Thatcher Arie is 18 months old!

This sweet little guy is already 18 months old! I can't believe he's this big already. He's just this little PERSON now! He is so darn fun!! Here's a little about him at this stage:

Thatcher LOVES balls -- they're his favorite toys. He's really good at throwing and kicking, too -- better than Grayson! He also loves bubbles and cars.

T talks up a storm now -- he has the sweetest little voice -- everything he says is the cutest thing you've ever heard. He has a fantastic vocabulary, and can usually make his needs known quite clearly (between words and signing).  He even speaks in sentences -- "Want more juice, pwease". 

His favorite foods right now are goldfish crackers, apples, string cheese, and pretty much anything he sees on someone else's plate. He's a fabulous eater and eats almost everything he's given -- the exact opposite of his brother :) You'd never know it by looking at him (skinny boy!), but he loves to eat.

He thinks he needs to do everything Grayson does -- if Gray is doing something/getting into something, you can usually find T right behind him. Climbing, running, dancing, jumping, throwing, etc etc etc.  He thinks he's a big boy and can do everything his big brother does. 

He loves Baby Signing Time, and frequently signs for and says "Baby Time, pwease" 

He also LOVES the TV show Blue's Clues -- he asks for "Boos Coos" every day -- he "signs" for it, too -- opens and closes his hands like they do in the show.  He knows all the songs and tries to sing along, too.  It's very cute.

He has successfully transitioned to sleeping in his own crib. He shares a room with Grayson. He's mostly weaned now, but he's not giving up his before-bed nursing session. Which is fine by me -- I love the snuggle time :)

He loves his binky blankets -- he has two -- and needs both of them to sleep. He calls them his "dee-dee"s

T loves a little toy we have that plays the alphabet song -- he sometimes goes around the house singing "Y an' Zeeeee".  It's adorable.

He has the best little laugh -- this deep belly-laugh that makes everyone that hears it smile.

He's pretty much the happiest, sweetest little guy ever! He is such a wonderful part of our family! We love him so very much!

Carver's Cove

My mom heard about a fun little farm in Eden called Carver's Cove that lets you pet and feed all the animals. So we checked it out today! It was really hot, so we didn't stay too long, but we did have a great time while we were there! The boys loved all the animals! So cute and so fun!

Me showing Gray how to hold his hand to feed the goats (P.S. Goats kind of freak me out, so this was me being quite brave, I'll have you know!)

Gray was very brave also, and ended up loving it! Whenever we've gone to petting zoos before, he's never gotten even CLOSE to the animals. I was proud of him :)

T loved the chickens running all over the place. 

I loved the tiny little pygmy goats! They were just one day old!!!

The baby pygmy goats with their momma

This horse was so pretty -- it had blue eyes! I've never seen a horse with blue eyes before!

Llama llama llama!

The baby llama and baby T had quite the connection :)

Gray kept going back to feed the goats. They were his favorite :)

He always giggled when they licked the food up 

Following the chicken again. (hehe -- T gave my mom his hat, and she wore it most of the time :D)

T wasn't so sure if he liked feeding the goat...

He just went back to chasing the chicken.

He sat right down in the grass next to it, and hung out with it for a bit.

Nani and T snuggling a bunny

Nani and the bunny :)

Baby turkeys

These little piglets were so funny! These ones are bottle-fed, and they were hungry, so they kept nudging everyone. Gray thought it was funny that they thought Daddy was their mommy! :)

Their little noses were surprisingly hard! They meant business!

They even let the boys climb all over the tractors. Little boy heaven! :)

And here it is -- the cherry on top! Grayson actually RODE ON THE HORSE!! I could not believe he actually did it! He needed me next to him, but he did great! 

What a fun little place! I think we'll be going back! :)

Instagram/Pic Stitch

I'm loving playing with these iPhone apps lately :). Here are some of the adorable pics I've made with them.

Fun at Willard Bay

That's T, Jeanne, and Grayson on the beach, and Jordan wake boarding in the background

On Thursday we went to Willard Bay with Steve's family. We had a great time! Thatcher loved all the sand (well, the small gravel) and the seagulls. Grayson liked digging in the sand, too -- but he was also really brave and actually went in the water this time! He went out on the boat and wave runner, too. This is HUGE deal, because Gray hasn't gotten in water (except the bath tub) since he was a baby. He's always been terrified before, and hasn't gotten within a few feet of the water. I was so proud of him! And he loved it! In fact, he threw a huge tantrum when we made him get out -- which I much prefer to the tantrum he'd throw when we tried to get him IN. I'm cautiously hopeful that we'll have a summer full of boating and swimming pools that will actually be fun. :)

Cautious of the water at first, but that soon changed.

T loved chasing the seagulls!

Gray waded in to his ankles at first, and looked for cool rocks and shells

Getting a little braver....

I was SHOCKED when he went in to his waist! He's come a long way :)

T digging in the sand with the giant shovel

Gray loved the tube, especially when Uncle Jordan spun it around in circles with the Larson kids -- if you click on the pic to make it bigger, you will see he has a huge smile on his face! :)

Using a bucket as a drum

On the wave runner with Uncle Jordan

He loved it, and was asking to go again!

I loved T's floppy sun hat :)

T was very proud that he found water in the hole he dug -- "Oooo!"

Toddling away with a very sandy bum :)