I can't believe we haven't posted since May! It has been an incredibly busy summer! We've been fortunate enough to have seen many of our friends and family members over the past several months, including Aunt Beast and Uncle Micho who were in town visiting from China for three weeks .
Since May, we've been to (combined) three weddings, and have visited Santa Cruz, Big Sur, LA, Bakersfield, New Jersey, and the Russian River (some of those places twice). We're leaving this Saturday for Austin, TX and will return only to head out again on a trip to Arnold, CA with two of our favorites. :)
It's amazing to think how much Bub has developed (physically, emotionally, and mentally) since May. While looking at pictures we had taken last weekend, I was struck by just how much of a little boy he is. Even though we still refer to him as "the baby", he is evidently a full-blown toddler.
I don't know when we got here, but we're now able to have conversations with him! While I believe that only Jen and I can really decipher his mix of toddler vocabulary and signs, he absolutely follows conversations and responds (appropriately, most of the time). He has a wonderful memory, and has started recounting recent happenings (when prompted). He knows that Uncle John has a boat, and will now say "Uncle" or "Jon" (which sounds a lot like "God" at this point) whenever he sees a boat. He then wants to talk about the steps in the boat and the big steering wheel.
We also have a whole new list of our favorite "All Things Bub".
1) He recently started saying "oh no" in such a mournful little voice. He uses this phrase ubiquitously, now. Everything from spilling a sippy cup to noticing crumbs on the floor to hearing that one mom has to leave the room earns a "ohhhhhh noooooo".
2) Purple is the be all, end all in his book. Even though he can point to colors if you ask him where a certain one is, if you ask him "Bub, what color is that?", he ALWAYS responds with purple (which may or may not sound like "poo poo" depending on his mood at the time). If there is a color choice, you better believe he's picking the purple. We even (successfully) tried using red and blue food coloring to dye his milk purple since he's been on a milk strike lately.
3) He LOVES his moms...together. All he wants is for all three of us to be in the same room ALL THE TIME. If one of us has to step out, even if it means he's still engaged in a fun activity with the other mom, he gets VERY upset.
Same guy, back in January.
4) He has the sweetest little coy face. When he's trying not to smile or knows he's being cute, he purses his little lips and turns his head sideways just a bit. It's precious.
5) He goes CRAZY for water! Be it a pool, an ocean, the bay, or a river, this kid CAN NOT get enough. He doesn't care if we're all in sweatshirts and jeans, he is going in.
Even though it feels like this little boy can't possibly be the same baby we brought home from the hospital, that there's no humanly possible way that 21 months have passed, I do feel like we've really been living in the moment. We haven't been taking this time for granted. We realize this time is precious. We don't need reminders that it goes by too quickly; we are well-aware! And because of that, we take the extra time to snuggle with him when he falls asleep on one of us at night. We stop folding laundry to play ball in the backyard. We let him water the flowers naked when he feels there just isn't enough time to get dressed. We experience the world with him, through his eyes. It's humbling and exciting to bear witness to it, and we savor it. It isn't always easy, but we take the time to savor it.