seventeen months.

well folks, no surprise here.  the last month flew by & the little man got even awesomer.  he's become such a rockstar little guy & cracks us up on the daily.  he's a total goof & definitely keeps us on our toes.

i've given up on the "parker sit up straight, smile & look nice" kind of monthly-pictures & have decided to pick the ones that capture his personality.  because holy cow muh friends, this kid has him some personality.

here he is, all growed up to seventeen months.
{compare previous monthly pics here.} 

please notice how someone insisted he wear his shoes for his monthly picture.  he just had to have them on.  "shoes?  shoes?  shoes!"  is something we hear c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y around here, as well as "outside?  outside?  outside!"  he's pretty clear about what he wants.  parker loves being outside but he knows he has to be wearing his shoes before he gets to go out there.  first things first.  and then?  he'll bring us our shoes & hold them up to our feet.  "shoes!"

goofball.

parker is quickly leaving behind any hint of babyhood & is running full force into toddler hood.  i love it.  i think i'm totally a toddler mom & enjoy his newfound sense of independence.  he still self entertains like a champ & can spend a good fifteen minutes telling himself jokes in a mirror while i do my hair.  he is super attached to both sam & i & seems to have a bit of separation anxiety.  he likes it when the three of us are together.  if we're all hanging out & one of us leaves the room, he either cries about being left behind or jumps up & says, "daddy! daddy!" or "mommy! mommy!" & heads off to find you.  this makes going to the bathroom alone a thing of the past.

he is so smart.  he knows & will point to most his body parts when asked {nose, ears, head, eyes, tummy, teeth, toes, fingers, cheeks} & picks up on a new animal sound each day.  he's got "mooo", "baaaa", "naaaaay", "oooh oooh aah aah!" {monkey}, & "bbbbbbbbbbbbrrrr" {truck} down pat.  he is obsessed with "bubbles" {taking a bath} & asks for it every night around seven.  he is obsessed with elmo, puppies & apples & wakes up each morning around seven.  lately he's more interested in reading books on his own than sitting quietly on your lap having them read to him but he still loves books & pointing to all the objects he knows in them.  he will attempt to say pretty much any word you ask him to & is proud of himself when he figures a new one out.

he loves to play with other kids on the playground {although i'm not sure they always appreciate his attempts at initiating wrestling like he does with his dad} but will stop what he's doing with the other kids every now & then & run over to hug my legs & make sure i'm still around.  he's still in all the same size clothes & diapers as last month although i can tell they're starting to get smaller on him.  he loves to blow kissses & rub noses & give big smooches before bed & is seriously the sweetest little boy.  i don't know how we got so lucky.

and?  he is still so dang cute.

love this kid.

love your votes.