eye...but you get the idea)

15) He loves hats and never takes his off...which I am totally fine with, cuz his crazy hair is always a moppy, crazy mess anyway...

16) He is terrified of the vacuum. A couple months back, I found him happily playing with toys in his walk-in closet so I left him there and went to go vacuum the living room. When I was finished vacuuming, I went to check on him but couldn't find him anywhere and was about to go into full-on panic mode, when all the sudden I heard a little whimper back behind the clothes hanging in his closet. And thats where I found him hiding and crying. He then sat on the couch while I finished vacuuming and when I finally turned it off, he said "all done?" with tears still running down his face. I laughed and said, "yes, all done." And then he waved "bye-bye" to the vacuum.