Evaneezer updates

Hello all! It's about time I updated - so much has happened. Evan is growing like crazy and talking up a storm. His teachers tell us that he's one of the most advanced talkers in his class. Can't help but feel good when you hear that, right? His words at 16 - 17 months are: uh oh, mommy, daddy, papa, lolo (JR's dad), daisi, thank you, cheese, milk, boo boo (he says this when he's dirty), pee pee, diaper, bible, amen, duck, clock, tic toc, tigger, cracker, cookie, car, bye bye, hello, more, baby, boat, book, and no. He also refers to Jesus in my nativity as "baby" right now. He tries Jesus, but he's not quite there yet. Evan will also tell us what a clock says (thus the "tic toc") and what a monkey says (ooh ooh ooh). He shows us his belly, nose, feet, and ears. We're working on hair, now. At his last doctor's appt, he weighed about 26 lbs and was 2 and 1/2 feet tall. He's still in the upper part of his range. He runs and climbs everywhere, points at everything, and is so amazingly (and sometimes, frustratingly) curious! He loves to eat chicken, sausage, carrots, fries (yikes!), bananas, toast, animal crackers, and now, candy canes. He'll eat much more, but those are the general faves. He's also doing well eating with a fork and spoon. He loves milk, will drink water, but can't have juice because his little baby bottom breaks out. :( He's also allergic to penicillin, but so far, no food allergies! Probably the cutest thing he does right now is when he sees a photo of a family member, he'll name who they are and then kiss the picture. My heart melts into a puddle.

JR and I are doing well through all the chasing Evan, but we're waffling about whether we want #2 soon, or not. Sometimes I think - continue with the madness. Other times, I REALLY value the little rest I get now. Evan sleeps fine; ten hours a night most of the time. But when he's awake? Let the race begin. I can't count how many times a day I say "no." I said when I was pregnant that I was not going to change my entire house and life to revolve around Evan because I think sometimes that can spoil a child if you take it too far. For example, I'm not going to rid the house of breakables and keep ornaments off my tree. We're trying to teach Evan that something's "pretty" and so far, he will touch with one finger (sometimes several times) and then leave it alone. It teaches him to respect other people's belongings, but at the same time, it satisfies his curiosity. And mostly, teaching him this is harder on me because I have to be on alert all the time. He has broken a couple of things, though, in moments of pure insanity. :) Ahh, the toddler years. Hope you all are well.