Eli, you are 20 months old today, which blows my mind! Four months to go until the Big Two. I can't believe you're that old and yet it feels like you've been with us forever.

What are you up to these days? You're becoming more and more independent. You don't want to be carried and you don't want to be stuck in your stroller - you love running around and exploring and you'll squirm and kick to be put down.

You are friendly and outgoing and you've never demonstrated one iota of shyness. You run up to strangers with a big, cheesy grin and a loud HIIII! You make everybody smile, and you love to laugh at silly things. You are brave - you're not afraid of dogs, waves at the beach, or climbing at the playground.

Every morning, you wake up singing and you're happy when we get you out of your crib. You're excited to open the blinds and see what the weather's like. After that, your first order of business is to come into our bedroom, run straight to the clock radio and ask "Dance?" We turn on the music and you go to town.

You're smart - your vocabulary grows every single day, you recognize some letters of the alphabet, and you say "One, two, three, four, five". You're constantly chatting and pointing things out and have started using some sentences. Our favourite? "I love you."

Mealtime is the one thing that causes us some grief with you because you're a finicky eater. One day, you can't get enough sweet potatoes; next day, you throw them at the wall. Sometimes it feels like you don't eat much at all. And you don't like typical kid foods - I thought all kids loved mac 'n' cheese and pizza? Yet you'll slurp down a bowl of beef and vegetable stew like it's your last meal and then request another. In addition to the throwing of food, we're trying to stop you from pulling hair. The biting phase seems to have passed (thank goodness).

Big E, we love you more and more, and we love hearing you say it back. Happy 20 months, wee man!