From the time I dropped wyatt off in the nursery at church last night to the time I picked him up 2 hours later - I swear something changed.
When I left him he was still babyish, but when they brought him to me his hair looked like it had grown 2 inches and the shape of his face changed - he looked like a little boy.
I guess it was bound to happen eventually - that change from looking babyish to looking more like a toddler. I remember when it happened with Maddie and the awe and simultaneous sense of loss I felt.
He's growing up so quickly - talking more and more each day. Every word I say he repeats back to me and then tucks it into his ever growing vocabulary.
He climbs onto everything. So many times I've walked out of a room and returned to find him standing on top of something - the coffee table, dining room table, couch. He's mastered the couch quite well now - loving to climb up there and run from one end to the other - laughing the whole time.
Right now he's walking around the living room - terrorizing the toys - all the while holding tightly onto the TV remote. At 16 months he knows how to turn the TV on and off and how to change channels.
He's a very good independent little man. He'll often sit for 10, 20 or more minutes playing with a toy - and seriously at that.
I love it when he runs up to me and puts his arms around my neck and hugs me while saying, "awww." He gives great kisses too! He's so sweet and loving and it's making this raising a boy thing a lot easier than I anticipated.
He's always asking me to "open" things - the TV, the piano, the door.
He gets up most mornings and goes straight to the back or front door and says, "outside" and then quickly follows it with "Go" and "bye."
Up and Down are other favorites - as I watch him trying to climb onto the couch again. He's so independent and so sure of himself. He has places to go and people to see and things to say. It cracks me up when someone picks him up and he turns to their face and just starts jabbering. He's talking in sentences that only he understands for now, but we'll catch on quickly I know. The other day my brother picked him up and Wyatt turned to face him in his arms and quite matter of factly and seriously told him something substantial. Wyatt's body language made it clear that he was trying to communicate something and that he expected a response!
He's such a boy - loves cars and trucks and playing outside. Anything that is a wheel or has a steering wheel is an instant obsession. If you let him into the front seat of your vehicle you have to pry his little fingers off to get out. When we get ready to leave the house - if Mike's truck is in the driveway - Wyatt makes it clear that he'd much rather ride in the truck than in Mommy's van.
Despite all this independence and growing up - he still needs me though. He comes up to me so many times a day and asks for "Mak, Mak, Mak." He's saying "milk," but hasn't quite gotten the full pronunciation yet. He always says it three times in a row, too - which makes it even more cute for me. I like that he still needs me and finds comfort in these little moments - though once done he's quickly out of my arms and back to business conquering new heights or crashing towers or chasing the cat - whom he has an extra special relationship with it seems. She lets him lay all over her - never biting or growling or scratching - she actually seems to enjoy the attention.
So the tune of "Billy Boy" is in my head this morning...
Oh where have you gone baby boy, baby boy?
Oh where have you gone my little baby?
I have gone to build a train, play with cars and say my name
I'm a big boy but still I need my mommy
Can you speak and can you run baby boy baby boy
Can you climb and can you go little baby
I can climb and I can run I can do most anything
I'm a big boy, but still I love my mommy.
