Deacon: 18 Months

  My baby is growing too fast! I wish I could freeze time. I am loving the phase Deacon is in but I know I always say that! He really is such a good, sweet little boy. I feel like he gets easier the older he gets. Sure, he throws tantrums and there are difficult days but for the most part he is pretty easy going and I understand what he wants and needs. 

I don't even know where to begin with what he is doing right now because he is doing so much. I'm sure I am biased because I'm his mom but I think he is such a smart little boy. He has so much spunk and personality and I keep wondering what our future kids will be like because I feel like he radiates so much personality. 

Deacon is absolutely obsessed with trains, cars, trucks, and buses....basically anything that goes! We live right next to the train tracks and Deacon is in absolute heaven! He has 2 favorite spots in our house to watch the trains. One is in our bedroom where he stands on a little foot stool to look out the window and the other is out the window in our living room where he pushes a chair to the window to look out. Our blinds are always up and if you walked by our house you would most likely see Deacon in the window. The second Deacon hears a train he yells "train" or "choo choo" and runs to the window. He loves for us to hold him up to the window so he can get a better view! He loves being outside and watching all the trucks and cars go by which he says "tru" for truck and "vroom vroom" for cars. He does the sign for bus but can't quite say the word. He will keep saying these words over and over until we acknowledge what he saw. 

He loves going to the park. He loves going down the slides. He can walk up the stairs by himself without holding onto the rail. He loves running across the bridge a million times. He loves playing with the wood chips. 

He has the cutest cheesy grin that he does and has the funniest little chuckle that goes along with it. 

He loves to hold our hands wherever he goes and he is pretty particular about how he holds hands. It is the sweetest thing ever!

He has gotten quite attached to his blankets and his stuffed dinosaur. He loves to snuggle up to them and puts his blankets by his face and gives his dinosaur hugs. In the morning he calls my name when he wakes up and when I go into his room he is standing up and has his blanket in one arm and his dino in the other just waiting to get out. It is the best way to start the day. 

He loves to sing 2 different songs that he learned at the library: "shake your silly's out" and "bread and butter". He does the actions perfectly. 

{stretching his silly's out, doing a kick, and folding his arms to pray}

He understands nearly everything it seems and we are surprised everyday at how much he knows. He is starting to get a grasp on colors and shapes. 

He loves riding his trike and playing in the rocks outside. 

He has become quite the climber and loves climbing on our furniture and jumping off. 

He folds his arms for prayers and says amen when we are done. 

He has matured so much in the last few months and suddenly has started to behave so much better at church. He can make it through nearly all of Sacrament and doesn't try to escape. Don't get me wrong it is quite hectic trying to entertain him but he seems to get the concept of church. He loves getting the bread and water. 

He is getting his top 2 molars. He went through a pretty terrible week or two of napping and I'm pretty sure that's when the molars started coming through. I was so worried he was giving up his naps but he is doing fine again. 

He is trying so hard to talk. He repeats what we say and gives most words a good attempt. Here is a list of some of the words he is saying consistently:

 park, slide, tru (truck), ball, amen, cheese, nana, papa, hi, outside, bike, stairs, go, vroom (car), mama, dada, train, blue, Costco, bread, aust (Austin), croc (crocodile), pa (pirates), min (minnie), Kiwi Loco (our favorite yogurt shop)

He has started combining words and signs to make 2 word phrases.

He loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates and always talks about the Crocodile on the show. He does the actions of what the Croc does and it is hysterical. 

He loves squirrels. We frequent the cemetery by our house so we can feed them peanuts. 

He is pretty predictable and follows a really good routine. I think both him and I need this! He is a great sleeper and a great eater. 

He doesn't take milk before bed but has really become a milk lover during the day. He has started to ask for it quite frequently. 

Deacon is not quiet at all and is the biggest entertainer of all time. He loves attention and has become quite the little show-off when people come to our house. 

He has become a bit "bossy" as I like to say. He is very particular about how he wants things done and even tells me how to play with him through words and actions. He is such a crack up!

He has become quite the little traveler the last couple of months with our busy schedule. It seems like we have been gone every weekend. He does great in the car as long as he can watch a show. 

He did awesome while we went to Hawaii, especially with it being practically the first time we have ever left him. 

He is a little jokester and loves to tickle us and tease us. 

We love this boy to pieces and can't imagine life without him. I can't believe how much joy he brings into our home. I want a million more kids just like him...ok not really but he is so much fun to have around!