Damien is 18 Months

Our little guy is 18 months. One and a half trips around the sun. Boy time flies when you are having fun, and we are having a blast - well most of the time. Our boy is a sweet, loving, adventurous, spirited, strong willed child. We love him more than words can express.

His smile lights up our days. His laughter makes our hearts soar. His hugs and kisses make our whole body melt with love, joy and happiness. Yes, it really is that great.

Sure, he has his moments. He sometimes wakes up on the WRONG side of the crib. Instead of waking up laughing and talking and playing with his friends in his crib (baby, mono, elmono, giraffe, night night, etc.) like he usually does, he'll wake up screaming and ask for milk, then throw the milk, only to wail for it louder, then ask for eggs, then throw the eggs, then hit momma when she says not to throw the eggs, then sob when momma says not to hit and walks away. These are the tough mornings, the ones where we are thankful for the reprieve that work brings.

But, not long after getting to work, we miss our little guy. And can't wait to return to him. And no matter what they day brought, his little smile just makes all the issues melt away (for the time being =P ).

Damien is getting more into cars, and trucks, and busses and trains. He loves Thomas alot, prefers it over Elmo, and likes to push cars and trucks around making car noises. Such a little boy. He still loves his balls, his bubbles and his balloons. He loves to hit balloons with a squash racket or a little kiddie paddle. It's adorable actually. He backs up to his toy bookcase or the couch, and then bends his knees into ready position - who taught him this? He nails the balloon almost perfectly every time.

Damien loves to climb, especially on chairs. His vocabulary is incredible and growing every day. He's a bit of an echo. He will repeat some of the words you say when talking. He learns many new words each day. Some of our recent favorites include "que rico," "shake your booty," "crocodile," "Mommy's coffee," and "Mathias."

He's getting better at feeding himself, but it's still super messy, and even though he can drink out of a real cup by himself, he still often almost drowns himself and spills the water when trying to take it on the go. He's out of the high chair, and will only willingly eat at his little table or on mommy's lap.

He loves playing with his girlfriend's next door, and often will yell repeatedly for them over the fence. He just goes bananas when they come over to play. He also loves to go to daycare. When we tell him it is time to go, he runs to the door and says "Jacket," "Maria," and "Ninos." When we drop him off he runs off in a flash, and there are no tears. We are so thankful for that.

What an amazing ride this has been. Dreams do come true.

Damien Does Easter

Damien decided to host his first Easter brunch this year. He had a great turn out. Grandpa Yum Yum and Grandma Lo Lo came from Reno, Cousins Mariano and Alma and Uncle Jordan and Aunt Izabel came, as well as Sam, Jane, Gideon, Bruce and Christian. And to top it off, his girlfriends Juna and Adeline came over for an Easter egg hunt. D didn't know what to make of the hunt, he was more interested in removing eggs from other people's baskets to dump or throw then to collect them. But, he enjoyed all the company as he usually does. He also played the brut to Marino as per usual, taking every single toy he would pick up. Toward the end of the day, Mariano would see D charge for him and he would just hand over the toy. We hope D learns to play nicely with his sweet cousin soon. It was a lovely day and a great bunch! Thanks so much to the cooks, William, Sam, Jane and Locey.

Surveying the scene intensely.

D preferred to play with dirt over the easter eggs.

The kiddos and their eggs.

At least Mariano snagged D's juice behind his back!

Starting to get the hang of things.

The girls examine their loot.

The Easter Bunny brought lots of happiness.

The marvelous couple Sam and Jane.

Lo Lo, Yum Yum, Jordan and Papa

Bruce, Lo Lo and Gideon.

Mariano digs the fruit!

The packed table, creatively set by Lo Lo on some seriously limited decor.

Damien is a Handsome Devil

Our little guy is hard to catch still for a photo. But, he usually slows down for a second when either drinking his milk or watching Elmo or Thomas. Mommy was thrilled to snag a few good non-moving close-ups. Here is a sample of the many faces of our handsome D.

Milk comma.

Pleased with Elmo.

Shocked by Elmo.

Happy to be on the counter, where he is usually not allowed to sit.

Concerned Damien

Surprised Damien.

Damien Loves Water Play

One of Damien's favorite things right now is to play with his water table. He loves to play with it, especially when we put a little dish soap in it for bubbles. He loves to pour and pour and splash and throw water. He usually ends up pouring water all over himself right away, and then asking for us to take his clothes off. He loves to be the "Naked Baby." We are so thankful to Maurice (his French Grandma's partner) for making this table for him with love.

Water Graffiti

How bout a little shower?

Oh wait, what was that?

Going in for more!

Too funny.

Wait, not funny any more, I'm all wet.

Dish washing training.

Shoveling bubbles, who knew it could be so much fun?

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

Damien Loves His Elmo

Damien is pretty in love with Elmo. Just like most toddlers I guess. They sure got that character right. Damien still loves to watch Elmono, although it has fallen to second place behind Thomas. But, he still adores his two Elmo dolls, and will insist on having one of them when he does watch Elmo and when he goes to bed. He also loves all of his Elmo books.

Feeding Elmono some sting cheese.

"No Momma, you may not remove Elmono and Night Night to feed me."

"I love Elmono so much, I could just eat his eyes off."

"Yeah, that's right, TWO Elmonos. That's how I roll."

Damien Loves His Dada Mathias

A few cute things Damien does with dada. First, he says "Dada?" alot. Dada responds with "Yes Boss." To which Damien echos, "Yes boss." It is soooo cute.

Another thing Damien does, is call Dada Mathias on occasion. He picked this up from Momma of course. It is funniest when he says that in the morning. Just the other morning, we were lying in bed and awoke to a spirited "Mathias, Mathias, Mathias." Too funny.

Some of Damien's favorite activities to do with Dada is play "soccer ball" - especially on the concrete sidewalk at the park where he tries to kick the ball into the street, play frisbee (he can actually throw it), rough house, bubbles (Dada is the master bubble blower) and help papa weed (i.e. throwing the pulled out weeds everywhere and distributing dirt all over the sidewalk).

Damien sure loves his Dada.

And his Dada sure loves him back. As Dada says, "He's alright!"

But how could you not be smitten with this face - drool and all?

Damien is a Ball of Energy

Go go go go - as Damien often says as he runs off someplace. He's always on the move. He doesn't like to sit down much. He refuses the high chair, and sometimes, he will only eat standing up, getting a bite from his little table, running off, and returning for more. He's a little less inclined to sit and read books now, but you can grab him for a book or two here and there (especially when he is tired).

Off to the races.

Somebody likes to climb all over his chair and jump down from it.

Attack of the Damien. Most photos end up like this these days, once Damien see's mommy with the camera, he charges like a bull.

Feeding Elmono crackers - D doesn't mind sharing with him.

Besos anyone?

I mean serious silly business.