20 months

Dear Aidan,

Today you are 20 months old! You are only 4 months away from turning 2 which is so hard for me to believe.

I won't lie, this last month with you has been a trying one for me, but there have also been some great moments. You were sick for 6 weeks straight (the whole of last month) and topped if all off with a lovely ear infection. You finished your round of antibiotics yesterday and it seems to have already made you feel much better.

Your tantrums have gotten more extreme this month and also more frequent. Most things feel like a fight with you. Even today, you started doing something you know your not supposed to and asked for a spanking for doing it. You are quite the smart little stinkerpants and you really know how to get a rise out of me.

You are saying more and more words everyday and it is hard to keep track of all that you know. You talk in long paragraphs of gibberish to everybody and seem to expect that we understand you perfectly. My favorite thing is when you end a long string of nonsense with "ma-ma" as if you are telling me something. You do that all the time and I try to be attentive to everything you say. Your frustration with being unable to communicate seems to be fueling the fire for your tantrums and I greatly anticipate the day that you can really talk to me even though I know you won't stop.

You have been learning your letters this month and know "a, b, and sometimes c." You love to find letters you know and you are always noticing letters on everything. You have learned what a star is too and you are getting much better at figuring out the shape sorter on your own.

You continue to love music and have started "singing" a lot. You copy sounds that we make and you sing along when we are listening to music or singing to you. Your favorite song (besides the Elmo's World theme) is "My God is so Big." You are learning the motions and you are so cute to watch. Just last night, Daddy played the Elmo's World theme song on the piano and you perked up and said "la-la" (your affectionate name for Elmo and all things Sesame Street).

Your favorite things this month are: blankie, Elmo, singing, reading books, keys, climbing, baths, bubbles, cookies, and cuddling.

You are fun to watch as you grow and mature. We are thankful for you and hope that you soon grow out of this rather frustrating phase you are in right now, but until you do, we will love you through it.

Love,

Mom