rex is 18 months old today!! he had his well visit and is a very healthy boy! he screamed his head off while being weighed, reaching for me and trying to climb off the scale the entire time. he did NOT like being measured or touched at all by the nurse. but he was perfectly happy playing on the floor with trucks! he sat on my lap while the dr. did her exam and he was fine. there was a tiny bit of crying with enormous tears when he got his 2 shots. but all in all, he did great! he weighed in at 32 lbs 3 oz (97th percentile) and measured 34 inches (95th percentile). he always has been a chart topper!! he's way above average for verbal skills - just like his sister! the dr. said he should have about 10 words at this point. i told her he had at least 50 and is putting 2 or 3 words together and using some short sentences!! for example, this morning he told neal "i want jump on bed!" he's talking more and more every day! he can tell me what songs he'd like me to sing, what he'd like to listen to in the van - usually 'king' (i just can't wait to be king), 'ku tada' (hakuna matada), or 'ma paport' (morning report), all from lion king - or what he'd like to watch on tv. i really love the communication with him and he does, too! he gets so proud when i understand something new that he's saying!

malloy had a great day at school, celebrating her friend, mark's, birthday. when i came to get her, she ran into my arms and clung to me, telling me that she was so sad that school's over. she's doing great waking up from nap quietly so that she doesn't wake rex. she'll whisper into the monitor that she's awake. i love it!!  we went to the gym this afternoon and on our way back malloy said "but miss alex wasn't there" and i asked her if she loved miss alex. when malloy said yes, i asked her if she'd like miss alex to come play with her sometime and mommy so mommy and daddy could go do something. her reply was "but i don't love miss alex anymore. i just love you and daddy." guess she doesn't like the idea of a babysitter!!