You are FIFTEEN months young today! It is hard to believe that it's almost time for another well baby checkup. Your checkup isn't until Thursday but from a recent appointment we know that you are about 26 lbs and at 12 months, you were 35 inches tall. The handy dandy 'be a good mommy' chart says you should be 29-33 inches at 15 months so once again, I'm sure they will tell us what a TALL boy you are tomorrow.
You definitely are tall, little guy. You're also sweet and funny and fierce and loving and ALL boy. You run and jump and climb and holler. You cuddle and snuggle and kiss and hug. You talk and sign and follow directions well. You have favorite books, favorite shows, favorite toys, favorite animals and favorite foods. It's so fun to see the little person you are becoming.
Some fun things about you at 15 months:
Your language. Daddy and I LOVE listening to you talk. You are always saying new words and starting to put words together. You will copy just about everything we ask you to say but more often than not these days, you are saying new words on your own and we are left trying to figure them out. Just this morning daddy brought in a new suitcase that had been in the car and you went to investigate it and said to daddy, "What's this?" Once we answer your questions, you often just say, "OH." When we ask you questions you often answer with, 'dis, dat, es, no' (this, that, yes, no) or a shoulder shrug. You request 'moo moo' when you wake up (it took me awhile to figure out what you wanted when you said it. I tried offering you your book about cows but you motioned for me to follow you to the fridge instead where you pointed to the picture of the cow on the milk carton). You often get compliments from other people about how nice your manners are when you sign 'please' and 'thank you' but what they don't know is that you really only do them when you want food. :) While you are saying a lot of new words these days, my favorite (besides mama, of course) is still 'uh odah' (Dakota).
Food has been a major motivator in getting you to speak and sign and since we spend a LOT of time at the kitchen table, you get to practice those skills often. Typically you want to eat when you wake up then about every two hours after that. You generally eat small amounts at a time but other times you eat just as much as I do. Thankfully you (so far) haven't been too picky in your foods and you'll eat about everything we offer you. You love fruits, veggies, meats, breads and you've recently discovered sweets (yikes). I was trying to sneak an m&m one day and you caught me. You've known where we stash the goods ever since. Now we have to wait until you are in bed before we sneak treats. (Thankfully you wont be old enough to read this for awhile so I don't have to give up my secret just yet).
Your sleep. We can talk about this without jinxing it (I hope) because you are currently in a transition phase. From August-January you slept from 7 pm to 8 am and 11 am to 2 pm 99% of the days we were at home with no visitors. It was quite a nice schedule you gave me for quite a long time and I enjoyed the consistent work hours each afternoon. (Thanks buddy!) However... these days we are transitioning into keeping you up a little later at night and having a little less of a nap during the day. You've always required more sleep than the charts say (just like mama) but since we've been giving you iron supplements, we feel like you are doing better at staying awake longer periods now.
Our bedtime routine consists of reading books (sometimes you request the read alongs on the iPad instead of actual books) and snuggling. You rub mommy's back when you are tired and tell me, 'Shh shhh.' You give Dakota hugs and wave 'nigh nigh' and then usually lay down on the floor and pretend to snore. You sure aren't subtle about letting us know it's bed time. :) I used to hold you as we stood by your crib and sang 'Jesus Loves Me' but these days you've been diving out of my arms and into the crib so I stand near you as we get you tucked in just right and you settle in. You MUST have your blankies just right and as much as we were sure you wouldn't attach to a lovey, it seems that blankie may just be your thing. A week ago, you took it to Sunday school where your favorite teacher said you didn't let go of it the entire time you were there.
Speaking of Sunday school. You love going to play with your church friends. On Sunday morning if someone mentions you get to go see them, you deliver shoes to everyone that's currently in socks then you go sit beside the door. You CANT WAIT to go to church. You're also good at helping to get ready to leave in general. You can say 'boots' and you attempt to put them on (though you are a ways off from being able to). In the radiology waiting room, someone's nice grandma told you she liked your boots. You looked at them and pointed to them and smiled and she couldn't believe what a smart little boy you were to know the word boots. It made your mama happy because most strangers guess your age around 2 and think you should be talking more than what you are. :)
Playtime is always fun. You have quite the imagination and are SO good at playing with other people. You've always been the entertainer and are good at doing things for a laugh.
You enjoy other kids. Most children your own age though prefer parallel play so I asked daddy the other night if he thinks you bug your church friends trying to get them to play with you all morning. :)
Your favorite toys have been changing a lot lately but currently it's your builders you got from Aunt Mal for Christmas. Most mornings you get that tub out first and dump it out all over the floor. You're good at dumping things on the floor and pulling things out.
Thankfully you've been getting better at picking toys up. Just tonight you successfully cleaned up the basement (mostly) on your own. You know that things have a place and that they should be there. Earlier today I was looking for your boots under the couch and asked you to do the same (because I was sure one got kicked under there- I was right) and once I found it, I couldn't find you. I went to your room and you had pushed a chair up to your dresser drawer where we keep your boots. You had the drawer open and had been looking in it for your boots. That story shows two of your qualities- how smart you are and how much you LOVE to climb.
You are a climber! You are definitely all boy. You climb on everything. You think everything can be used as a ball and most things can be used as a hoop. And you like to yell. A lot. :) This morning as I was putting breakfast dishes away you got really quiet and didn't answer when I asked where you were. As I came around the corner, I saw you up on the dining room table where you were using the pinecones as balls and the light fixture as a hoop. When I said, "Oh Beckett we don't climb on chairs and tables, we sit on chairs." You said, "OV!" (That's LOVE! in B talk. Which is short for 'I love you.') Again tonight before bed as I said I love you, you screamed back "OV!" Generally your "OV!" is accompanied by a running jump and hug. A FULL SPEED running jump and hug. Keeping you sitting still at basketball games is a challenge as you would rather be running on the court or smoozing the crowd.
I don't blame you though. :)
Oh, B! It's so fun to be your mom. Life with you is never boring. I still cant believe I get to be your mama. Your daddy and I love you oh so much! Happy 15 months, B-Meister!
