Fifteen Months

Fifteen months.  Unbelievable.  This kid is a firecracker.  I suppose most 15 mo. olds are.  There is so much I don't want to forget about this age; how he looks toddling down the hall, the way he says certain words, how he holds out his boo-boos to me and makes kissing noises, his laugh, the look of happiness when jb gets home from work.  Here is the run down.  It's long, so maybe grab a snack. 



Language/Communication
He has lots of words - too many to count, and there are new ones every day.  Of course, usually only jb and I can understand him and differentiate the subtle difference between the "bah"s (book, ball, bath, bad, baa, back), but he is very good at getting across what he wants to say.  For example the other day he was sitting on my lap while I was having a conversation with another adult and he wanted to nurse.  This was clear because he was saying "nurr", signing milk, saying "mil-kuh", pulling up my shirt, and saying "oh-pah" (open).  There was no room for confusion.  He's really working on his hard consonants.  He likes to repeat words like milk, nap, book with an accent on the final letter that sounds almost like he's clearing his throat.  Sometimes he will even click his tongue in place of a "K" which is hilarious.  He will string two words together every once in a while, but we are still mostly at single word communication - yet somehow I feel like I'm having conversations WITH him most of the time.  It's nuts.  He understands SO much - I'm amazed how he will pick out words from sentences or songs (right now he loves "tree").  And if he wants to get a point across he will - verbally and non-verbally.  He's really attuned to people, has a crazy attention to detail, and makes connections that seem complicated for such a little person. 

Movement
He is toddling so fast these days.  He also recently discovered walking backwards - and does it constantly while announcing out lout "bah, bah, bah". He's still a dancer and loves to drum or keep the beat with his hands.  He's working on his little teapot routine and calls his spout a "pow".  He can't jump, but thinks he can and will lift one leg and put it back down when we say "jump".  He hasn't realized how tall he's gotten and often tries to walk under a table he used to fit under only to bump his head. 

Potty
He is pretty regularly going both pee and poop in the potty.  The trick is, he will do great if we spend the whole day at home - but if we go out we fall off the wagon.  He tells me when we are out, but I'm not really ready to take him to a public restroom.  The toilets just seem so big (and dirty).  I'm not in any hurry to get him fully pottied - so I'm comfortable being in this 1/2 potty limbo; I just hope I'm not sabotaging him by sending him mixed signals when I whisper "It's ok, just go in your diaper..."

Sleep
Sleep is back on track.  We are on a steady one nap schedule (from 12/1-2/3pm).  He's going down easily and barely struggling to get through the morning.  I recently converted his (never slept in) crib into a toddler bed and put it at the foot of our bed.  He is napping there and going to sleep there, but usually joins us in our bed at around 4 am.  I'm trying to transition from nursing him to sleep, to nursing him until almost asleep and then patting him on the back to fall asleep.  Hopefully that will allow someone besides me to put him to bed once in a while.  He is also beginning to understand the concept of sleep and ask for naps.  He will ask to "nurse", "nap", put his head down and fake snore (which is as cute as it sounds).

Eating 
He is still nursing about 3-5 times a day and eating lots of food.  He likes mostly everything from spicy food to veggies and will eat seemingly adult-sized portions.  He is hit or miss on raw vegetables, but will eat just about anything if he can "dip, dip, dip" it in something.  Favorites are pizza (pa-pa), blueberries (boo) and banana (pla-pla: a combination of banana and plantano).  He wants to always to use a utensil, but usually ends up holding it one hand (TIGHTLY) and eating with the other hand.  Forks are another loophole for getting him to eat food he doesn't usually care for.

Temperament
I think he is a happy baby.  He is an easy going kid.  When he is fussy or rough it's usually because of something obvious (tiredness, hunger, not feeling well).  He is eager to please and loves to make us laugh.  He is very adaptable - he's happy if we spend the whole day at home alone or if we have a bunch of house guests and spend days on end with packed schedules.  He is beginning to get sad when saying good bye, which is heartbreaking.  He cried like his little heart was broken when my mother left - sobbing, "Abaaaa, Abaaaaa".   He doesn't cry often, though, and usually it's because he is a sensitive soul - he really takes it to heart when we scold him.  He tends to overuse "ouch" to get attention.  Still, usually a kiss, deep breath, or "sana, sana, colita de rana" will fix it.  He has started throwing a bit of a tantrum when things he wants are taken away (pens, swings) - but it's usually short lived.  He is mostly gentle - despite his curiosity about eyes and his love of wrestling Talula.

He is always busy, busy, busy - working on some unclear-to-me project.  Walking from one side of the room to the other, dragging a bag or toy, moving pieces of a puzzle one by one.  I wish I could peek in to his mind to see what his agenda is.  He gets so wrapped up in these projects.  His attention span is getting longer which means we've been able to introduce longer books. He's been enjoying poetry lately - anything from Dr. Seuss to Hailstones and Halibut Bones.  He is beginning to understand the concept of help and will ask for "hap".  He's a joy. 

Stats
He is 31.5 inches tall (75th percentile) and 22 lb 12.5 oz (50th percentile).