Otto is a Year and a Half

It's hard to believe Otto is a year and a half old.

I remember back to last summer and compare what Otto is doing now to what he was doing then. It's amazing the differences. Last summer he was getting his first tooth and now he's got a mouth full of 15! Last summer he was breast feeding and now he eats whatever we're eating. Last summer he wasn't crawling yet and now he's running, hopping and climbing everything. The changes are mind boggling.

Otto's 18 month well-child check confirmed that he is very healthy at 33" (75th%) and 26 pounds 11 ounces (60th%).

Otto loves life.
He loves to read books...Goodnight Gorilla, Polar Bear Polar Bear, Kiss Goodnight and Hush Little Baby are just a few of his favorites. At bedtime he picks out his books from the bookshelf in his room. He takes out his Binky and makes a humming sound as he decides which stories he wants.

He loves to play and investigate...he mimics counting on this abacus and just about everything everywhere gets explored, touched or chewed on.

He loves to be silly...We got out the camera for this particular picture and told him to smile. This was what we got. Looks like we need to work on smiling for the camera. He almost looks like he is in pain.

He loves to put money in his piggy bank...Otto got this dollar from our neighbor, Mateo. It was too big for the slot in his piggy bank and was as big as his palm. "Wow!"

Otto amazes and frustrates us every day. We love him beyond our imagination and try very hard to be patient and positive parents, but there are moments when we have to take a deep breath and then clean up a really big mess. At the end of almost every meal Otto prepares to be "all done" by throwing everything onto the floor. We've heard this is just a phase and he will grow out of it, that there is nothing really to do about it now (trust me, we've tried everything), so I hope by next summer I can write about Otto's impeccable table manners. Until then watch out when dinning with or by us. You may just need a bib.