Dear Brady Bear,

I can't believe my sweet Brady Bear is 18 months old already.  In effort to continue the tradition, and in honor of the little blonde boy that has stolen my heart, here is my letter to Brady.

Dear Brady Bear (18 months old),

          I love you so much!  You are sweet and snugly, independent and determined, big and strong.  Your smiles don’t always come easily, but when they do they fill the whole room!  And your giggle is one of the best sounds in the world (even the mischievous version.)  Hearing you laugh or hearing Anderson laughing at something silly you did is the best part of my day.

          You have slowly and steadily been taking steps since 15 ½ months old, but finally at a little over 17 months, you decided you would walk all the time.  I love the way you have to weave to catch your balance sometimes and the way you watch your arm swinging beside you.  The freedom that walking provides you has brought an even bigger dose of independence along with it.  We will be working on learning how to hold hands- for safety, not balance, now.  Since this will be my idea and not yours, I’m sure it will take a little while to convince you.

          Sometimes a pretty independent guy, you love attention from your family.  You love for us to read books to you, roll the ball with you, or take you outside to roam.  And you love to get kisses!  If we lay down, we know you will be over to wrestle in 2 seconds- huge smile on your face.  You love your big brother, and together you are both learning to share and take turns.  We’ve never had to worry too much about “little Brady” sticking up for himself; in fact, pinching or pushing has won you a few quick trips to timeout already.  So far it seems like a treat for you to get to sit in the chair, and your “I sowy” is so sweet. 

          You talk all the time, and your tone and body language show definite intent.  You tend to talk in phrases, and we are figuring more and more of these phrases out as we go.  “Hi, Daddy” turns him into a puddle every time.  “Momom” or “Mom” is a rare and sweet sound to my ears.  You love to point out letters, and you can name a good amount of them (A, B, E, F, S, T, Y for sure).  Other words we often hear from you: “gook” (book), “tain” (train), “tuck” (car/ truck),” hi,” “byebye”, “no no”, “yesh”, “Tank you”, “hooway”, “eat”, “bawl” (ball), “bok” (block),  “ou-side” (outside), “key” (Mickey), “on your head”, “eyesh” and “nose”.  You are getting really good at animal sounds, too: lion (tiger/ bear), fish, owl, puppy dog, cat, cow, sheep, plus cars and fire trucks.  Come to think of it, those words do a pretty good job of summing up your favorite things.

          As time goes on, you are becoming a pickier eater.  Favorites these days include fruit (!!), especially bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, and mandarin oranges. You love Cheerios, PB&J, macaroni and cheese, crackers,  avocados, sweet potatoes, and sometimes chicken tenders, hot dogs, and grilled cheese.  Meals can be challenging some days, as we have not yet figured out how to persuade you to try new things.  You’d rather eat and run than sit and chat, so meals at home work best.

          You love to play peek-a-boo, and you recently have shown the confidence to bust a (vertical) move.  Both hands in the air in “monkey” fashion, big smile on your face.  I love to hear you sing along with Daddy, Anderson or me.  And you’ll get excited now when you hear singing and tell us about it.  You’ve started attending Romp n’ Roll, and the instruments are your favorite part so far.  At Romp n’ Roll, play dates, and church you sometimes show signs of “stranger danger” and get upset at a lot of attention from new people.  I think this is part of the way you are suddenly noticing the big world around you.  From the start you’ve been very happy to be with new people, and I think you will become more comfortable with this again. 

          It’s impossible to imagine life without you.  We are so thankful that God knew how much our family needed you.  I can tell that as much as I want to teach you as you grow, you will be teaching me so much more.  I hope you are always surprising me.  I know you will always make me so proud.

Love always, always,

Mommy