The Cress Family: 17 months

Wow, I can't believe Emmett's already almost a year and a half old! How did that happen? He is in such a fun stage; he's really wanting to interact with us and he has such a sweet personality. I feel like he is learning something new every day; it's amazing how much he understands, even if he doesn't talk very much.

He loves cuddling before bed. He loves it so much, that he pretty much WILL NOT go to sleep unless we rock for at least a few minutes before putting him in his crib. Not that we mind or anything...we'll take all the snuggles we can get!
He has started to reach his arms around our necks to pull us close and hug us. It absolutely melts our hearts.
He knows some body parts and can point to them on command. (hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ear, toes, belly button)
He LOVES to watch Sesame Street. He will usually sit there enthralled for the first 10 minutes or so and then will run off and play, come back and watch, etc. And he knows when it's over. He'll point at the TV and make a whining grunt (mmm, mmmm!) whenever he wants to watch it. (Which is often.) We're trying to limit how much time he spends in front of the TV though.
He loves flap books, especially his Sesame Street one. Now if only he didn't keep ripping the flaps off!
He will point to pictures in books when we ask where _____ is. He'll also point to pictures wanting to know what they are when we ask what he sees.
He will point to my tummy when we ask where the baby is.
He understands "hot". I was pulling something out of the oven one night and he touched the door for a split second. Luckily he didn't get burned too bad (I think it scared him more than anything), and he keeps his distance when we tell him something is hot.
He enjoys helping pick out his clothes (I'll usually offer him the choice between two shirts and put whichever one he points at on him)
He understands that going to the car means we're going outside and will run to the door. He loves to go to the store.
He usually wants to play with the dome light in the car before letting us buckle him in his car seat. I'm thinking we might have to turn him forward facing soon so he can't reach it anymore...
He figured out how to move the chairs so he can climb them to get to the table.
He wants to sit at the table to eat really badly, but I'm not sure I want to move him out of his high chair yet, even though he has figured out how to get the tray off.
He loves dipping his food (crackers/bread into applesauce/yogurt, chips into dip, etc)
He will occasionally take his food (usually a cracker or something) and put it on the floor and then lay down and eat it up. Maybe he's been watching the dog too much?
He loves to carry things (especially his Monkey blanket) in his mouth. Maybe that's from the dog too?

The Saturday before Halloween, my grandma had a family party. Emmett did NOT want to wear the hat that went with his pumpkin costume. But he sure liked the mini pumpkins my aunt brought for one of the games; he had to have one in his hand almost the entire time! I was surprised that on Halloween he willingly let me put the hat on his head, however. Maybe it was the fact that I told him we were going outside.... Jeremy was working swing shift, so my dad and I took Emmett trick-or-treating down the street. I was intending to take him to the ward Trunk-Or-Treat, but I got the time wrong and didn't get there until it was over. I was super bummed, but at least he didn't know any better and won't remember it.