21 Months

I wish I had time to post everyday.  Everyday Hollis does something, says somethings and I think to myself I should blog about that and the day slips by.  They all do.   Hollis is still very into balls.  Now, it is baseball and everything included from gloves to bats to baseball tees to home runs.  Every morning, before or after breakfast he will give me a bat and he will grab a bat for himself.  Then we practice pitching and hitting together.  The other night he when I pitched the ball to him, he swung, dropped the bat and ran in a circle screaming "home run" "home run" and I didn't even know that he knew what home run was.   He likes to watch videos on mlb.com and hoot and holler when someone makes a good hit.  He spend literally hours outside hitting the ball off the tee over and over again.  He is so young yet so dedicated to the sport, the sport of balls. 

He is speaking a lot lately.  I catch myself listening to him babble only to realize he was saying something like "momma mango" "mango treat" "momma mango treat" or "outside"  "shoe outside"  "shoe outside momma tee" Today I couldn't even guess what he was saying.  He was very angry that I took the toothpaste container from him and replaced it with an empty one.  He kept saying something as he cried.  I finally realized he was saying "brush" so I gave him a tooth brush put some toothpaste on it, he brushed his teeth happily and walked about the house. It must be so tough for him sometimes! 

He loves his baby swap family.  Moms, dads, but especially the girls Ayla and Anni.  He talks about them all the time.  When he gets to their houses on Monday or Thursday he screams with pleasure and runs to play with them.  Today we went to the park to play with friends and he had a blast climbing up ladders, chasing friends, and just being outdoors.  He seems to run away less, and l like that. 

He loves art.  He asks to paint regularly.  He will paint anything he can get his hands on, my old drawings, himself.  I can't leave him alone with the paints or markers very long before he is covered. 

He laughs a lot.  He loves to play on the bed right after he wakes up.  I want to cuddle, but he would rather pretend we are trapped under pillows and need help.  He will scream out "Georgie Help!"  "Daddy Help" even if no one is home.  He laughs the whole time. 

He is starting to understand space, desires and his own strength.  This is problematic when I find that he has pulled a dining room chair to the freezer, and he standing on it trying to get into the freezer say "pop" "pop" "pop"

When he doesn't want to do something, there is no way to get it to happen.  I just walk away and wait for him to return and try again hoping he may have forgotten that he didn't want to put his jacket on.  He is so strong and stubborn at times, and then so agreeable and helpful at others.  He is really exploring all that he can do and be, it wares on me as much as it is a delight to watch. 

He likes to talk on the phone, especially to his friend Jo.  When he is having a tough time in the car I just call Jo and hand him the phone.  He just says hi over and over again and listens to Jo talk.  Sometimes when we are at home he will take the phone over to places and try and show Jo things.  I narrate.