20 months

Is it just me that thinks 20 months is a big one? I mean, 19 months seems so close to 1 1/2, yet 20 months seems way closer to 2. Make sense?

So, here is a little recap of where Miles is now.
He's still teething! Can you believe it? He finally got tooth number 10 yesterday. He's got his front 8 teeth and two top molars. Poor kid has been teething most of his life.
He's signing up a storm. He surprised us the other day when he signed 'water' to us without being prompted. He's actually coming up with words too! Saturday he learned THEE cutest word: hi. Except, it's not just 'hi'. It's more like Hi-eeeeeeee. He makes his jaw go all crooked so that his teeth are not on top of each other, but crooked. LOVE it.
He is also starting to pretend. The first time he crawled up to me panting I had no idea what he wanted until he said, 'ooh oooh' and I knew he was pretending to be a DOG. He's pretending to be a DOG!
He also comes up to me, puts his head on my belly and starts snoring like he's sleeping. How did he go from a baby to a little boy who pretends to be a dog and a sleeping boy?
When he hears certain songs on the radio that he likes, he says, 'ooh-hoo!' as in WOO-HOO! That's my boy.
He still WILL NOT eat a vegetable. I almost do the happy dance when he secretly takes a bite of a new vegetable. This week he had about 10 kernels of corn (because they were on the cob) and one bite of tomato. That's more than he's had in an entire year I'd bet.
All summer long he's been climbing up the swing set ladder. Like a real ladder. He has no fear. He'll whip down the slides all by himself. Even the big ones at the park. Logan didn't do that until he was 3 1/2. He'll climb up on the chairs, the counter, whatever he can find to get up on.
He's more determined than anyone I know. He knows what he wants and he'll grip as long as it takes.
One thing that I would change about him if I could: he's a thrower. When he's mad about anything, he throws things. This includes things like an entire plate of food, a full yogurt cup, a half full cup of water, a full bowl of kix. Wait, maybe it's just food? Anyway, he does it simply to be naughty. We're working on that one.
He'll fall asleep in the car and let me carry him inside with his head on my shoulder, heavy as a log. He'll curl his little head in my neck, his hands around my shoulders, and feel so content. It's moments like that that I am in awe of my life.
I look back at the past 20 months and realize that life has been/IS hard. Miles really threw us for a loop. We were not prepared for a baby who cried all of the time. We were not prepared for a baby who never slept. We were not prepared for the exhaustion of the past almost 2 years.
Now, as things are different,(and I won't say EASIER because they are simply different) I see that Miles has yet to come up with a way to express his feelings that isn't crying. He's got a lot of stuff inside that he can't seem to get out in a calm way. I think that as his vocabulary grows and he learns how to express himself, we'll lose the difficult times and gain more of the great times we're witnessing lately. The things that he has no problem expressing however is how much he loves us. He'll lean in to hug and actually make an 'awe' noise. He kisses over and over. When it's just daddy/miles time, they hang out on the floor together. Dave on his back, Miles on Dave's belly. They point out body parts, play tickle, and just bond. When Logan is mad or sad or pouting, Miles comes to check on him. He'll place his head in Logan's lap and rub his knee trying to make him feel better. When we go for bikerides, he'll rub my back for much of the trip (we have a seat on the back of my seat)
Dave and I are really starting to see our life heading in a different stage. Our boys are rounding 5 and 2. That's 5 years of diapers, temper tantrums, rushed meals, talking over crying kids, never a minute to just simply connect. We got to drink coffee and talk about world news yesterday while the kids watched a cartoon together. I can't remember the last time we got to drink coffee and have an UNinterrupted conversation when all 4 of us where in the house.
Miles is 20 months. I can't believe it!