This Kid is Amazing

Seriously.

Not only is he ridiculously cute, and getting cuter by the day (see photo evidence below), in my ever so humble opinion, he's also getting to be more FUN by the day.

He was 21 months yesterday and he's hit this stage where he's learning everything super fast. He's like a teeny tiny human sponge. If I thought he was picking things up quickly before, it was only because I didn't know what was to come.

He has this great little sense of humor. He thinks it's the funniest thing ever to take off his diaper, wait until you're about arms length away, then run like crazy, cackling with glee all the while, to avoid getting his business covered up again. He will not only fist bump, but do high and low and blow that sucker up with the biggest grin on his face. He will play along when I sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and he doesn't even wince at what passes for my singing voice. He makes piles from the pillows and blankets on the bed and tosses himself into them. If you tell him to wake up Daddy he'll totally smack him on the arm until he gets a response, then laugh about it.

He's independent. He thinks it's the most awesome thing that I put a lamp by his bed that he can turn on and off. I'll find him in there with some of his "friends" (what we call his stuffed animals) or the iPhone, just chilling out. He climbs in and out of chairs and on and off our bed. He loves to look at books quietly in the living room. He can undress himself and gets really mad if we don't bend to his will.

He's opinionated. He knows what he likes and what he doesn't like. Of course, it can change from day to day, but once he's decided, you can forget changing that stubborn little man's mind. If you offer him something to eat that he doesn't like he will turn his head away as far as he can with his little nose up in the air. He also closes his eyes and tightens his mouth into a straight line. Where did he learn this??? The Cat In The Hat is his favorite book and the only one of that length that he will sit through. I think this is because I have it on the iPhone, but I can't be entirely sure.

He's quirky. He talks in his sleep every so often. He does this funny thing when you reprimand him where he will look at you very seriously, shift his eyes off to the side, and then slowly turn his head in that direction. He bites his fingernails AND his toenails, which is odd because neither my husband nor I are nail biters. I seriously have not clipped nails in months! His favorite thing right now is to take a bath. He will try to lure us into the bathroom so that he can demand one several times a day. If he comes across a word he knows on television, in a book or in conversation, and he has a corresponding toy, he will drop everything to run through the house and hunt down that item.

He's endearing. If you crouch down and hold open your arms he'll run across the room and fling his arms around your neck for a big hug. He will line up his friends on the couch and then give them kisses as he names them off. He'll look you square in the eye and say "Please?" so earnestly that you feel like a total poop sandwich if you don't give him what he's asking for. Of course, he then will get mad and scream in frustration so you get over that feeling really quickly. :)

He's a little bit of a tech geek. If we watch a dvd, he has to be the one to put eject whatever is in the Playstation (hooray Blu-Ray!) and put the new disc in. If you haven't realized it yet, he's got a serious mastery of how to use the iPhone. We went to a party for the fourth of July with our friends and he found himself sitting on a chair next to one where there were seven different cell phones, all smart phones. He looked through them all and decided that only the iPhones were worth playing with. After further inspection, he decided that only the one iPhone 4 in the pile (not mine) was acceptable for his use. Even though he had never used that operating system before (I hadn't installed the upgrade yet) he was able to figure out the folders and how to find the apps he wanted.

He's so freaking smart. He's taught himself his shapes with this iPhone app. He not only can identify the entire alphabet (albeit uppercase only), we'll sometimes find him playing by himself, just reciting the letters. He's picking up numbers (1-10) now and some colors too. He can identify his hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, belly button, elbows, hands, knees, feet, toes, and butt. If I ask him who my favorite boy in the whole world is, he will joyfully reply with "Me!" Oh, and then there's this:

Gotta love the boy!