Snapshot (Almost 16 months)

I have about 1800 other things I should be doing right now... with Eric on nights, I've gotten *really* good at keeping myself insanely busy. But I have been a terrible blogger, and I wanted to take a few minutes to write down a few of Samuel's fun almost-16-month-old habits. :-)

Talking: All the time! I still am not always sure what he is saying as his enunciation is terrible, but he repeats SO MUCH of what I say now. He also started signing (and sometimes saying) "all done" in the last few weeks, nodding yes and shaking his head no (usually discriminately!) and (sort of) signing and saying "thank you." (He points his finger to his cheek and says "Day doo"). Some of his favorites lately (other than "banana" "dada" and "cat") are "Cracker," "Teddy," "Car," "Down," and "go". I've also randomly heard "out" "Cheerio" "yes" "please" and "phone." These are not regulars though.

He also seems to understand so much more the last few weeks. He will bring me shoes if I say it's time to go, will go grab the remote if I ask if he wants to watch Clifford, will run to his chair if I say it's time to eat, etc. etc. It's crazy how quickly he catches on to things!

Eating: A little less I think, but still chows down pretty good. He had hand, foot and mouth virus last week, which was TORTURE. He wanted to eat but couldn't stand to because of all the sores in his mouth. It was so sad! He's better now, thankfully, and he's back to eating a banana for breakfast, some chicken or a sandwich for lunch, and whatever I'm having for dinner + 2 snacks a day. He likes to throw things down, but usually chows down at least once a day. I let him try Chick Fil A sauce last night, which may have been a mistake. He LOVED it. I also let him have ice cream while he was sick since he couldn't chew anything. Hopefully that doesn't turn him off to vegetables for life.

Reading: He's obsessed with Goodnight Moon right now! And is still pretty into Mr. Brown Says Moo and  The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There's also a shape book he really likes that literally has 8 words in the whole thing. Not very extensive reading there!!

Playing: Stacking blocks and pushing them over; Putting milk caps in and out of a wipes box; He's starting to like his little twisty block thing (I don't know what you call it - those things they have in doctors offices for kids!), and he loves to sing and dance with his little puppy. He also really loves his cars and his activity table. His FAVORITE way to play, though, is to take EVERYTHING out of the kitchen cabinets/drawers and then run back and forth between the living room and kitchen putting things in different rooms. SO much for toys! Oh, and he love love loves being outside. I think he'd stay out there all day if I'd let him!

Sleeping: We had a few rough days while he was sick, but Sam-man is a champion sleeper - 11-12 hours at night and a 1 1/2 - 3 hour nap in the afternoon. AND the one good thing about having his mouth be so sore is that seems to have broken him of his pacifier! Last night he slept ALL night without it, and he is currently asleep in his crib without one. I was dreading having to take it away from him next month, but *fingers crossed* he may have given it up on his own. Woo-hoo! The best part about it is that now I can see his sweet smile so much more! I love it!

So that should curb my guilt for a little while anyway. Now back to chores. :-)

15 Month Stats

We went for baby boy's 15 months check up this past Tuesday. It's hard to believe he's getting so old! I would say he's getting big, but apparently he's not.. haha. All of his stats were below average this time around (although I'm not quite sure they got his height right -- he was pretty wiggly!).

At 15 months, Samuel weighs only 22 lbs. 5 oz.- about 40th percentile.

They measured him to be 31" tall - I still think he may be slightly above that, but that puts him around 45%.

And, of course, his teeny little head was somewhere between 17 1/2" and 17 3/4" - exactly the same as last time, putting him around 5-10% (there were multiple measurements going on here).

The doctor said she wasn't particularly surprised at his smallness and lack of weight gain, partially because of his age, and partially because he's about as wild as they come and he burns off everything he eats in like five seconds.

It made me feel really good to have her acknowledge his wildness and commend my dealing-with-it skills. I've had a lot of mom-guilt lately... well, maybe not mom-guilt so much as not knowing how to react to mom-judgment... I'm perfectly happy with how I'm raising my child, but other moms (mostly ones I don't know very well) with far more docile children have made comments about his craziness, and it's hard not to take it personally. So I really really appreciated having a kid professional tell me that allowing him to be nuts in a safe space is the best thing for him and, as long as he's alive at the end of the day, I'm doing great. That's hard enough some days! haha. I love his spirit and energy and wouldn't trade it for anything, it just make him a little harder to manage than most. ;-)

Anyway, all in all, it was a great shot-free visit. Samuel loved playing with the toys there, was mesmerized by the 10 minutes we got to watch of Frozen (are there subliminal messages in there or something?? My kid is NEVER still!), and only threw one tantrum, so I consider that a success! haha. I went ahead and took him out for a little snack afterwards even though he didn't get shots. I remember getting treats after doctor visits when I was a kid, so I figure I'll do the same for my children, shots or not. Anyway, hopefully we will stay doctor free until his 18 month check up! Fingers crossed...