is it even possible?

that i have an 18-month-old? i mean really, most of the time i feel like i am just a kid still. but here i am, face to face with the fact that i just took my "baby" to the doctor for his 18-month-old appointment. dang. and i guess, after all, i will be a quarter of a century old on sunday, so maybe i am not as young as i feel.

anyways, sorry just needed to express my astonishment for a minute.

today, gabe and i went to the pediatrician. he got a flu shot and didn't shed a tear. i was terribly proud because, honestly, i think i would have cried. i am a real baby. but not gabe, he is apparently all grown up. here are a few things about 18-month-old gabe:

:: he weighs in at 29.5 pounds and is 33.5 inches long (which puts him in the 75th percentile for both).

:: he is a very chatty fellow. really, there is very little peace in our house these days due to gabe's constant chatter (or yelling, as he can also be an extremely loud child).

:: he can say more words than it is possible to list, but is especially good at "please" and "thank you".

:: he loves to sing and makes up his own songs often. apparently to him they are real songs, though, because he sings the same made up songs over and over. they are usually about cookies, mama, or daddy.

:: he eats like a pro, but still no meat. i mean, he has been fed meat accidentally before, but we do not include it as part of his regular diet. luckily, he will readily eat scrambled eggs whenever we give it to him, so he gets all the protein a boy could need. not that he is ever lacking in energy. because he is not.

:: he is really into imitation. he tries to do everything that steve, jared and i do (especially jared, as gabe finds him to be exceptionally cool).

:: he hugs the dogs constantly. and although they certainly do not seem to enjoy it, they are good dogs and the tolerate his crazy behavior with astounding patience.

:: it is becoming obvious that we no longer have a baby in our house, but a little boy. and although the sentimental mom part of me wants to cry when she thinks too hard about it (or is that the hormonal, pregnant part of me?), it is so exciting to see his personality develop and watch him as he learns more about the world around him.