18 months old!

Dear Langston,
I love you so much! You crack me up! You make me smile, you make me cry, you make me pray, you make me want to be a better person and a good mommy. I am amazed at how much you've changed over these 18 months. You've evolved into the most lovable, adorable, delightful, beautiful little boy. Your smile and your joy are infectious. I watch you in amazement that I had anything to do with you (believe me, I know the work is all God's and I am just uber-blessed to have been given the chance to play a part in your entrance to this Earth).

You are talking up a storm. They call you the human tape recorder at your school because you repeat EVERYTHING! You say your prayers before eating with a resounding "Amen!" You say, "out please" when you want to be relived of your high chair and "thank you" when you're given something yummy - or anything really. You make everyone who sees you grin with the sheer pleasure of watching you take in the world about you. There is this way that you throw that delightful little grin of yours around knowing that it will probably get you somewhere ~ and the dimples don't hurt. I've watched you play peek-a-boo like a pro and now you even throw in a sideways glance to really make us laugh. Your specialty is looking at us from beneath those long dark lashes and really giving us the "eye"!

You are into EVERYTHING! We believe we've lost your rain boots and Mommy's car keys to the trash. Not to mention credit cards to the toy basket and God only knows what else. You love to climb and explore much to our dismay, sometimes. You're a pro at the stairs despite the fact that it makes us nervous and cranky. You just laugh and smile as if to say, "but look what I can do!"

Now that you're a year and 1/2 old, I think it is official. You've probably hit the terrible twos early! You say things like "sit down!" and "get down!" when you see other children doing something you were probably just doing - and yet you do it with such sincerity sometimes we just have to laugh. You LOVE taking baths. You LOVE singing Old MacDonald and reading "Goodnight Moon". Really, you love books, period. Any book will do. You delight in reading and learning and listening to stories (which makes us deliriously happy!).

You know the sound the train makes (you LOVE to play with your trains and happily chirp "choo choo") and the duck, the cow, the kitty cat and so many other animals. When I took you to your 18 month doctor's appointment, even the doctor was surprised to hear you answer him clearly when he asked you who was in a picture you handed him (our Christmas card and your Target ad) and you matter of factly said, "Langston." You're well-behaved in restaurants, you enjoy munching on popcorn in the movies (which REALLY cracks us up) and you can readily point to your eyes and your nose, ears, tummy, hair, head, feet and "little piggies" when asked.

You like to dance and stomp your feet. You do baby yoga with Mommy and play the piano with Daddy. You have two church families who absolutely adore you and pray for you constantly. Your Daddy and I think your network is, in fact, larger than ours. We know sometimes your personality is.

We are blown away by our love for you and for how much you've changed our lives and the way we know love. Thank you for the past 18 months. You are truly a gift from God.

Lots of love,
Mommy