Our little sunshine is growing up fast. He is not a little baby anymore, but rather an explorer of his world. He is intrigued by lights more than anything and gets a kick out of mastering the on and off switches. Dillan spends his time figuring out just how things work in his little pocket of life. He takes his time up and down stairs (and we have a lot of stairs.) He loves music and tinkles the ivory ever so gently, dabbles with Dan's drums when he visits, strums the guitars and mostly dances to his favorite tunes, which most recently include a Christmas video of all the old songs from various kid movies like Frosty, Rudolph and Santa. He refers anything Christmas as Ho Ho Ho. Jingle Bells is the all time favorite and he gets a kick when we sing it to him while ringing the bells. He eats by himself more often than not and is very proud of this accomplishment. Stars and Mr. Moony are his favorites these days.
He still loves playing peek a boo and when we have down time, I will load up the videos of him and he giggles with glee. Books are his best entertainment but Thomas is his bestest buddy. He is with my sister Kiki's new pup, Spartacus, showing him all about Thomas.
Always wearing a smile, Dillan finds joy in just about everything he does. Look at the choppers! Since he comes over here every Monday and Tuesday, we try to get our fill of fun. We take the doggies for walks and let them roam in the back field and he will clap for them to come home. They adore him for he makes sure they get their treats.
Grandpa set up the old train set that our boys played with a quarter of a century ago, but leave it to Little Tikes and all it took was a new battery and voila, good to go. We put it in the room now designated the North Pole.
One afternoon we brought him to Yorktown to ride the choo choo and he was in all his glory. We saw Santa and he gave a big wave to Dillan. Nice memories.
We discovered a very cool place near our home called All Aboard Diner where kids can grab their meals via train delivery and be amazed at all the trains in the diner. So fun and who knew it's been there five years already? When one becomes a grandparent, we become more aware of these places once again.
That evening we gathered Dillan's Mom and Dad to look at holiday lights. We visited the Darien award winner Truhlar home (Mike's buddy Anthony) and carried on to the famous Frohn house in Bolingbrook. Lights galore! Spectacular to see.
Our little man is learning so many things and 18 months is a huge milestone with wee ones. He understands directions, likes to help clean up (like Thomas, he is very useful), helps get dressed, uses words but still in baby babble, especially since he is learning English and Lithuanian simultaneously. He knows the routine before naps and I show him our statues and say prayers, then tell him all the people who love him and how beautiful he is. Every week he changes and we anxiously await what new thing he does to amaze us.
This picture says it all. He adores his Dapa who stops by every lunch hour just to get in a few hugs. I am Nana. His biggest fan, however, is Dadeeeee. He points to pictures of Mike all over the place. When Mommy comes to pick him up after work, he dashes to her and gives a huge hug.
Dillan helped his uncle T open presents as the doggies hovered nearby. Steve fondly refers to Dillan as Buddy and make the most of their time here. Now that the little guy is into coloring, next he will be learning how to paint with T.
As Dillan loves fishies, Mike and Margarita took him on the adventure downtown to the Shedd Aquarium, where he got his fill of so many beautiful crustacians. His journey is just beginning to unfold and we are completely blessed to be part of it. xo
