19 months.

19 months is much too close to 2 years for my liking. 

What Kale loves: 

• Chasing the cat. Kale has always gotten a a little thrill out of chasing the cat around, but this month it's become, errr, mean? Kris and I got a quick lesson in just how much Kale is picking up from us these days when we noticed him starting to yell "go!" and "get" at the cat every time he was somewhere Kale decided he shouldn't be (uh, everywhere). Kris and I have tried to be extra nice with the cat in an effort to counteract, but Kale seems to get a great deal of satisfaction from showing the cat who is in charge. And honestly, after the 19 months of scratches that Kale has had to endure, I say fair game. 
• Dancing & music. Kale loves to listen to music, whether it be a video on YouTube, a CD in the car, or mama belting out a christmas tune. He has some pretty impressive dance moves and often runs to grab his toy instruments so we can get a good jam session going when he hears me sing. 
• School. Kale absolutely loves his school, his teachers and all his little friends. He can barely sit still long enough for me to help him get his boots and coat off before he's running in to the gym. When I drop him off I tell him I have to go to work and he turns to give me a kiss and then runs off. Half the time when I come to pick him up, he pretends he doesn't notice me in hopes that I'll leave him there for another hour or two. 
• Cooking and laundry. Kale loves to help us cook and we try to let him do anything that's safe. In the morning he gets me the frying pan, opens the fridge and pulls out the eggs and milk and then asks for a bowl so we can scramble up an egg. When it comes to laundry, I just have to say the word and he's running with pure and utter glee toward the baskets. 

What Kale hates: 

• Being sick. I can't believe that I thought last month's cold was bad. After coming down with the worst flu of my life, we did everything to keep Kale away in hopes that he'd escape my germs. No such luck. As soon as I started feeling human again, Kale came down with a terrible flu. He had a fever for four days, a terrible cough and a constant runny nose. It was so sad to see the little guy feel so terrible. 
• Boots. Even though Kale can walk really well in his winter boots, he hates wearing them. The second he gets buckled into his car seat he takes his hat off (he's always done this) and then demands "'oots! off!" If I don't take them off, he manages to wiggle out of them on his own. 

Things to celebrate/milestones/big events:

Since I was sick for two weeks and Kale for another week, we honestly didn't leave the house all that much unless we had to. Even though it was a weak month for exciting stuff, hanging out at home and getting lots of cuddles is just as awesome. There was, however, one small parenting milestone - Kris and I had our first parent-teacher interview! It was really nice to have an opportunity to chat with the teachers and find out how Kale is doing and what's he's been working on. We normally don't have too much time to talk about these kinds of things during pick up and drop off, so it was a real treat for us.

According to Kale: 

Kale pretty much babbles non-stop now, so imagine our surprise when one of his teachers told us that he doesn't talk much. I think he is just so busy watching everyone else and trying to keep up with the older kids, that he keeps quiet and saves all his stories for when he gets home. He's got a pretty long list of words and has started to string two words together here and there, but for the most part they still come across as demands ("cook!" "juice!" "fork!" "off!").

My favourite pictures from this past month: