Hey, look! It's a post that's reasonably close to on time. Dean is 20 months old, and he's is every bit the toddler. Only, without the toddling. More like running, jumping, climbing, ultra-compact-tornadoing. Which we enjoy... most of the time. That said, having him go visit grandma for a couple of nights this weekend was nice too.

He still doesn't have a lot in the way of "dislikes", but he definitely has things that are favorites. Carrots and apples are the best foods right now, and anything that's a "dip" (which includes soup). He cooks for us too. Mostly "pepper". This stems from one day when he was cooking with his pan and spoon, and was offering tastes to mommy and me and I said "Yum. Needs more pepper." Now, everything is pepper. We're getting into a better routine at nights. When he gets home from day care he feeds the kitties, then we do puzzles and watch "seeka" (musica). After dinner it's time to "essersize" with the WiiFit. He pulls out the balance board (his is made of a phone book wrapped in duct tape), and wants his "mote" and "nukuck" (nunchuck). After we do our exercise, it's time for "jammas" then "mesisin" (medicine) and "brush-brush" (which is teeth, as opposed to hair, with is only one "brush"). Then we read for a while. Usually the pajama book, the dinosaur book, the "ha-ha" book and the "gilla" (gorilla) book. Sometimes, 2 or 3 times each. Then it's off to sleep.

Seriously, where did the last few months go? Dean is no longer a baby by any stretch. As proof of this he's begun to identify other tiny people as "Beebee!". He runs. A lot. There's nothing quite like being in the kitchen when he gets home with momma, and he comes running into the kitchen shouting "Dada!". It makes any day better. So what's happened since our last update in June? (June? and now it's October?)

Well, for his 13 month pictures, we went formal.

And at 14 months, we had a picnic at the beach, organized by one of Nicole's friends. This group of friends seemed to be at about a 3-to-1 baby-to-grownup ratio. Don't ask me how this is possible, but the babies were everywhere. Dean got a kick out of all the "goggies" on the lakefront trail and though sand was great fun to play with (and not a bad snack at that.)

Also in August, we took a trip downtown to check out the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. After we were done at the museum we wandered down the lakefront, and to Millenium park. Dean played in the grass in front of the new bandshell and generously invited several others to join him. After that, he had his first encounter with "The Bean" (officially, it's "Cloud Gate", but that's only slightly more likely to catch on than "Willis Tower").

In September we went to Ohio for Habari Party 2009, where we had a lot of fun. Dean got to meet the people who are indirectly responsible for him. (An inside joke related to him being the Best Habari Swag Ever™). There was ice cream, a new ball, and "Pees-ah!". The bear didn't make the trip so we missed getting the comparison picture, but all in all a good time was had despite a bit of illness at the end of the trip.

At the end of September, Dean spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa Thomas. His first night away from momma and daddy. I think he took it better than we did. Although we had a fun night off, we were definitely ready to spend time with our boy when we got back together. We went to a petting zoo/pumpkin patch place called Johansen Farm and saw lots of animals,. Even petted some baby chicks. He sampled the pie... all of it and had some apple cider too. Dean went in the bouncy castle, rode the hayrack ride and the train, and led the way through the corn maze.

And now, here we are. Dean is 16 months old, and becoming quite the independent young man. He climbs on everything, and has a vocabulary well beyond his age, in both Spanish and English. His current favorite toys are a yardstick and any kind of ball (or bola) he can get his hands on. He knows where his belly is (just ask him) and he's as outgoing as ever. He's a great kid 95% of the time, which is a heck of a lot better than either of his parents.

Wow. We missed the 9 month post, and time flies, so it's hard to even remember what happened that long ago. Now Dean is 10 months old and what a big boy he is now. He's cruising* like a master. He's chattering away in what I'm sure he thinks are words, but not ones that we understand yet. He occasionally stands for a few seconds on his own, but it's like a cartoon character, where once he notices there's nothing holding him up, he quickly tumbles. He's even getting good at that. Landing on the padded diaper parts rather than the unpadded elbows and head. He continues to be adorable at every opportunity, and to flirt without remorse.

Unsurprisingly he's also got a bit of a devious streak (no idea where he'd get that at all). He gets very quiet when he's getting into trouble. He also is expressing more and more preferences. He's feeding himself too. Cheerios are a favorite, along with apple chips and cheese. All in all he's changing quickly from a baby to a toddler. Only two months till our little man is a year old.