The 18 Month was Nestled All Snug in His Bed. . .

Taylor -- It's Christmas Eve and you are officially 18 months old today!  Can you believe it?  Tomorrow, you will wake up and see what Santa brought for you.  I can't wait to see you open your presents and play with your new toys.  This will be a Christmas that you can really enjoy.

Over the last month, we have stayed really busy.  We went to see Santa and as you already know, you were not a big fan of sitting on his lap this year.  We got to ride the Pink Pig.  You thought the ride was awesome, but didn't love Priscilla the Pig.  We had lots of fun going to Aunt Holly's house for the Forrester family's Christmas.  You got to eat lots of sweets, open up presents, and run around with all of your cousins.

You have grown up so much over the last month and are doing so many new things.  You are "talking" all of the time now and love to talk on the phone.  When Daddy is at work and we call him, you say "Hey Daddy. . ." and proceed to tell him all about your day.  When you are finished, you say "I love you" and "bye-bye."

You have cut two new teeth (one to the left and the other to the right of your two front teeth on the bottom).  These two seem to be giving you some trouble because you are putting anything you can in your mouth. . . including Mommy's leg and Daddy's head.  We are working on making sure you understand what is off limits when it comes to biting.

I have to admit, you are a bit of a Mama's boy right now and while it may be a little annoying to others, I think it is incredibly cute.  You are so sweet and are always ready to give me a hug and tell me "I love you Mama."  In the morning, I know when you are up because you call out "Hey, Mama!  Hey, Mama!"  It starts my morning off with a smile on my face. 

You are also very jealous of your Daddy.  You don't like it when he hugs or kisses me.  You try to get between us and push him away.  The other day, your Daddy started tickling me just to see what you would do.  You climbed up on the couch, hugged my neck, and then turned around and popped your Daddy in the face!  I thought it was wildly funny, but it took your Daddy completely by surprise.  Usually, you get in trouble for hitting, but not this time because you were protecting your Mama!

In just the past week, you have begun to say the prayer at the dinner table.  When we sit down and say "it's time to pray," you hold our hands and start "praying."  We know you are finished, because you always end with a very enthusiastic "Amen!"

You are incredibly social.  You wave and feel the need to say "hi" to every person we pass on the street and on any grocery store aisle.  I've got to say that it doesn't get old.  It's cute to see people that looked grumpy light up after talking to you.  As we pass them, you say "bye-bye" and look for the next person to greet.

One of your favorite things to do is play with your friends.  When you are at Mrs. Joanna's house, you like playing with Ella, Ruby, and Caroline.  You especially love Mrs. Joanna's daughter, Rachel.  Whenever we get together with Evan and Brayden, you boys always have a good time.  And of course, there is never a dull moment when you and Ryleigh are together. 

You have gotten in the bad habit of hitting people or things when you get mad, which these days happens pretty often.  You don't like being told "no" when you have your mind made up.  You already think you are grown up and are starting to show lots of independence.  One thing you've started to do is tell us when you've gone to the bathroom.  The other day you said "Uh oh, poo" and then went and brought me the wipes.  Now if only there was a way to get you to start potty training early.

Right now, you are obsessed with the movie Cars.  You absolutely love it and we watch it at least once a day.  I guess I'm pretty lucky that you like a cool movie and not Barney or the Wiggles.  Aside from Cars, you still love Sesame Street.  Your two favorite books are still your "Look and Find" books.  You've started finding new things in them.  Now, you can say "Lightning McQueen" and "helicopter." 

Tonight, we got out the crayons and a plain sheet of white paper, so you could write Santa a letter.  I loved watching you lay on your belly with your tongue sticking out and your head cocked to the side.  Sometimes, you really seem to be concentrating on doing things just right. 

It's almost time for Santa to come!  Even though you didn't really like visiting the "big guy" this year, you have become pretty good at saying "Ho, ho, ho!"  I can hardly wait to see your face tomorrow when you see what he brought you.  It's going to be a great morning filled with pancakes and presents.

Sleep tight my little Santa Baby. . . morning will be here before you know it.

Santa Baby

On Friday, December 10th, Brent and I took Tay to see Santa at Phipps Plaza.  We went there last year and he did great.  He smiled and laughed and we got the most precious picture.  Brent and I weren't really sure how he would react this year.  But lately, since he's been a bit of a Mama's boy, we expected the worse.

When we got there, I showed him the other kids that were sitting on Santa's lap and talked to him about how he was going to see Santa.  Then, it was our turn and everything was fine until I took him off of my hip and reached him out towards Santa's outstretched arms.  Then it was the "Mama" heard 'round the world!  Tay proceeded to cry big ol' crocodile tears, scream "Mama, Mama, Mama!," and try to squirm out of Santa's grasp. 

 They ended up taking three pictures.  The first, was of Taylor looking over at me with a pouty look and the "I can't believe you are such a traitor" look in his eyes.  The second and third were of him crying with his mouth wide open.  In one of them, he was looking straight at the camera. . . so, that is the one that is now framed in our house.  The way I look at it, everyone needs at least one picture of their child screaming with Santa, right? 

We went from Phipps over to Lenox, so we could try and ride the Pink Pig.  We tried to ride it last year, but the line was way too long and way too cold for a little baby.  This year, the line wasn't so bad and the weather was actually pretty nice, considering what it had been lately.  We got our tickets and waited our turn in line as patiently as we could.

When we got close to the big tent, there was Priscilla the Pig all dressed up and ready to take pictures with the kids.  I told Brent that I would go stand next to her with Tay, so that we could get a picture.  Brent didn't think Taylor would go for that idea and he was absolutely right!  As soon as I tried to take a step towards her, Tay squeezed his thighs around my waist as tight as he could and started screaming "bye-bye, bye-bye!" as he waved good-bye to Priscilla the Pig.  Needless to say, that was the end of that idea and Taylor kept his eye on her like a hawk until we made it around the corner.

Overall, it was a really good day. . .drama and all!  What can I say other than I love my Santa Baby!