Sutton is 15 Months Old!

We'll, he's actually 15 months and 9 days old. The past three months have flown by, and I haven't pulled out my camera much lately. Sutton was definitely more "active" while I was taking his 15-month picture.

Sutton's resemblance to Travis is undeniable, although he has my eyes like Ella does. The other day while at the electronics store together (thank goodness T now has a buddy to run all his "man errands" with), a guy looked at the two of them, burst out laughing and said, "Man, that's definitely your kid!" As if there was ever a question.

Our precious boy is growing by leaps and bounds and learns something new everyday. The biggest development is that he started walking at 14 1/2 months, just like his big sisters. This has totally opened his world, and he's so much happier. He had always been a pretty content baby, but as soon as he turned 1, he became a fussbucket. Walking has changed all that, and he's happier than ever. Praise the Lord! Life has gotten so much better for all of us, even with the occasional bumps and bruises.

Walking has definitely slimmed up his little legs and belly, and he's starting to stretch out. He's wearing a size 4 diaper, which is the largest size Grace and Ella ever wore. His clothes are mostly 12-18 months, and he's wearing a size 4 shoe. After a 2nd haircut (which was way better than the first because I have him a lollipop before the haircut instead of after), he's looking more like a toddler and less like a baby. Unfortunately, Sutton is still a picky eater. If he could have his way, he'd eat only fruit, almond butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers, Cheerios and noodles. Wait. That's pretty much all he eats on a daily basis. At least its healthy. I just wish I could convince him to eat just one vegetable or some protein in the form of chicken/turkey/beef/fish. Maybe he'll come around someday.

Sutton still takes two naps a day- one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He likes having several silky blankets and stuffed animals in his bed, but his favorite "lovey" is his stuff monkey named "Bebe."

We have another very verbal baby on our hands, which has actually surprised me because everyone has told me that boys are slower talkers than girls. That hasn't been the case at all for Sutton. He's a total chatterbox and knows how to ask for what he wants by either saying "get it" or "gimme." When he's hungry, he signs for more and says "mo, mo, mo." His other frequent words include Mama (which he likes to repeat over and over and over and over until I giggle), Daddy, Dada, go, gone (as in "all gone"), hot, ball, bat, wawa (agua), duck, pish (fish), shoes, uh oh, pee-za (pizza) and book. We also like to play the "What Does a ____ Say" with him, and he's gotten good at several animal and object sounds and recognizing these pictures in books:

Car/truck = brrrm, brrrm

Dog = woof, woof

Pig = snort (not sure how to spell that sound)

Monkey = ah ah

Cow = ooooooo

Duck = duck duck

Horse = (clicking house, more like a horse's hooves)

Tiger = grrrrr

One thing that has surprised me is his fascination with sound effects. When he sees a vacuum cleaner, blow dryer, lawn mower, leaf blower or weed eater, he "grrrrrs" loudly. Travis pulled out the coffee grinder for the first time in a very long time last week, and Sutton took one look at it and said, "grrrr." Sound effects are definitely a boy thing because Grace and Ella never did this. Another thing that surprises me is his aversion to the word "no." He just falls apart when he hears it. We're trying to use "stop" and "don't" in its place, otherwise, we see a lot of this...

it generally doesn't last long, and we still don't let him have his way. I just don't remember the girls having such strong opinions at this age.

Sutton still loves books. His favorite are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pat the Bunny and Machines at Work. He likes pretending to read, even though he won't sit still for more than a minute. He loves bats, balls, golf clubs, trucks, cars and animals and makes sound effects the entire time he plays. He's also started getting into all our cabinets and drawers, especially the ones in the girls' room where he tries to sneak slurps of toothpaste and eat their Silly Bands.

He also likes playing in the backyard, but we can't keep him out of Baylor's water and food bowls. Just look at this mischievous face and the events that followed...

"I'm getting thirsty..."

"Mmmm, Baylor's water will work."

"Ahh, so good."

"Now moving on to my next great idea..."

"Okay, I've got it, but it sure is heavy..."

"Ooops. That didn't work out the way I wanted it to!"

"But, Mama thought it was pretty funny!"

Oh, how I love this boy! He fills our days with laughter and just melts our hearts. Almost everyday, Ella looks at him lovingly and says, "Oh, Sutty, you are soooo cute! You are sooo handsome!" And Grace always tells me, "Mama, isn't he the cutest baby you've ever seen?" I certainly think so, and I thank God everyday for bringing him into our family (even if he won't let me take his picture without showing me his kicking skills).

Summer Family Pictures

We Love Our Dentist

Grace has been afraid of the "big chairs" at Travis' office even before it opened. She was about 18 months old at that time, and has since refused to sit in one for a cleaning. The benefits of having a dentist for a daddy, however, is that she gets private cleanings in her own room. Last summer, we tried a real cleaning in one of the big chairs, and she was hysterical. But, we tried again recently at it was a success! Since then, she tells everyone, "Look! I got my teeth cleaned!"

Ella acted a lot like Grace did when Grace was her age. Needless to say, she didn't get a real cleaning.

Sutton loves to "bish" his teeth, and he was more than happy to try out the big chair.

The girls also had fun trying on Daddy's glasses.

Attempt #1 at a family picture (not bad)

Attempt #2 (more realistic)

Funnies #7

I wish I could freeze Ella's little voice because it makes everything she says incredibly cute and funny. Here are some recent quotes and phrases she repeats often:

"Gooness grashes"- goodness gracious

"Oh dear!"- this is her reaction to accidents, such as when she spills something

"Mr. Poo Poo, I love you!"- yes, she's loving this potty business (and so are we)

"Give us Tuesday our daily bread"- we still say the Lord's Prayer together every night, but Ella only requests bread on this day of the week

Oppisis- (opp-i-sis) a/k/a octopus

Pasketti- otherwise known as spaghetti, a crowd favorite around here

Tomario- (too-mar-i-yo) some people say "tomorrow," but we say "tomario" thanks to Ella

Brepast- (breh-past) the first meal of the day

Acally- (ack-a-lee) "actually." Used in a sentence like, "Acally, I no need to go potty."

"What it smells?"- I absolutely love this! Just like me and Grace, Ella has a super sensitive sniffer and always wants to know "what it smells." A couple of weekends ago on our girls only roadtrip to my firm's lake party, we stopped at a nasty convenience store that smelled like fried chicken. Ella inhaled deeply and then said, "What it smells? It smells like stinky Fritos, I think."

"What's whose?"- this is my 2nd favorite phrase, which Ella uses instead of asking, "Whose it it?" Examples: "What's whose that car?" "What's whose here?"

Grace is also very funny and picks up on words and phrases we use frequently. She never ceases to amaze us with her vocabulary. There are very few words she says incorrectly, but my favorite is "wass," also known as a "wasp." Several times a week, we hear, "Daddy, I saw a wass outside. I need you to kill it."

The other day, we had a fly buzzing around our house. Grace said, "Mama, ughh, there are flies in our house. We have to kill them. You know what we need? We need a fly whacker!"

I have a splendid idea- isn't "splendid" a splendid word?

This past weekend, Travis' cousin, Ryan, and Ryan's girlfriend Maria came for a visit. They went to a wedding on Saturday night, and Grace was helping Maria get ready. When Maria mentioned that her dress felt a little tight and that she wouldn't be able to eat anything, Grace suggested, "Maybe you should just order off the kids menu." She later asked Maria, "How beautiful do you think you look?"

When PJ and her boyfriend, Tiaan, were here on Sunday, Grace asked Tiaan what color his shirt was. Instead of telling her the actual color (aqua), he replied, "It's pink." Grace then turned to PJ and said, "Maybe he's not such a good boyfriend after all."

Swimming 101

Grace and Ella just finished up two weeks of swimming lessons, and we could not be prouder of all they accomplished. Both of them love the water and had no trouble diving right in.They shared lessons with another pair of sisters, who were 7 and 4, and all of them had so much fun together.

Ella was the class clown, but she's such a good little swimmer that she kept Ms. Carol smiling the whole time.

Ella has no fear. She loves the water and does a great job kicking her little legs and holding her breath. Ms. Carol said she was well on her way, but also commented, "This is the one you're going to have to watch!"

As for Grace, we're predicting she's a future Olympian. Seriously. She's that good. Check out her form.

Her long and lean frame glides through the water so easily. Her light weight helps her float, and her arm movements and kicks are beautiful. From the time they were born, I've prayed that God helps reveal our kids' natural talents so that we can encourage them in those areas. Without hesitation, Travis and I believe swimming is one of Grace's natural talents. She is incredibly calm and relaxed in the water, and it's just amazing to watch.

Because Travis and I could only attend lessons on Fridays, Ms. Carol liked helping Grace show off for us. Here she is swimming across the pool and switching from front to back on her own.

Grace's final test was jumping off the diving board and swimming across the pool. Ms. Carol's pool is really long, and I must admit that I was a little nervous. Grace was not, but she was freezing. I only got these two pictures because I was recording it, too.

And, she did it! I was so happy for her that I almost cried. Ms. Carol said that because she did it, she's officially "pool safe" now. Grace was the only one in her class that did it (yep, the 7-year-old was too scared to try). She was also the only one to get a cookie after every lesson. Ella would have had a perfect record, except that she had an unfortunate poop in the pool incident. Ick!

It was raining intermittently during their last lesson, and then it began pouring at the very end. So, their graduation ceremony was moved to the garage. At that point, they were all cold and tired and only cared about the cookies and water gun gifts from Ms. Carol.

We were so happy with Ms. Carol and can't wait to take lessons again next summer. Both girls are officially floatie and goggle-free now, and we've had tons of fun swimming without all the extra gear. As for Sutton, it was so hard for him to be an observer. He desperately wanted in the pool because he loves water. He'll have to wait until next year, but I'm already predicting success!