James is now our 15 month old, toddler boy. It is amazing how much he has changed even in 3 short months (physically and developmentally) since I last wrote an update. He is in such a fun (and sometimes challenging) stage right now. There are times that he does something so funny that we literally laugh until we cry (and occasionally that "funny" thing is something that we really shouldn't laugh at and we have to hide our faces or walk off into the other room not to reinforce any negative behaviors.) He is a little imitator right now - he imitates everything (just a few that come to mind today, he reaches for my brush to try and brush his hair too or tries to repeat words that I say as I point things out to him when we are out.) He is teetering between wanting to be independent and still wanting Mama and Daddy to be close and help, and so I've been trying to let him do some things on his own but staying near to "catch his fall" or help when he wants me or he needs me. He is just such a blessing and a joy, and I thank God every day that I get to be his Mom.
Here is a list of some of the things that he is doing at 15 months:
- He weighs 23 pounds, 13 ounces (40th percentile) and is 31.75 inches tall (70th percentile). He has just had a growth spurt and had a huge jump on the growth curve in height. Right now he is tall and skinny (Daddy keeps saying "he's going to be a pitcher." ha!) His head circumference is in the 75th percentile.
- He is wearing mostly 18 month clothes. He wears 18 month shirts and one piece outfits. He wears a lot of 12 month shorts and pants but is moving into some 18 month shorts as well. He is wearing size 5 shoes and even has one pair of size 6 shoes. He still wears size 4 diapers.
- He takes one nap a day. He usually goes down between 11:30 or 12:00 and will sleep up to 2 hours. He usually goes down between 8:00 and 8:30 at night and wakes up anywhere between 7:00 and 8:00 for the day. He is sleeping much better at night than ever before except for when he is teething (he is pretty sensitive to teething).
- He has four teeth on the bottom, and 3 (with one more tooth ready to pop through literally any second, if it hasn't already) on top, and I think some swollen gums preparing for molars. There is no telling how long they will take to actually pop through though. He seems to be a slow teether.
- He is starting to eat better, but he is still what I would consider a "picky/particular eater." There are days that he eats so well, and days that he refuses everything. A food that we would consider one of his "favorites" one day, he will act totally disgusted by the next. He will still eat NO meat - he won't even put it in his mouth and sometimes wont even touch it on his tray but we just keep offering. Some of the foods that he eats most right now are: Yogurt with a fruit/veggie on the bottom, Shredded Cheddar Cheese (will not eat any other kind even if I cut it into shreds), Steamed Peas (will only eat the ones that are frozen and wont eat them from a can), Whipped Peanut Butter (on strips of toast or on a spoon), Frozen Blueberries, Banana, Fruit Cocktail (but mostly just the cherries), Cheerios or Kix cereal, Baby Goldfish, Teddy Grahams or other "crackery" foods, kraft macaroni and cheese (no other kinds - ha!), applesauce and apple cinnamon oatmeal. I will (at most) give him a stage 3 baby food of meat and veggies once a day, because he will eat meat that way but I try not to do it too often. He will take some (maybe a few ounces) 2% milk now especially when he sees Mama or Daddy drinking milk. The doctor explained that he may associate eating with pain because of his reflux, so we are just praying that he will continue to eat more and more each day.
- The doctor encouraged us that we should continue on with his reflux medication, but he is just taking it once a day before bed now. We are praying that he will eventually grow out of the reflux, but so far when we have tried to wean him off the medication he begins to spit up a lot again and wakes up constantly. He spits up so much less than ever before now (which hopefully means the medicine is helping and he is getting better), but he still with spit up/throw up pretty significantly when he eats the "wrong" (for acid reflux) foods or if he cries very hard for even a minute or two.
- He is as active as ever. He literally runs everywhere he goes, and has acquired more bumps and bruises lately as a result. He also really loves to climb, and I have to keep my eyes on him at all times.
- James' vocabulary is really expanding lately. He tends to cycle through words and has a few words that he uses frequently for a while and then moves onto other words. Here are some of the things that he is saying very well now: Daddy, Mama, go, go go, car, go car, ball, duck, uh oh, dog, and bowl. Here are some of the things that he doesn't say as clearly but tries very hard to say: bubble ("bubu"), bird ("bir"), milk, and flower. He also tries to repeat words that have a lot of syllables like butterfly and caterpillar (he just makes a sound for the number of syllables, if that makes sense). As you can see, a lot of his vocabulary relates to things found outdoors because he LOVES the outdoors!
- He is most interested in: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, any kind of transportation (cars, trains, trucks, planes, etc.), balls, and animals. He has an incredible knack for spotting all of these things when we are out. :)
- When Stephen and I are talking and start laughing, he likes to join in the fun and begins to laugh very hard.
- He loves to wave (he bends his fingers) but always unprompted and mostly at Mama, other girls/women (he usually gives most men a very serious look), and cars. He also loves to wave at Daddy when he leaves for work and usually will wave with both hands.
- He and Daddy are such buddies now, and Daddy really knows how to make him laugh. He loves when Daddy comes home in the afternoon and always thinks Stephen is playing a game with him (even when he's not). He and Mama have a very special bond as well, and loves for me to hold him, comfort him, and shower my affection on him.
- He loves hiding from us under a pillow on our couch or hiding his face behind the shower curtain and he loves being chased.
- He can now identify "belly" and "teeth."
- He continues to love to read and sing. He has also started "dancing" when he hears music by bouncing on his knees in a squatting position.
- He LOVES being outside. He loves looking for bird, butterflies, caterpillars, and other animals. He loves waving to cars. He loves finding leaves and flowers for Mama. He loves playing in the sand and climbing things (with Mama's help) at the playground. He loves running and kicking the ball. He loves going for short walks in his wagon or pulling the wagon himself. He loves to chase bubbles. He loves to climb stairs (thank goodness we don't have any in our apartment.) He literally raises his hands up in the air and squeals he is so happy to be outside sometimes, and it makes me so happy to see him so happy that sometimes I have to hold back the tears.
- He is communicating more with body language now and makes little grunts when he wants certain things out of his reach. He also points a lot now and likes for us to name the object he is pointing to.
- He is very good at following commands: "bring the diaper to Mama", "can you throw Daddy the ball?", "Can you find a leaf?", "Can you find a flower?", "Take this to Mama/Daddy", etc. I can also sing songs or hum tunes that are connected to toys and he knows which toy makes that sound or sings that song and he will run to get it (if that makes sense).
- He loves when we cheer for him when he "shoots and scores" on his slide/sports climber. He looks back at us and smiles when we clap and shout "you did it!" and then he does it over and over again. He definitely will not have low self-esteem if we have anything to do with it.
- He is definitely starting to "test the waters" more and more to see what his boundaries are. He is starting to have some tantrums and choosing to disobey after he has been told not to do something (like throwing all his food off the tray). It is hard for me as we enter this new phase (I know I shouldn't take it personally), and I am praying about how to best handle these situations as they come - wanting to be firm, consistent, and still loving. He also thinks that everything is his, especially whatever Mama has and it is hard for him to accept that he doesn't get everything that he wants. I know this is all normal behavior for a 15 month old (we are just in uncharted territory as parents), and I know that being a loving parent means giving him boundaries and teaching him appropriate behavior. But just pray for us please as we enter this new phase.
- I continue to get a glimpse of his personality and the person that he may grow up to be. The traits that always stick out throughout the last 15 months are friendly but reserved at first, extremely curious and inquisitive, extremely active, strong-willed and determined, loving and compassionate. I pray that he would use his gifts and personality for God's glory all the days of his life!
That is just a "little" (ha!) update on James at 15 months. I will post another update again at 18 months, and I can't even imagine all the changes that will happen between now and then. We are (still) just overwhelmed with gratitude for this precious gift of life. I don't know that we'll ever get over it!!
Our sweet, 15 month old little boy.
And a picture with Mama while he'll still let me. :)
