18 Months

18 months old. How is my sweet baby 18 months old? A year and a half of diaper changing, mess cleaning, tear wiping, laughter, a million hugs and kisses, and a whole ton of love. Watching Cooper grow up has brought so much joy into mine and his daddy’s life. Nothing compares to watching him learn something new, or experience something for the first time. I love seeing the world through his eyes.

Cooper truly learns new things every single day. It amazes me how he picks up on everything. He started talking pretty early on, but once he turned a year old it was on from there! Now he puts 2-3 words together like nobody’s business, and even says, “I love you.” He repeats everything we say! He can count to 3 with help. He runs around everywhere and gets into anything he can put his hands on. I’m pretty convinced we have already reached the terrible 2’s. He loves giving hugs and kisses, but also has no problem saying, “No!” when he doesn’t want one. He loves shaking hands at church, but also likes to mix it up with high fives and fist bumps. He is still Mommy’s boy, but he loves following Daddy around and seeing what he’s up to. He also loves his grandparents, aunts, and uncles! He says all of their names, and constantly asks me about them.

When I say Cooper loves dogs – I mean he LOVES dogs. Almost every morning he wakes up wanting to go see the “woof-woof.” He knows how to say dog, but for some reason he insists on saying, “woof-woof.” It kind of drives me nuts, but it’s cute so I’ll just keep trying to teach him. It’s no surprise that due to his love of dogs, he is obsessed with Paw Patrol. Every time he hears the theme song, he stops everything to start dancing to it. He says all of their names, but loves Marshall the most. He has several Paw Patrol pajama sets, and it’s a struggle to get him to take them off! His favorite toys are his shopping cart, and his Little People. He loves to sing, “This Little Light of Mine,” “ABC’s,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Little Bitty Seeds.”

He loves reading. One of his favorite things to do is sit with a circle of books all around him. What really brings joy to this mama’s heart is when he says, “Bible.” Already in his young age, he knows the difference between a regular book, and the Bible. He loves to pray, and tries to say scriptures with me. He is learning to sit much better in church, although I am very thankful when the churches we visit offer nursery. He loves to play with the other kids.

Cooper literally used to eat anything I put in his mouth. These days, he’s become a bit of a picky eater. By picky eater, I mean he basically only wants mac and cheese or fries. Now, he will eat other things reluctantly. He likes fruit, and most veggies, but his favorites are his favorites. Whenever we go through a drive through he starts screaming, “Fries! Fries!” Not exactly the healthiest habit, but he loves them so what can I say? We pretty much stick to milk and water for drinking, but he will have the occasional juice.

Being Cooper’s mama is the best! He really is a great kid. Of course he throws tantrums and whines over silly things, but that’s all a part of learning. I love watching him grow, but I do wish time would slow down a bit. It seems that he gets more and more independent each day. We are actually attempting to potty train, so y’all pray for us. The older he gets, the less he needs me, but I wouldn’t trade his sloppy kisses and cuddles for anything in the world.

Hope you all enjoy these pictures we took of Cooper to document 18 months. Of course he only smiled in a few. He’s still a little camera shy.

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