18 months

Espen turned 18 months yesterday, and our little baby is inexplicably now a toddler. Whoa! Whoever "they" are, they got it right when they said that kids grow up so fast. But when each new stage is so exciting and fun, you don't really have time to mourn "lost babyhood." Instead, you just stand back in awe and amazement at all the things your little guy or girl can suddenly do. Who taught you that?

At 18 months, Espen is happy, curious, and playful. He is very interested in the world around, and always wants to know what things are and what they do. He is very eager to communicate with us, and is as pleased to be understood as he is frustrated when mom and dad just don't get it. His vocabulary is growing fast at a rate of about a word a day. He passed the 50-word mark a couple of months ago, and at this point we've just lost count!

Espen loves books and reading and begs nightly for "Hvor er Tassen?" ("Where is Spot?"). He plays with his Legos daily, and has a deep and abiding love for cars and his race track. He can recognize motorcycles by sound, and calls them "o-sicles". He loves going for walks and being outside, and will often bring mama's shoes to her and try to put put them on her feet. The highlight of his day is still when Daddy comes home.

Having a toddler is a game changer. While Espen remains great at playing independently and keeping himself busy, I'm seeing a greater need to challenge and introduce him to new things. Hangin' out at home with me all day isn't quite enough these days. And so it's time to fill our days with a little more... more.

After some thinking, I've come up with a little plan. And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't share my plan with you? Here's what I'm thinking:

Every week I will try do to three things:

1. A field trip. One day a week, Espen and I will drop Nick off at work, take the car and head out on a little adventure. I'm thinking parks, museums, the library... just somewhere we can see and do something different to what we do at home. Shopping doesn't count!
2. A play date. People need people, even if they're little people! It's good to learn to be social and share and have fun. And let's be honest, moms need people too.
3. An ambitious activity. I'm always thinking about fun and clever little things to do with Espen, like bake cookies, make crafts, garden, finger paint, play in his pool outside... all of that good stuff. But those things are messy, or require preparation, or take a lot of time and effort, and so I get overwhelmed and discouraged and don't do any of them. But even I can get ambitious once a week.

Just to keep me accountable, I will be doing some brief updates every weekend (-ish) so you can see what we've been up to. And if you'd like to join in, I'd love to see and link to your own activities.

I'll be starting a 30-day challenge here on the blog on Monday, so expect a lot more updates in the coming weeks! What are you blogging about these days? Leave me a comment so I can find you, and I'd love to stop by and see what you're up to.