Nicole and Brandon

Hello!

IT'S SUMMER!

I officially missed a monthly update....the first of many I'm sure since I don't plan on tracking every month until your 18th birthday. ;) AND I'm a little late posting this but oh well. We'll just cover both months in one post.

15 month doctor stats:

Weight: 23 pounds, 13 ounces (63rd percentile)

Height/Length: 31.5 inches (55th percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.75 inches (71st percentile)

You are quickly turning into a little boy (from a baby) in front of my eyes. You are learning new things and developing at an astounding rate. You are also developing a hysterical little personality. You crack me up every day.

Vocabulary:

Mom

Daddy

Mama = Grandma

Bupa = Grandpa

Pa = Opa

DOGGIE (always yelled) = Dog, any animal, sometimes people too...

Plees/Dees = Please

Uh Oh

Light

Nigh Nigh = Bedtime or I want to climb the stairs

Nana = Banana (sometimes other fruits too)

Cooo Keeee(whispered) = Darth Vader sound

Coo-kuh = Cookie

Cra-kuh = cracker

Num = Yum
Out (always heard in stroller & car seat: out, please?)
Bir = Bird

Owl

IO = EIEIO (from Old McDonald had a Farm)

Sli = slide
Words you will repeat but haven't said independently:
Bi-ba = diaper
Bath
Car

Physical Development:

4 teeth - 2 top, 2 bottom.

You briefly stand unassisted every now and then but you still do not walk or take steps. Nothing is physically wrong you just aren't confident enough yet. I think it will happen soon though!

You still crawl (fast) and climb everything. You creep along furniture and walls. You can climb up and down stairs. You were standing unassisted for much longer periods of time closer to 16 months.

Update: You took your very first steps (2 to be exact) on July 23 at Red Robin to the cheers and encouragement of the ladies at the table next to us! Since then you've taken a few independent steps 2 or 3 times but you still prefer walking with help.

Memories from months 15 & 16:

-After taking a sip of something refreshing you go "ahhhh" like in a commercial. I think you learned that from me...haha!

-After taking a bite of something delicious you go "Mmmm"....also learned from mom. ;)
-When a food commercial comes on or you see food in a book you also go "Mmmm".
-All fruits are "nana's" and all animals are "DOGGIE's", with the exception of some "birdies".

-You went on your first airplane ride(s) and did great! We got to take your car seat on for 3 of the 4 flights which was wonderful. There was one 4 hour flight without it and we passed you around the family and to one stranger. :) You only slept for the late night 45 min flight but were in good spirits for the rest of them. I'll post more vacation photos in a separate post.

-I took you to Target one afternoon and as we passed through the toy section you saw a 4' tall Darth Vader. I said "It's Darth Vader" and you immediately went "Coo Keee" (your Darth Vader sound) over and over and I started cracking up!

-Speaking of laughing, if you see people laughing, especially neighboring tables in restaurants, you start laughing and clapping your hands too! Too cute!

-You are a little comedian in your high chair, making mommy and daddy laugh throughout your meals.

-Sometimes when you don't like a food you throw it off your tray, slide it off your tray, or do the "slow spit out" down the front of your bib. These are no-no's and you get in trouble.

-Every so often mommy will put BabyGenius sing-a-longs on the TV for you and you love them! You stand as close to the TV as you can get and scream "DOGGIE" every time you see an animal. You also are a really awkward dancer sometimes...bobbin' your head....haha!

Oh, and sometimes you stand on things...

-Early in July we took away your pacifier cold turkey. You hadn't been really using it during the day except naps so one day when you threw it out of your crib (again) and said "uh oh" I decided to not rescue it. That was your first nap without a paci. You cried for 40 minutes. We made it and we haven't looked back. It took you a good week and a half to cry less and less. You are better now but still fuss for about 10 minutes at naps and bedtime. You used to pop the paci in and you were out....so it's been an adjustment for everyone.
-Mommy has LOVED being home with you this summer. I think it will be harder to go back to school this year than it was originally last year. :(

-Mommy and Daddy cannot get over your cute face!

-You still wear 12-18 month clothes and some 18-24 shirts when mommy wants to break out some new clothes. Mommy LOVES dressing you! Your cloth diapers do make you pop through some of your rompers as we learned at church one Sunday. Fluffy butts are a bit bulkier. ;)

-You are obsessed with books, especially flap books and books with "doggies" aka animals.

-Your favorite toys:

Anything that open and closes - Tupperware containers and covers (particularly the small salt-and-pepper shakers), your doctor kit, books

Things that drop/fit into something else - Your wooden ball sorter/xylophone, your shape-sorter ball

Things that pull apart (haven't mastered putting back together yet) - Rubber farm animals that come apart, Duplo Legos (from Legoland!), Wooden Train, and any stacked cups

Others- Radio Flyer Push Wagon (your obsessed with sitting in this hoping we will push you around!), your V-Tech "smart friend" toy Dr. Doug, Radio Flyer Trike, your new play kitchen

Here's a "real-life" shot of how the living room usually looks 5 minutes after you wake up...

-Another favorite is playgrounds! You love climbing around on them and going down slides!

-No matter how fun or rough of a day it's been, you get so excited to see daddy when he gets home!

-And last, but not least, I should not fail to mention your obsession with fruit. You beg for it!

Here are some extra pictures, mostly from your 16th month because I did a photo purge on my phone before vacation. :)

4th of July with Allie, Gary, and baby Isaiah

*First photo capture of unassisted standing!

Future best buds! :)

You & I took a trip to the farmers market one morning and along the way visited the critter barn animals and played at the library. So much fun!

Hello bunny!

HELLO fresh flowers! Mommy's fave!

Yay! A stuffed doggy that can't run away!

Mmmm cookies from Grandma B!

Messing around during an afternoon shopping trip.

Love for all of your "doggies" ;)

You go "night night" with them.

Hanging out with mommy at the cottage.

Interrupting daddy to read a book together!

Beep beep

Mr. Blue Eyes

Zippy Zoey still exists too...contrary to what this blog implies ;)

Hugging doggy :) Action shot ;)

Somebody pushed his high chair across the kitchen floor one morning... Hmmm

LOVE

Booty shot, hahaha!

Opa stopped by for a short visit to play!

Yes you had bare buns...we were trying to get rid of a pesky little rash!

Bubbles!

Climbing is your favorite!

Playing in grandma and grandpa's closet at the cottage

Grandma B got you a shirt so you can get working at the kennel! ;)

Heading up for nap.

Words can't describe how much we love you!!!!! We thank God for gifting you to us.

Just a quick update this month!

(We got your swing up!)

Not too much has changed over the last month but there are a few new things I wanted to make sure I document for my memory's sake.

1. You officially say a few words:

Doggie

Daddy

Mama (still not quite directed at me)

Bupa (Grandpa)

Nigh Nigh (Night Night)

Nana (Banana)

Dight (Light)

2. You are learning how to point at things. By the end of the month you were using your pointer finger too! Every time I buckle you into your car seat you immediately point towards the overhead light in the backseat and say, "dight". It's so cute.

3. You've mastered climbing the stairs and you love it! We stay right behind you for the occasional slip and you climb right to the landing where there is a little window that's just the right height for you to look out. We say "Goodnight outside" and "Goodnight Light" (to the stairwell light) before climbing the rest of the stairs up to your nursery.

4. You still do not stand unassisted or walk. You are flat footed more and more often when standing still, however, whenever you walk with a push toy you are still on your tip toes. We do think you're very close to standing unassisted. I saw you do it one day a few weeks ago at Grandma and Grandpa's house very briefly but you have not done it again.

5. You are still very open to strangers' attention and don't mind people talking to you or holding you. You do tend to pull your arm away if they try to touch your arm or hand while mommy or daddy are holding you.

6. You still don't like diaper changes but (knock on wood) as long as you have your toy camera that sings songs and lights up you seem to do okay while we change you.

7. You got your second haircut and what I would call your first "big boy cut". It's a little faux-hawk and I LOVE it! But you also look so grown up....

8. You still only have your two bottom teeth. I think the top ones may be coming soon though. We'll see.
9. You love having your teeth/gums brushed. You have this yummy Blueberry flavored natural toothpaste that you pretty much suck down. We try to scrub your teeth really quick before you eat it all, haha!
10. One night I put you to bed (usually daddy does) and you did the cutest thing. I kissed your hand and said "Goodnight left hand" and then I kissed your other hand (you were standing at the rail of your crib) and said "Goodnight right hand"; you pushed your neck over the rail so I could kiss your forehead ("Goodnight forehead"), ear, nose, pacifier, etc. It was the most darling thing and I think my heart melted into a puddle.
11, One Sunday morning I ran downstairs to change a load of laundry and when I came back up you had turned the TV on (the Kardashians no less) and were hiding behind a chair. I went to pick you up and you had sprayed your face with the water spray bottle we keep by the changing table and you were all wet! Silly boy! At least it was just water.
12. You are a busy boy and rarely sit still. Rarely is there a snuggle to be had with you but I am glad that you are so brave and adventurous!

13. Lately you have been waking up a lot in the night or very early in the morning. I'm not sure if this is due to anything like a growth spurt or teething but I do know that I think you're ready to transition to one long nap. I was going to try and wait until the end of the school year to make this transition but I also am sick of sleep deprivation so I think we will transition soon!
14. We will be making your first trip to the cottage this summer for Memorial Day weekend and I'm so excited to see how you like everything this year!!! Last summer you were still so tiny and I was nursing around the clock!

15. Every day when daddy gets home you get so excited and you immediately want to drink out of his water Tumbler! It's so funny!

16. You love being outside but you're not too sure about the grass. Grandpa and daddy got your swing hooked up to the TALL tree limb and you love it!