16 Month Ezzyisms

Ezzy at: 1 month, 8 months, 16 months

The many faces of Ez

Ezzy - my little explorer, my helper, my sidekick - you love to "help" with whatever chores I'm doing, whether that means hitting the dirt with your plastic shovel while I work in the garden, or putting your toys in the dishwasher as I load the clean dishes, or running to the hamper and pulling out dirty clothes to throw in the dryer while I attempt to fold the clean clothes already in there. All I can say is, you've got the right idea! (And then remove the dirty clothes/toys when your back is turned.) You've got a bit of an obsession with shoes (see the picture below). For some reason the way mommy and daddy have organized them on the shoe rack is displeasing to you - you prefer them in your dresser. Another instance where I wait till you're distracted before reorganizing the shoes.

Even though you've changed so much, and you're more little boy than baby now, some things remain the same. Like your love of all your toy balls (you've got quite the collection!) and your amazing hand/foot/eye coordination. Your teenage mutant ninja turtle ball first made its appearance 6 months ago, and it's still one of your favorite toys. Each evening you bring your shoes to me, and if it's cooled down enough we head outside to kick the ball around. You have great aim, whether you're throwing or kicking, and I can't wait till you're old enough for sports. You've actually got three balls in the backyard, and you like to rotate, giving one a few kicks before pointing at a different one, running over there, and kicking that one around. You also like to hold my hand while playing this game. And as clumsy as you are, I tend to think that's a good idea. No sooner does one major scrape disappear from your face than another appears. That's one of the main signs of toddlerhood, I suppose.

Hands down, my favorite part of this stage is how snuggly you are. You give "snuggles" on command, and sometimes you give them just because. I hope that lasts forever. You've decided "pups" is your best friend and snuggle buddy (see pups in that first collage up there). Each morning you wake up, climb out of bed, and run down the hallway to the living room carrying pups in your hand. It's probably the cutest sight I've ever seen. I took a video of you playing with your hedgehog toy, and when I asked you to snuggle him, you obliged, but then as soon as the camera stopped rolling you threw him on the ground and ran to find pups and snuggle him. I guess you didn't want pups getting jealous?

You understand so much at this age. I feel like I can halfway reason and bargain with you. Like telling you we can play outside after we clean up your toys, or telling you I will play with your car if you'll take a bite of your food. So far all the "words" you say sound like variations of "boo" though. Not sure why all words start with a B in your opinion. For example, moon is boon. Ball is ball (so I guess that's technically your first correct word, yay!). Ma is Ba. Milk is Beh. You're trying though, and every now and then I'll hear your say the correct word, and make a huge production of excitement, which you love.

This is also the age of pushing the limits. I've had more toys thrown at my face than I care to count, and you've had more timeouts than you probably care to count as a result. We've spent a lot of time practicing how to hand a toy over nicely, and you understand the concept, but sometime you get overly excited and forget, and other times you get a little devious expression on your face and decide to throw it anyway. Those are usually the times you get your toy taken away, or get a timeout. Minor things that don't go your way can cause a flood of tears. That same hedgehog toy you were laughing about up above? (It's one of these miniature hideaway pets.) Here was your reaction when you couldn't get him to come out of hiding:

Whether you're snuggling or playing, laughing or crying, we love you so much Ez. We love watching you put together the pieces of how this world works, and figuring out your place in it. We love your enthusiasm for books and all things with wheels. We love how the simplest things can send you into a fit of infectious giggles. We love you more than you'll ever know.