Michael is 19 months! It’s so cool (and bittersweet) to see him grow from a baby into a little boy. He’s very tall for his age: taller than most two year olds (94th percentile!).

A rare August thunderstorm rolled in yesterday, and we had a blast splashing in the puddles. He loves water, and would go swimming or wading every day if we let him.

Michael loves to talk. He finds new words and uses them over and over again, and carries on conversations with mostly full sentences. He knows many different trucks and vehicles by name, and often points them out as we pass them on the road. His favorite currently are buses. I found this school bus wagon at Target and it’s become his new favorite toy.

Speaking of buses, to keep himself from falling asleep, he often sings The Wheels on the Bus (his current favorite song) on repeat. It’s hard to be frustrated hearing his cute little voice sing “up and down…up and down…”

Recently, Grandma and Grandpa took him to visit the local zoo, and he had a blast looking at the monkeys and climbing all over the play structures. His favorite were the lemurs.

To nobody’s surprise, Grandpa remains his best friend. They’re inseparable, and where ever he’s upset at Jake or me, he will insist on seeing Grandpa. Even if he isn’t upset, asking for Grandpa is usually a daily occurrence.

Even at church, he prefers Grandpa over anyone else. He rarely stays still and often I’m chasing him all over the patio and lawn while catching snippets of the service through the speakers, but when he’s tired enough he snuggles down in Grandpa’s arms.

Because it’s been so incredibly hot (and we have another 100+ week ahead), we’ve been utilizing screen time more. He loves watching Spot (the tv show based on the books by Eric Hill) and Ms Rachel’s musical videos.

He also adores reading books (especially the turning pages part). He hasn’t quite mastered turning pages gently, so we’re sticking to board books for the time being. Right now, his favorites are Little Blue Truck, Go Dog Go, and The Bunny Rabbit Show.

He’s a voracious eater. Blueberries are his top favorite: if I can’t get him to eat anything else, I know he will munch on blueberries. Peanut butter is also a new obsession. He’ll still try anything and everything, and enjoys some of the most unexpected things: kimchi, kombucha, sparkling water, spicy pad thai, and shrimp.

Sleep is still a struggle (anyone surprised?). With all the different growth spurts (including canine teeth) it’s been a particularly rough month. We hope he’ll sleep through the night regularly someday, instead of waking 2-4 times a night. His daily nap has also shortened to approximately 40-75 minutes.

I love seeing his interests and curiosity evolve, from solving puzzles, opening and closing doors, and stacking things to singing and dancing. I can’t wait to see how he continues to grow.