What I Love About Spike at 15 Months

self portrait

• pinching his chubby arms and thighs
• watching him play with his daddy
• getting woken up by him aggressively hugging and snuggling me
• the way he cries, "Mama!" if I walk by in the morning without coming to give him a kiss
  
• when he takes out his mimi to tell us something
• the way he can spot a ball or a picture of a ball from a mile away
• the way he has to say "ball" when he sees a ball
• his crazy hair and smiling face when he wakes up from a nap
• the way he warms up to new people with a shy smile
• the way he gets me to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" by clapping his hands
• the way he tips over at the end of "I'm a Little Teapot"
• how when you ask him if he's hungry, he'll throw his mimi down and run to his high chair
  
• hearing him laugh when his daddy tickles him
• the way his eyes scrunch up like mine when he smiles
• kissing his chubby cheeks
• running my fingers through his curls
• the way the pats his baby dolls on the back when he carries them around
• the way he makes a fishy noise for every animal we see, except for dogs, for whom he says "Foo! foo!"
• how he waves at Kedzie every time he sees her
  
• how when we ask him where his nose is, he sticks his fingers up in it as far as they'll go
  
• the way he smiles at himself in the mirror
• how he says "Yabbi Yabbi Yabbi" or "Dewbie Dewbie Dewbie" all day
• the way he knows that he gets an apple when we go to the grocery store--and how he eats the entire thing, stem, core and all.
• the way he cuddles with his blankie and is becoming so attached to it
  
• how he takes out his mimi to say "Amay" after we say the "Now I lay me..." prayer
  
• how he smiles and giggles when we put him down to sleep at night and then falls right to sleep without a peep
• about 1,000 other things...