18 months

Hard to believe 18 months have past..so much has happened in these 18 months..so MUCH to be thankful for...some days the burdens are heavy, but by stopping and counting these blessings God always bring things back into perspective! So I will remember one day..at 18 months here are some "stats"

Parker is still 20 lbs (more on that another day), not sure about length since he wouldn't let the nurse measure him.

He is VERY adept at climbing, standing, cruising everywhere and on everything. He is frequently found "hanging" on things and we pray it is all "nailed down". He is "all boy" and constantly on the move. Everything goes in the mouth, he chases the cat and dog all over the house and while we have a stair gate, he usually can be found up about 7 stairs when you turn your back. Something about having older kids that forget to close the gate. LOL. he can even get DOWN a few stairs alone, WHEW!

He is starting to practice "letting go" while standing and pushing things while walking although we are working hard to have proper structure and not rush the walking (important with these kids so they don't have a funny gait walk or worse yet need surgery later in life to address bad structure). This is easier said than done for us, we wrestle with the knowledge that we don't want to fix a "bad walk" and the fact that most kids born after Parker are already walking (stop comparing I know). Patience is a virtue, right?

He can self feed anything with amazing accuracy and eats just about everything. loves all fruits, veggies, beans, you name it, he eats it. He is gluten and casein free and we don't find that to be very difficult to manage these days.

He continues to develop verbally, he is always in constant chatter mode and now more "words" are developing. He can identify his face, ears, belly, eyes when asked (he won't point to his own nose, but will point to yours). He can "tickle-tickle" which is the cutest thing ever...he wiggles his fingers and says "tickle-tickle" in the cutest voice while coming at you with those fingers! He knows what the dog says (ruff-ruff) and we are working on other sounds. He has mastered his "displeasure" sounds, not just shaking his head "no," but says "na,na, na.." and if you are really lucky you get a scream of displeasure which means "now!" I'm afraid he has learned that from his precious siblings...we have a house full of loud, busy kids!! He has figured out to be heard he needs to be louder than they are!

He loves his siblings with amazing passion. He chases after them in the house and doesn't want to miss one moment with them. They love chasing Parker on hands and knees and never tire of him. Mallory loves to do backbends around the house and Parker chases her on hands and knees until he reaches her face and kisses her upside-down nose. It results in giggles from them both. Makes my heart burst. So much love!

It has been 4 months since his heart surgery. He continues to thrive and we are so grateful for a successful outcome. God truly answered out prayers!

So, my precious boy, 18 months and we are truly blessed.

"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God-you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration-
what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."
Psalm 139:13-16-The Message