Joey: 20 Months

Six months ago I was filled with worry and dread about going through an overseas move with this little man who seemed to unravel every time we took him from his routines and familiar surroundings. No, the word I used was "horror" to describe how I felt at the thought of us being "displaced for weeks and living out of suitcases." I wonder, was all the angst about how he would cope with it or how I would? By the grace of God, we're both doing perfectly fine.

There were some difficult times of course. There was the dark plane ride from Seattle to Yokota Air Base in Tokyo. I'd been advised beforehand to do the bulk of my sleeping on this leg of the trip, as soon as breakfast was over. The lights were off, shades were drawn and movies played continuously. Everyone slept on that plane -- that is, everyone but me and Joey who fussed off and on the whole way and slept maybe 15 minutes out of the whole 9 hours. So that stunk. Fortunately for the rest of the passengers, the engine noise was loud enough to muffle any crying that happened and let anyone sleep who wanted to. I guess because I had built this day up in my mind to be such a horrible ordeal, it was really not that bad on the whole. He gagged on a pretzel and threw up some of his breakfast at one point, but I had a change of clothes ready to go. The second night at our hotel here did not go so well, with him being up several times, but that was the worst of it. For the most part he's been his cheerful and decently sleeping self since we arrived. For the most part.

As I explained to some new friends the other day, I think that somewhere along the way he realized that even if he's somewhere new and has to sleep in a different room or a different bed, if he has us he has all he needs. And maybe a little Elmo too. I introduced him to Elmo after the other kids went to Massachusetts and now he can't get enough of him. Very helpful at times to put some Elmo on the Kindle. He says, "Memo!" All of our kids have gone through an Elmo stage and I have a soft spot in my heart for that red furry monster.

So, month 20 has been a lot less rocky than I expected. There have been major changes to our circumstances, but none to Joey. He's a happy and affectionate little guy. He ate up all the extra attention we got from family while we were staying at Tim's parents'. One thing I've noted is an increase in the roughhousing between him and Timmy. He will wrap his arms around Timmy's legs, tackle him to the floor, and climb on him. Timmy is super physical too, and I worry that he'll get carried away and hurt Joey, but that hasn't happened yet. Then there was that nasty patch of rug burn on Joe's belly, now that I think of it..

He's at such a fun stage right now -- part sweet baby and part hilarious and headstrong toddler. I want to keep him this way forever with his adorable baby hands and feet, that chirpy little voice calling out "Car!" or "Know?" or "No!" His newest command is "Way!" (Go away) I don't encourage that, though.

Annie always shares with Joey. Here, he kept saying "Bite," and she ended up giving him half her ice cream cone.

He still wakes up unhappy every time. He's the only one of the four who doesn't talk to himself and play in the crib for a while before he needs me to get him. He wakes up angry that someone didn't already get him 10 minutes ago. I cuddle him for awhile and give him lots of TLC after he wakes up, but he doesn't perk up until he's had a change of scenery. So it's best to get out and do something after his nap.

He still nurses twice a day, before nap and before bed. He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up at 6 typically. He still wears size 4 diapers and both 12-18 and 18-24 month clothing depending on the type of clothing and the brand. In pants he's still smaller. The 12-18 cargo shorts that have been a staple of his wardrobe for months now, seem to be getting looser around the waist. 18-24 month tops usually fit OK. His feet are tiny just like his siblings'. He's in size 6 sneakers right now, and they have a little room.

It really is a joy to watch this little guy grow.