twenty-one months

Trooper is 21 months old! I can't believe it's time to start thinking about his second birthday party. CRAZY. We've had an awesome summer. Troop has grown a ton and is so much fun to have around. He's a little daredevil and loves to get out and have fun, so my days are filled with trying to keep him busy and happy. Here are some of our daily activities...

Troop's a water baby and loves to play in his pool outside. This day, he couldn't even wait to get his swimsuit on.

Looking at the bubbles on the cement.

He's crazy about bubbles.

He hasn't quite gotten the hang of it. But don't worry, the bubble bottle clearly states that they're non-toxic. :)

He loves to take his little bike outside.

Stopping to smell the flowers.

I finally got a toddler seat for the back of my bike. And Troop got a studly new helmet to go with it. He wasn't so sure at first, but once we got going he absolutely loved it and asks to go on a bike ride everyday.

He's my shopping buddy too.

He does pretty good in stores as long as we can find something to keep him happy.

His friend in Old Navy.

With Kellen Close and McKenna Pence at the Boise Zoo. This was the best picture I could get of the three cuties.

If I don't keep him busy, he finds things to do on his own. Look how pleased he is with himself!

Being cool like daddy.

We miss daddy when he's at work so picture messages get us through the day.

Trooper loves his cuddly stuffed animals. Especially Pluto that Nana and Papa brought him from Disneyland. He asks for Pluto when he's sad or tired and is so happy to see Pluto when he goes to bed. It's pretty cute.

Sick day. :(

He's even studly when he's sleeping.

Trying out his new tiger headphones for the trip to Hawaii.

I know I've said this before, but Trooper is such a talker. He'll just talk and talk to anyone who will listen, though most the time it's in his own little language. But because he talks so much he has such a large vocabulary and has started putting words together into little sentences. He'll say things like, "Uh oh! There's a ball" or "Where'd daddy go?" I've noticed him echoing my phrases, like "Oh, what did you find?" or "What are you doing?" 

He's also a tease. He likes to do things just to bug me. He knows he's not supposed to throw his food on the floor, so when I look at him he'll grab a handful of food and hold it over the floor, waiting for me to tell him no. Then he'll smile and move it back. When I'm folding laundry, he'll pretend to grab the folded piles one by one like he's going to mess them up, just until I put my hand over his to protect my hard work, then he'll smile and move to the next pile. When we're in the car, whenever I look back at him he'll grab his hair like he's going to pull it, because he knows I don't want him to do that. Oh man, what am I going to do with this kid? It really just makes me smile, but I think I'm in trouble:) He has his ornery moments and has started this screaming thing when he doesn't get his way, but he really is such a sweetheart most of the time. He says "thank you," "you're welcome," and "bless you" like a pro.

Trooper loves reading books and is really into Sesame Street (which he calls Elmo Worldee), Handy Manny, and of course Curious George still. His list of animal sounds has gotten bigger and here's his newest trick.

Smartest, cutest kid ever. He knows a few more, but I just couldn't think of them. Impressive though, right?!

Hawaii was also a huge part of the last three months, but that gets its own post. Trooper is definitely a Hawaiian boy and loved returning to his birthplace. ...Stay tuned.... 

(Oh, and those 18 month pictures are still coming someday...I hope. They're super cute so it's worth the wait.)