16 Months

Will is 16 months old! He is turning into such a big boy. He seems bigger, older, smarter, funnier, crazier, and more lovable every single day.

This month has had a common theme. Ducks. Yes, you heard me. Ducks. Will has what I consider to be an unhealthy obsession with ducks.

We have a couple of ponds in our neighborhood (conveniently located next to 2 playground areas), and Will wants to go every day to see the ducks. I get him out of bed in the morning and hold him in my lap on the couch for a few minutes, until he wakes up enough to jump down and run to the front door, saying: quack, quack, quack, quack, quack...bread? He wants to feed the ducks. At 7:00 a.m. I always tell him the ducks are still sleeping. I'm pretty sure they really are.

But the obsession doesn't stop there. Oh no. That's just the beginning. He only wants to watch DVD's that have ducks on them. In particular, he wants to watch his Sing-Along video that has Old McDonald's Farm on it, and he wants to watch that song over and over and over again. He only wants to read books that have ducks in them. Once you find a duck, he doesn't even want you to turn the page. He just wants to point and quack. He carries around a duck puzzle piece, he plays with his rubber ducks in the bathtub, he's even been sleeping with one of his rubber ducks. I'm telling you....unhealthy obsession.

I try to get him to notice other animals. We even took him to the zoo. All he wanted to look at were the ducks. At the zoo! With tons of other, much cooler animals around. But he couldn't be swayed. The boy loves his ducks.

So every day (usually 2 or 3 times a day), we go feed the ducks. We throw them bread, we quack at them, and we tell them bye-bye. I'm pretty sure those ducks know our names.

Thankfully, he also likes to go play in the park, so we don't have to spend all of our time with the ducks. He's getting so good at climbing up and going down the slide all by himself. He loves to swing and throws his head back and says, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, when I push him.

He loves playing with any kind of ball. He kicks them, throws them, and puts them through the hoop on his basketball goal. He does take them in the bathtub with him sometimes, too. It's always nice to have a break from the ducks! He got to go to his first Thunder game this month, and he loved it! He kept saying, a ball, a ball! Then he would clap his hands and cheer so hard when everyone else did. It was so sweet! I was really surprised at how well behaved he was, but I think there was so much going on that he was thoroughly entertained.

He loves being outside, and we've been so thankful for the beautiful weather we've been having. We both have great tans to prove it! Whether it's going to the park, playing in the back yard, splashing in the water, or playing in the front yard with the neighbors, he's a happy boy if he's "ow-side."

Like I said, he is becoming such a big boy. Doing more and more big boy things. It is sad to see my little baby disappearing, but it is so much fun to see this toddler emerging. He keeps me entertained and makes me laugh every day. Like when he wants to sleep with random objects (DVD's, shoes, rubber ducks, etc.). Or when he wants to take random objects in the car with him (hangers, all of his bath toys, tupperware containers, etc.) He is definitely his own person, and I hope he stays that way.

Love you so much, sweet Will!