Caleb is 17 months old!!

Our sweetheart is 17 months old! As other months, he continues to surprise us with how much he is learning and seems so much older as every month passes. He is a sweetheart and loves to laugh and play, but is VERY stubborn just like his parents. His favorite activities include throwing balls, going for walks and exploring EVERYTHING, climbing the furniture and Mommy and Daddy, reading, and eating nom-noms! 

Some new words or modifications on words:

• He has said "pa pee" for puppy. But sometimes, he stills says "pa" for short. 
• "Soo" (when it's time to get his shoes on)
• "Is COLD" ~ we taught him that when it is cold, we put on his jacket. So anytime we put on his jacket or when he is outside and it is noticeably colder, he says this. 
• "Ed di pa" - for octopus. He really tried to say it when I pointed to it on a book and when he plays with his toy octopus in the bath tub. 
• "Ea" for eat. 
• "Air Pa" - Airplane. His sitter, Miss Jane, lives next to the airport, and so he sees airplanes all the time and loves to watch them! 
• "wawa" for flower
• "Goa" for Goat. He got to see some real goats this month at a petting farm. 
• "err" for earth. This is when he sees the picture of earth in the story "I love you more"
• "Puh Puh" - pumpkin. We went to pick his first pumpkin this month! 
• "gep" - grape. He discovered grapes this month and decided he likes them! 
• "No" for No. He repeats it after I say it to him sometimes. Haha! 
• He likes to say what animal sounds are when I ask what they say. For instance, he will say "gack gack" when he sees a duck. Or even a goose (because he thinks they look similar). He recently learned "hoo hoo" for an owl, and so when he sees and owl picture, he will say "hoo hoo!" He also likes to imitate the sheep too. 
• "sickol" for circle. And he knows a circle when he sees it too. 
• "bebe" for baby. He sees a baby or he sees a picture of himself, he will say this. 
• "sish" for fish. He loves to watch the fish at the store now. 
• He even attempted the word sweater by saying "setta."

I look forward to hearing what other words he learns this next month. We are working on some "m" words as he doesn't really do the m sound for anything he knows like Mama, moon, monkey, etc. He knows all of those things, but he just won't say any M words. 

We are also going through some numbers and different shapes. It takes time, but you can see he is trying to learn. For instance, when I try to count objects, he will point to each thing as I count and tries to mimic. 

He is stubborn as I have mentioned and we have definitely had some tantrums where he would lie on the floor when he was mad. But we let him lie down and go on with whatever we are doing so he knows that tantrums don't get results. After he gets up, we try to talk to him in a calm manner and say no and explain why (even though he may not understand completely). It's tough sometimes to stay "calm" when he has those tantrums, but I am really working on that. Coming from a family where people are very passionate when they are upset, it can be easy to raise your voice. But I am working on just making my voice sound stern if I am saying no, and not raising my voice. Caleb is learning and so are we. 

We had some fun this past month as well. Caleb went to a couple of farms that had animals to pet. He loves animals and squeals with excitement when he sees them! We picked out his first pumpkin. We got him his first real costume (last year he just wore a pumpkin onesie). And we have been playing and walking in the leaves at the park! This included his first hike in the woods too!

We are looking forward to this next upcoming month as we celebrate our 7 year anniversary, Caleb's 2nd Halloween with a cute costume, family photos, and getting ready for a low-key (no drama) Thanksgiving! Last year's Thanksgiving was rough since Todd doesn't remember much of it because he was on paid medication after having surgery repairing his shattered elbow. The first surgery of many (little did we know). So honestly, this year, we are praying for a nice, low-key, time! 

Anyways - we hope you all have a nice time with your families enjoying the lovely fall weather and I leave this post with a cute photo of the cutest boy I know!