The Olson Times: Our Mr. Man

Emmitt has so many nicknames... I don't know why it's been so easy to call him an array of things. Probably cause he just elicits so much personality that it's hard not to think up different pet names, but whatever the reason, he's earned them all: Monster baby, Mr. Smoochems, Twinkle Toes (my current fave), Buba, Em Dawg (Matt's personal fave, which he has gotten Madi to call him on a regular basis too...), Em Bug... I'm sure I'm forgetting some too! He's a man of many characters, and we're so in love with him!

Eighteen months.

*sigh*

Where has time gone?

I'm definitely in denial that my baby is no longer a baby, but I'm getting a little more reconciled to the idea everyday. Especially, since he's 18 months going on three and a half! I ~~have~~ had officially forgotten how ~~hard~~ busy this stage is! It's super duper fun, don't get me wrong, but it's totally non-stop! From "no, no" to Where's Emmitt? This kid doesn't stop moving, and he doesn't really care when you tell him no either. I'm not sure if it seems so much more difficult this time around because of the personality difference or because now I have two kiddos to focus on, or possibly I just forgot... But either way, I'm looking toward the light at the end of the tunnel when all of this CONSTANT attention and discipline pays off... right?!?

Right?!?!

Alright, so here's a little summary of our little man:

* He's got a twinkle in his eye that can catch someone's attention from a mile away. (AKA, he's cute and he knows it)

* He loves to do anything sister is doing. ANYTHING. Which has resulted in a lot more, Let's do this when Emmitt's taking a nap...

* He's obsessed with balls. Particularly basketballs, but he'll take whatever he can get. He would, without a doubt, stand underneath a basketball hoop all day long and throw a ball at it all. day. long. Even if it is 8 feet above his head and there's no possible chance it will make it. Over. and. over.

* Winston is his best friend. Hands down. Although daddy is a close second, this boy loves his dog. They wrestle on the floor together. He rides on his back, pulls on his ears and tail and bosses him around all day long. Many of Emmitt's first words were dog commands: come, sit, stay, heal, hush. He still uses them often.

* He's talking SO much. I honestly didn't expect him to be this vocal since he's a second born and a boy, but he attempts just about anything and my personal favorite is "cickle" (tickle). It's SO cute and he does LOVE to be cickled!

* He's a bit stubborn. No doesn't really mean no until he's been told it three times, gotten his hand flicked and his bottom swatted, then he'll start to take you seriously... sometimes.

* He does NOT care what people think. Ever since he was a newborn it's been obvious that Emmitt will do what Emmitt wants - sleeping patterns, nursing, screaming for no reason - he's still that way! He will scream at the top of his lungs for a split second (or a loooong second) in the middle of the store just because he feels like it and he thinks it's funny. Covering his mouth, saying no-no, all of these things usually make it even funnier! Who knew?!?! He loves to get a hold of Madi's crayon box and throw handfuls of crayons into the air as if it were raining down crayons. He gets in trouble for it every time, but it's still so funny that it's worth trying again... and again...

* He loves his ba-ba (bottle), his cozy (favorite blanket), and his snuggles. And quite frankly, we love it too.

* He totally perseverates on things. If something makes him mad, it seriously bug him forever. It's super annoying and quite frankly seems like such a girl trait to me! (Sorry about the sexual stereotype, but it's true)...

* He loves his sissy! "Ti-ter"/"Na-ny" is his favorite friend. He loves to play with her, and pick on her. He does it well too! I love watching them play together. They are such good little friends already and I pray their sibling bond only grows closer as they grow up together.

* He LOVES being a big boy. Anything baby related (except for his ba-ba) is totally last year and overrated. He identifies other kids his age as babies, and loves to caress them and call them babies. He's usually very gentle if kids are younger than him (aka, babies), and a little more aggressive with kids his own age. :/

* His dad is SO cool. We talk about Dada all day long. Em loves kissing his dad goodbye and closing the door in his face... and then running to the window to wave goodbye. Everything stops and he squeals with excitement when Matt comes home. Dada is the coolest. They wrestle together and play basketball and then wrestle some more. Emmitt is in heaven, and so is Matt! (Although Matt's pretty good at playing Cinderella too ;)

* He's like a little model baby. He's super photogenic (Or at least in comparison to his sister, she's usually caught with one eye open and hands flailing...) and always seems to pause just right for the camera. He might not always smile, although he loves to say "cheese", but he always looks good. He definitely didn't get this from me. Madelyn and I are way too alike...

* He's ALL boy. Yup, we've got a girl that's all girl and a boy that's all boy. He's constantly sneaking outside to play in the dirt or into the garage to eat dog food. The dirtier the better.

* He's super silly. He loves to tickle and be tickled and has the best belly-laugh EVER! He's such a sweet little guy!

* He's still a Mama's-boy! He clings when I drop him off at nursery and he's very possessive of his Mama when I work in nursery with him. When he's tired or fussy, he wants Mama. He loves to give me snuggles. He's definitely Mama's little man.